A thing or two about yogurt and why you should make your own

My husband and I have been making our own yogurt pretty regularly since about 2010 when our sweet neighbor in San Diego introduced this great idea to us. At the time money was tight. I’d cook as often as possible but always bought yogurt at the store. I knew better than to buy the individual 6 to 8 oz small cups of yogurt because the bigger 32 oz tub was clearly a better deal. Little did I know that I could be eating something way better for way cheaper and that’s when I learned about the possibility of making my own. Our neighbor Del showed us which yogurt maker to buy and how to do it. Soon enough we were on our way to eating healthier yogurt that cost at least half of what we were spending. 

It's been a few years and now I’m a bit of a yogurt snob. I haven’t quite gotten to buying my own lactobacillus bulgaricus et al concoctions, so from time to time I still buy some yogurt at the store to use as a starter. I refuse to buy anything with additives or added sugars because I’m a purist at heart when it comes to yogurt. Yogurt is just one of those magical foods rooted in simplicity.  

About yogurt and the home made process

So let’s start with the basics. As far as ingredients go, all yogurt is—and is supposed to be—is milk and bacteria. The process that turns the liquid milk into yogurt is just a heating process: milk has to heat between 180-195 or even 200 degrees Fahrenheit and then brought back down to 110 degrees. At that point, bacteria is added to the milk usually in the form of a starter from another batch of yogurt. About a cup of yogurt is mixed into the warm milk and then the mixture sits in a comfy warm container for about 9 hours— a typical ‘work day’ for the bacteria. Afterward, the container goes in the fridge and once it cools down, voila! you’ve got yourself yogurt. 

Homemade goodness

What’s really cool about this food is that it’s full of protein, calcium and probiotics and even has a bit of sugar, which is naturally there already from the milk. A cup of pure whole milk has about 11 grams of sugar, it’s just the way it is. Yogurt also has fats in it from the milk (mostly saturated fat), and whole milk makes the best kind of yogurt, especially when it comes to consistency. The fats in the milk help give yogurt that smooth creaminess to it, which can be enhanced even more by straining it for an hour or two. Straining removes the whey in the yogurt and leaves you with a bit of a “yogurt concentrate”, aka greek yogurt. All greek yogurt is is strained yogurt, which is why it’s more expensive: you need more yogurt to make the equivalent 8oz container. It also has more of everything (more fat, more sugar, more protein per ounce) so you don’t need to eat as much greek yogurt as you would regular yogurt. 

Putting our homemade yogurt in the "Wave" strainer to make Greek Yogurt -- leave it straining longer and you've got Labneh!

Store bought yogurt

Ok, so back to my snobbery with yogurt. When our homemade yogurt sits in the fridge for more than a week, I don’t like to use it as starter because it doesn’t have as much useful bacteria that I can put to work later. We’re pretty good about making yogurt once a week or so but when we forget, we have to replenish the starter with a fresher batch of store bought yogurt. 

Ideally I’ll make it to a fabulous store like Berkeley Bowl that offers plenty of choices. I usually buy organic yogurt and I devote time to looking at the ingredients. If the yogurt only lists two ingredients—milk and probiotics/bacteria— then I get it. If it starts listing crazy things like pectin, sugar, the evil, evil high fructose corn syrup, gelatin, citric acid, etc. I put it back on the shelf. When I’ve been in a bind and go to stores that don’t have a lot of variety, I’ve had to buy yogurts with things like pectin in them and my homemade yogurt just isn’t as good. A good, pure organic yogurt starter is essential to making great homemade yogurt. 

But that’s only half the battle. Milk is just as important and should not be skimped on. I always opt for organic whole milk and I buy the whole gallon so I can make my 64 oz tub and use the rest of the milk in coffee/tea. If I feel like splurging, I’ll buy the really fancy milk like the Straus whole organic milk from grass fed cows that comes in a glass container but at 9 bucks per container, it’s not something I always do. Still, even then you’re more than breaking even if you compare the cost of a store-bought 32oz fancy organic plain yogurt to the cost of the milk, which will yield more than 64oz of fancy organic plain yogurt anyway.

