Managing meals in Dominican Republic

We cook almost all of our meals in, only going out a few times a month.

We have had to adapt to the foods we find available! There are far fewer options in Las Terrenas than in the larger towns and cities. Good lettuce is a rare find, so we rarely eat salads.

We have also become experts at substitutions! I’m making cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving today. Normally, I’d pick up a cornbread mix, but since none are available, I made my cornbread from scratch. My recipe calls for buttermilk, something I’ve never seen here, so we had to make our own!

depending where you live everything is available including cornbread.

I  dont like dominican food very much. SO  I snack or cook.  and I cannot eat  anything dominiican dairy at all

Came to the DR in 1994, worked for a US company,traveling back and forth then worked for someone here. Left  and retired recently about 5 years, I am of Hispanic descent so food here very similar to what I had eaten in the past. Restaurants here cover the entire spectrum from cheap to expensive, and it doesn’t mean that expensive is the best. I avoid touristy roadside food , food poisoning taught me that one, but I’ve eaten in places where many would not. Food was fresh and good. Best food is the food cooked by people in their homes,meaning friends and relatives.

I was surprised by the difficulty of finding fresh fruit and veg outside of the big cities, especially fruit. Where I've been, the selection has been has been smaller, and most items look less shiny and perfect (as a friend back in the States said, "so, like real food," and I couldn't disagree!). Also the supply fluctuates from day to day.

It seems to be a question of making the rounds of multiple shops, and grabbing something when you see it available rather than waiting till you're all out. If you had told me that the thing I'd miss most about the States was the Walmart produce section I'd have said you were nuts. But, kind of, yeah!

Eating out at local-style restaurants, I'm sometimes amazed at the generous, almost massive size of the portions.

Another surprise is the availability of imported (mostly US and French that I've seen) brands of processed or packaged foods. For a price, of course! For many of these products I can't really see what's better about them than their Dominican alternatives.

One thing that seems to be plentiful and cheap where I've been is avocados -- no complaints from me on that one! When I can find an avocado and a decent looking tomato on the same day, that's a red-letter day. Last night I acquired a small stash of actual sweet orange oranges (you know, with <100 seeds and don't taste like straw -- I think they must be all imported, they don't seem to grow them here??) so I am a happy camper.

To clarify/confirm, fresh produce is more of an issue in the small towns; the major urban chains have much more. And for a caveat, I've only been here 5 months so am still learning.

We've sometimes gone weeks without being able to find ginger. limes or carrots - and all are grown here in DR! I don't think of Las Terrenas as being that small of a town, but we are somewhat isolated on the peninsula!