Are ya Hungry? $10 GC Giveaway

While I am in Guatemala chowing on a variety of foods (some healthy, some no-so-healthy) I am thinking about my readers back in the good old USA. Last year I lost about 15 pounds in 3 weeks by eating lots of salads (and yes, even eating an occasional fast food item too!) and drinking smoothies (papaya and banana, yum!) in the mornings.

I love the fresh fruit available in every shape, form and size-and love seeing the fruit vendors carrying their plastic baggies filled with ripe, juicy fruit to sell in the markets and on the street. Usually every place there are people you will find vendors selling fruit, goods, and of course food. Most often, people will set up a small lunch cart-like the guy above-and sell food from that. (Shukos are basically a hotdog with varied toppings, but nothing like the traditional hotdog stands we have in the US!) I have lots of food to try here in Guatemala still, but as they say, so much food, so little time! And I will be honest, while they have four and five star restaurants here in the city that charge and arm, a leg, and even part of your torso for a meal-the food vendors have them beat! With affordable prices and great tasting food, you can't go wrong.

That being said... look for CLEAN food vendors. Some people are not clean, and flies are all over the place. Their cooking utensils or cooktops are nasty, and I tend to stay away from those. Think of being at the fair in the US, and scoping out the food vendors. You usually know just by looking which ones might send you to the hospital with an amoeba in your tummy a little later, so you use good judgment and stay away. It's the same here-although there are times where a vendor might be super clean but use regular water (not pure water) for cooking, and those amoebas might get ya anyways. (but they have pills for that and medical costs here are somewhat low-a brief consultation, perhaps a lab test to verify the amoeba, and the actual meds-or you can usually just get the meds if you're sure you've got a stomach bug to keep it on the cheap side)

But, like any tourist, I get homesick for a taste of home. Here in Guatemala City you can get basically any type of fast food you want. McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, Little Caesars, Pizza Hut-they're all here to name a few. Hubby was pretty shocked to see that prices for food were comparable to US Prices, and he was even more shocked to see so many people in McDonald's and Pizza Hut eating last year when we were here. I have to say I was a bit shocked too, but Guatemala is a country where you will see opulent mansions in one area, and dirt floor tin huts in another. The contrast is somewhat striking-and sad too. And yes, there seems to be a sort of middle class-hard working people who like the occasional weekly treat-and that is exactly what we saw when we visited the fast food establishments here.

All this talk of fast food has me a bit homesick... and craving something from home. I think I will tell hubby I want a burger and fries tonight lol. What about you? How about a $10 GC to McDonalds, Burger King or Wendys? Keep in mind that it won't be sent out until after I get home and settled a little bit :) If that sounds good to you, then enter below to win!

Giveaway Starts: Today, July 12, 2011
Giveaway Ends: July 23, 2011 at 11:59 PM EST Open to US residents/addresses only.

Winner chosen by Random.org and will have 48 hours to contact me to provide full name and mailing address after winning notification received. Please leave a way to contact you in your comment or in your profile. You do not have to be a blogger to win.

MANDATORY ENTRY: I'm curious... tell me what your favorite pizza topping is, or what are your favorite hamburger or hotdog toppings? For me, it's bacon and onion pizza or hamburg/onion pizza and ketchup and onions on my burgers and 'dogs please! Also, let me know from which of the 3 places above you want your GC to be from!

OPTIONAL EXTRA ENTRIES:

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+2 Current GFC follower

+1 Twitter follower @micaela6955 (leave your name so I can check!)

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Ok, easy peasy! Good luck! And remember, I cannot send this out to you until I am home at the end of July~!