"Yogurtnomics"

	Cost per ounce	Total cost (excl. taxes)	Savings per 32 oz container
32 oz. Store bought Leading brand yogurt, non-organic, “all natural”	$0.09	$2.78
1 gallon non-organic milk	$0.03	$3.20
32 oz. Homemade non-organic plain yogurt	$0.03	$0.96 (not even a buck!!)	$1.82
32 oz. Store bought Organic plain yogurt (fancy)	$0.15	$4.79
1 gallon fancy organic milk (yields 4 32 oz containers)	$0.06	$7.70
32 oz. Homemade organic plain yogurt	$0.06	$1.92 (omg that's less than store bought non-organic)	$2.87

Return on your $40 yogurt maker investment (comes with a 64 oz tub):
Total cost of buying two 32 oz tubs of fancy store-bought organic plain yogurts: $9.58
Total cost of making two 32 oz tubs of fancy organic plain yogurts: $3.84
Difference in cost: $5.74
Pay back period: after making 7 homemade yogurts

Low-fat and yogurt marketing nonsense

When it comes to store bought, I also don’t even bother with the non-fat or low-fat yogurts. Almost every single one of them has added sugars to compensate for the lack of fats and to enhance the taste so now you’re eating something that is less healthy even though you think you’re eating a health food. I’d rather eat naturally occurring fats, aka whole plain yogurt, than added processed sugars, aka low or non-fat yogurt. I refuse to buy those branded flavored yogurt single-serving cups that pretend to be healthy; you might as well just eat a couple of spoonfuls of sugar and call it a day. If you want to eat yogurt because it’s healthy, I would avoid anything that isn’t plain. You can add fruit or honey to it at home and keep it healthy that way.  I’m also weary of "extra-creamy/smooth" claims because there are usually additives that make that happen. For example, I was really excited when I saw a new yogurt at the store claiming to use a secret Australian recipe. When I was in Australia I ate yogurt like it was my job and I’ve missed it dearly. I could barely contain my excitement at the dairy section when I saw that we were finally getting Aussie yogurt in the States. To my surprise, however, this yogurt wasn’t pure goodness but instead had the pectins and gelatins I like to stay away from. So the lesson with plain yogurts is to always look at the ingredients and to just walk away if the list has anything other than milk and bacteria. 

Why get pre-flavored ones when you can just DIY?

Anyway, if you want to save a couple of bucks on your grocery bill, eat a truly healthy product and stay away from additives, make your own yogurt at home. If it seems like too much of a hassle, at least do yourself a favor and get the good ol’ stuff with just milk and bacteria in it. Your gut will appreciate the friendly bacteria and your organs will appreciate taking a break from processing any extra sugars! 

If you're a foodie in Berkeley and you haven't been here yet...

... you're missing out! And no, it’s not Chez Panisse. Or Cheesboard.— co-posted with fellow foodie, Nancy Li (photos/captions)

Think back to your childhood memories and try to remember how you felt when you visited your favorite toy store. The sheer joy from being in the store is hard to forget and even harder to replace. Throughout my life, I have found several blissful spots that make me explode with joy — although I have yet to write about them, Yushan in Taiwan and my godmother’s dining room are two of a handful of these places. These powerful places that heighten almost all my senses are hard to find and to my surprise, and unexpectedly, I found one of those places last year in Berkeley, California. What was most surprising to me was that I suddenly felt overcome with joy and I wasn’t outside hiking a mountain or in the middle of a fantastic meal. No. I was in a supermarket. And I was ecstatic.

Entrance to Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley, California

Greetings, foodie!

It’s hard to describe a Berkeley Bowl (West) experience in writing but we will give it our best shot. The back of the massive 54,700 sq. ft (5,000 sq. m) space feels like it offers a curated version of everything that grows in California’s Central Valley plus a variety of many other fruits and vegetables you’d find in farmer’s/street markets throughout the world. The produce section in the back splits into the organic and the non-organic section and has a fantastic bulk area with four rows of bins full of dry goods. The organic section is much more seasonal and the majority of the produce is actually affordable. Now that dark leafy greens are in season, I saw at least four varieties of kale, at least seven different kinds of organic mushrooms and a kind of lettuce I had never seen before, leopard lettuce. 

Organic glory!

The larger non-organic section could be a produce market just on its own and there is almost nothing they don’t have — my recent favorites are the bins full of shishito peppers, baskets full of Mexican guayabas/guavas, the bulk section where you can fill your own bags of baby kale, wild arugula, mizuna or the banana/plantain section where, even if my 6 ft 3 in husband were to stretch his arms out, he would still not be able to hug all the kinds of bananas and plantains offered. 

Them 'shrooms!

The bulk section, my go-to spot for granola-making, has three rows of floor to ceiling bins stocked with anything from organic coarse pink Himalayan salt and goji berries to roasted salted, roasted unsalted, raw, smoked, slivered or crushed almonds. I may or may not have spent one hour in this back area during several of my visits there. Time flies when you’re food shopping, I have proof!

I'm a sucker for value and spend a lot of time at the bulk section

The rest of the perimeter consists of a large and busy meats and seafood section where you can get their deli peppered bacon, massive cuts of pork shoulder or the wild caught, seasonal fish. There is also a huge L-shaped refrigerated dairy section that wraps around the south-eastern corner of the store. If it wasn’t so frigid, you may be able to spend more time thinking about which of their 20+ selection of egg dozens to get or which of the milks to try next: organic whole, organic whole cream top, Strauss in a glass container or in the larger plastic gallon? Decisions, decisions! 

Life without yogurt would be miserable! They've got St. Benoit further down the aisle (can't see it though!)

Across the store in the north perimeter you can go snag a free sample of the featured cheese and walk around the DJ-booth-like cheese section. You may go bananas if you’re a fan of zee goats; you’ll freeze in excitement about all of the opportunities — humboldt fog, raw goat milk cheddar, the truffle tremor, the cremont, the goat gouda or any of the other Cypress Grove ones. For me, if I visit the Bowl with a type of dish in mind, I’ll get stuck on various sections as I move down this little piece of cheese heaven. The other day it was all about the blue cheese; I was struggling to pick the right mix of blues for Smitten Kitchen's blue cheese and chive buttermilk biscuits I was planning on making. Mind you though, I’m not complaining. For those of you with a sweet tooth, there is a lovely selection of delicious desserts immediately adjacent to the cheeses and they feature a phenomenal Tiramisu according to my friend Nancy. 

A lady ate half the samples after this picture was taken -- goat cheese can have that effect on people

Knowing that the middle section is full of the more processed, packaged and high-margin goods, I tend to skip it. But from time to time I do get sucked in. You can find yourself spending way too much time picking the next mustard or three for your fridge door - how about a green peppercorn or a seeds and suds (beer) one? The same could happen in the spice section where you could buy at least six different brands of spices or over by the tofu racks where you can get organic firm tofu, organic non-GMO firm, non-organic silken or how about some teriyaki, BBQ or spicy baked tofu? I don’t know about you but this kind of decision-making is something I get really excited about.


I still don’t think I’ve done Berkeley Bowl justice. Hopefully the images below will help. But even better, next time you’re in the Bay Area and you’re in the East Bay (Berkeley/Oakland), make sure to pay a visit to one of the best food stores on earth. Fellow foodie adventurers, you won’t be disappointed.

Bulk meets organic

The milk rainbow at the Bowl

J'aime le fromage

Blueberries, anyone?

The spot for 'rug and other salad greens

It's hard to capture how huge the Bowl is, those apples are so far (behind he toddler)!

Great stop before camping trips

I don't have much of a sweet tooth but Nancy definitely recommends these

I hear this ox tail is one of the best in Town

Wall to wall meats

Delicious results after a day at the Bowl: Ox Tail Soup at Nancy's!

You say you like Ethiopian food? Wait 'til you read THIS!

Ahhh... Ethiopian food: injera topped with spicy, unique stews and dips served with a nice honey wine and topped off with a sweet, sweet, delicious bunna (coffee) at the end. For us foreigners, this is what we know as Ethiopian food. It's tasty. It's delicious. People love it.

Although "Ethio-pizza" does not qualify as one of the three hidden gems below, it was  still fun to eat!

But there is a whole 'nother side to Ethiopian food that I did not know existed until I visited Ethiopia. Ethiopian food has three "hidden gems," to which I had no previous exposure. The first time I encountered them... it was like love at first sight.

Behold, I unveil to you the three hidden food gems of Ethiopia!


#1. FRUIT SPRICE

Layered Goodness!!

Sprice (sounds more like "spreece") means "mixed" in Amharic, the national language in Ethiopia. Ethiopians make this delicious layered smoothie with fresh, ripe fruit and serve it with lime on the side. You can drink it using a straw or spoon it all up to make the pleasure last longer. A good Sprice is thick and full of flavor, never watered down.

The layers usually consist of: creamy avocado smoothie in the bottom, followed by a middle layer of thick guava juice, topped by naturally sweet and thick mango juice plus a final thinner layer of papaya or banana smoothie.

This flavor rainbow is brought out in a huge mug and sometimes topped with vinto, a super sweet sugary sauce that we always opted out of.

The best part of Sprice? It's a great way to start the day plus you get at least 3 servings of fruit.

We usually found Sprice in most fruit shops, especially in bigger cities like Addis Ababa, Gondar, Lallibella and Bahir Dar. Unbeknownst to us, most fruit shops have a small 'restaurant' inside where the secret Sprice as well as gem #2 are served...

#2. SALAD "ATAKELT"

The strangest, best salad ever: Atakelt

Oh yes, we found legit salad in Ethiopia! After having Sprice for the first time, we indulged in an enormous plate of fresh and amazing Atakelt, a unique and incredibly filling salad.

I would have never, in a thousand years, thought to put all the ingredients in an Atakelt together and serve it as a salad. Good thing someone else did because this thing is amazing!

Atakelt salad consists of a bed of lettuce topped with an entire, sliced avocado, an entire sliced up, boiled, peeled potato, chunks of ripe, sweet tomato, sprinkles of red onion, carrot and green hot peppers PLUS sliced bananas! Atakelt is dressed with vinegar (OMG had not had vinegar in months!!!), a bit of salt and, if you want, a dangerously spicy and tasty powder that tasted like a mix of ground pepper and chili.

I know it may not sound good but this strange concoction is one of the best salads I've ever had! We often had a giant Sprice followed by a giant Atakelt (it's so large we had to share one!) for lunch and were incredibly satisfied and full of healthy energy. I'm definitely adding Sprice and Atakelt to my diet back in California! Can't wait to make it, especially during Hass Avo season.

#3. REAL AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FOOD. I REPEAT, REAL AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FOOD, JUST LIKE IN ITALY.

Delicious italian appetizers @ Castellis in Piazza, Addis Ababa

A long, long time ago (2004), I lived in Italy for a little while. One of the saddest things about leaving was knowing that unless I went back to Italy, I would never, ever again have the opportunity to indulge in one of the world's best cuisines. Italian food elsewhere is not the real deal. In order to have the good stuff, one must go to Italy.

Or Ethiopia.

Several decades ago, Italy decided to try to invade Ethiopia and failed. Twice. Ethiopia's army kicked Italian butt and protected Ethiopia from becoming yet another European colony. Ethiopians are very proud of this part of their history and although the Italians were swiftly kicked out, they left a bit of culinary legacy behind. Many of the macchiatos and espressos found throughout the country's cafes are, of course, made in Italian espresso machines. Many Ethiopians even adapted spaghetti as part of their diet.

But one of the best parts of this culinary legacy is a restaurant in the heart of Addis Ababa called Castellis.

Italian food: oh how I've missed the REAL you!

One random night in Addis, we saw a sign for an "Italian" restaurant. There's only so much injera we could eat so we decided to give it a shot and boy am I glad we did! Apparently we lucked out because we needed a reservation but managed to sneak in the second they opened their doors at 7pm. Dining at Castellis was like being zapped back to Italy. Eliot had never ever had real authentic Italian food and was completely enamored by it. I couldn't believe the authenticity of the food here- even our Ethiopian waiter spoke Italian. A fellow Italian diner commented on my "good pronunciation" (wohoo!) when I ordered the fettuccine al nero di seppia con calamari and he vouched for Castellis by saying it was indeed like a little part of Italy and that the food here was absolutely excellent.

That night we indulged in the insalata di casa plus some home made cheese, sun dried tomatoes and grilled veggies as appetizers. Sadly, they were out of the fettuccine so we ordered the lasagna and some porcini mushroom raviolini as our primi piatti - to top it all off, all of the pasta was home made and they use real e.v.o.o (extravirginoliveoil)!  

Raviolini with porcini mushrooms: yes please, I'll have one of those!

Well, there they are! I have to admit when we decided to go to Ethiopia for the "food", I never thought I'd find these three gems there. Thank you, Ethiopia for a healthy and unexpected dose of FRUIT, SALAD and ITALIAN FOOD!

The World's Healthiest "Carb"? A Close Look at Injera, the national food of Ethiopia.

"Injera for breakfast, injera for lunch, injera for dinner. All the time, injera. Always." -- Our Ethiopian home stay host's description of his diet. 

Locals enjoying injera and doro wot

Lentils, potatoes, beets and injera for lunch

How to describe injera? it's a spongey, crepe-like pancake that tasks like sourdough and is served in rolls and almost as a serving platter. Different kinds of stews/curries are then served on top of the injera. Except for chicken (which is usually served on the bone), most of these stews/curries are all bite sized and are scooped up with a piece of injera. Everything is eaten with your hand, there are no utensils. 

Teff

Injera is made from a very unique grain called teff. Teff originates from Ethiopia and most Ethiopians with whom I spoke said teff only grows in Ethiopia. According to some locals, teff is also extremely healthy and has a high iron content (being prone to anemia, I ate a lot more injera after discovering this useful fact).

Based on basic research, teff is indeed a very healthy grain and as a huge plus, it is gluten-free. It also has plenty of Lysine, an essential amino acid that increases calcium absorption and helps lower bad cholesterol levels. Its fiber, calcium, potassium and protein contents are excellent. Apparently, one cup of cooked teff has 40% of the recommended daily intake of calcium!

This tiny little grain is ground into a flour which is then used to make injera.  

Making injera

Making injera is easy!

I was so curious about Ethiopian cuisine so, I just had to take a cooking class. Injera was by far the easiest thing to make. First, you need the batter. The batter is simply water, yeast and teff flour mixed together and left to sit for three days (which is probably what gives injera its sourdough taste). Once the batter is done, lightly grease the largest pan you have, heat it up and then pour some of the batter so it covers the entire surface of the pan on a medium-high heat. The batter will immediately bubble, giving the injera its spongey texture. Cook the injera, covered, for two minutes. Only one side is cooked, so once the two minutes are up, it's done. Peel it off the pan and it's ready to eat. Ethiopians have humongous and specialized injera makers, but for the non-Ethiopian, this 'pan method' works just fine. 

Injera 24/7

Ethiopians are devout fans of injera and they will eat it every day. Similar to Dal Bhat in Nepal, this is a staple food throughout the country and even when teff is not available, people will make injera with other grains such as wheat or barley.

For example, our typical Ethiopian diet consisted of injera in the morning with tibbs (small pieces of meet in a spicy garlic stew) and plain egg omelets. Coffee beans would be roasting as we ate and we would wash down breakfast with a nice simi (cup) of fresh, delicious, border-line orgasmic home-made Ethiopian bunna (coffee). If it wasn't a wednesday or a friday, lunch would consist of injera once again with either more tibbs or meat wot, which is a special dish made with bean flour. Again, we'd wash down our lunch with another freshdeliciousborderlineorgasmichomemadeEthiopian bunna! And what's for dinner? You guessed it! Injera of course with some more stews. This time, however, we'd wash down dinner with a nice glass full of dtala or tejj -- Ethiopian home-made beer or honey wine. 

Country-style injera

As far as carbs go, injera does seem to be a very healthy alternative - especially when it is made with teff flour. But, could I mirror our host's diet?

Although injera is very tasty, healthy and goes well with everything, it was hard to eat it every single day. As a foodie, I really appreciate diversity in food. Unlike our host (and my friends in Nepal with their Dal Bhat obsession), I could not eat the same thing every day, three times a day for the rest of my life. The good thing is, I didn't have to. Ethiopia had three other amazing culinary gems to offer, and it was like a 'love at first sight' experience... 

An Idiot's Guide to Avoiding Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is just... horrible

A recent un-scientific survey done by me, recently demonstrated that malaria, the flu, and even migraines are all preferable to suffering from food poisoning.

Don't be a victim of food poisoning!

I'd like to post a few tips to help your stomach stay happy during your travels. Most of it is obvious but I didn't adhere to it all and, of course, suffered the consequences.

I was born and raised in a developing country, so I always thought my stomach was practically lined with steel. I even survived an entire month in India without the slightest discomfort. However, Nepal unleashed its wrath on me and I had the worst food poisoning I had ever had in my life.

Being a foodie can be hard: everything is enticing! Unfortunately, eating everything is not necessarily good for food poisoning prevention. So, here's a list of a few things that should help prevent you from feeling like sh*t (please keep in mind that I'm not a doctor, and these are just suggestions).


1. Don't eat raw vegetables. That's it really. Unless you are 100% sure that the restaurant washes their veggies with iodine water, just don't do it. If you're craving that nice crisp, delicious salad, hold on to that craving and save it for later. Get a veggie soup instead. Whatever you do, just make sure the veggies aren't raw.

2. Don't eat fresh fruit, unless it has a thick peel like a banana or an orange. Love strawberries? don't. Can't wait to bite into an apple? just avoid it. Avocados, oranges, bananas, limes (I love eating limes with salt!!), pineapples, papayas are all safer substitues to other types of fruit that will likely get you sick. 

The almighty Steri Pen!

3. Get a steri-pen before you leave! This little device worked wonderfully and we continue to use it. Using a UV light, the steri-pen purifies your water by destroying the DNA in microorganisms that can get you sick. The battery one is about $90 and the rechargeable, plug-in one is about $110 bucks or less. This way, you don't have to rely on bottled water and can filter your own water in your Nalgene bottle. Not only is it eco-friendly but also saves quite a bit of money!

4. Bring emergen-c or the equivalent. This is the one thing we didn't pack and I really wish we had. If you feel that you're not getting enough vitamins, just dilute one packet in your purified water and, voila! Plus, if your stomach is feeling a little iffy, the slight carbonation will feel very nice.

5. Love meat? Please ask if it's fresh! We saw plenty of chicken, goat, and beef meat just hanging out in the hot blistering sun with no refrigeration whatsoever and smothered in flies. You wouldn't want to have a bacteria-ridden, fly egg infested chicken curry, would you? Even if the cooking managed to kill it all, it's just not worth the risk. So, make sure to ask how old the meat is, has it been kept in a fridge or was it recently killed (a few hours is ok). 

"Look, Ma! No fridge!!"

We actually purchased chickens during our rafting trip and then they were killed and plucked and cooked right in front of our eyes - everyone ate some and no one was upset!

This was my lovely dinner during my horrible sickness

6. Buy some cipro or heavy antibiotic before leaving. Although it doesn't help to prevent food poisoning  if you do manage to get sick, these antibiotics will explode like a nuclear bomb inside you and kill everything in your gut. 

It's definitely not ideal but you'll rest assured that whatever wriggler got inside you is now long gone. Try to eat some yoghurt to restore some of the good bacteria in your gut and stick to basics while your insides recover. 

7. Avoid ice. Iced drinks are amazing when it's unbearably hot out but, unless you know they use filtered, purified water for ice-making, just go for a room temperature drink or go for bottled/canned drinks kept in a fridge. 

8. Wash your hands! This should really be on the top of the list. Please make sure you bring your own soap in addition to an instant hand sanitizer. Most places will have some sort of washing option (buckets, kettles of water, actual sinks with running water or streams if you're in the wild) but it's very likely they don't have any soap whatsoever. Make it a habit to wash your hands every single time after you go to the bathroom and every time before eating - even if you're using utensils. It may seem intense but it will be well worth avoiding the horrible experience of food poisoning. 

9. Following up on #8, bring toilet paper! Always stuff some in your pockets. TP and soap are both hard to find and you don't want to be stuck in a toilet without TP, especially if nature calls for numero dos. And, FFS, please wash your hands, especially after a numero dos!

Street food: freshly cut cassava, ready to fry!

UPDATE: 10. Street smarts, follow the crowd. Some readers reminded me about street smarts when it comes to food! I managed to do India for a month, eating street food almost every other day and didn't get sick at all. The trick I found is: follow the locals. If a street food stall is very crowded, it is a really good sign that the food is probably not going to hurt you. Also, the comment below reminded me that avoiding seafood from street stalls is probably a good idea -- deep fried fish, or really, anything that is thoroughly cooked right in front of you would be my one exception (who can resist!). If the street food is nice and hot to the touch, you're probably in good hands.

There are more things you could do but if you cover these basics, you should be ok. It's not 100% guaranteed of course, and I repeat, this is not professional medical advice! But it should help your stomach stay happy during your travels. Even street food is okay to eat if you follow the tips above! Ever since my sickness, I have been a little more careful and have been ok so far.

I would love to read any additional tips or suggestions you may have (thanks for the ones so far!).