"What I Eat in a Week in Amman" by Destiny Magnett

Food is one of the most important parts of the culture in Amman and throughout the Middle East, and love is often shown through food! One of my favorite parts of spending time in Amman so far is the food my host mom has shared with me (she’s a great cook!). In the States, I am vegetarian, and I have tried to still eat meat-free dishes for most meals in Jordan but have been flexible so that I have the chance to try non-vegetarian foods that are culturally important like mansaf.  So, here is everything that I ate in a week in Amman through photos.

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My Saturday breakfast was a beautiful and delicious combination of tea, bread, cheese, date cookies, hummus, and zaatar and olive oil to dip the bread in. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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We headed downtown on Saturday to do some shopping at the souk, and so we stopped at Hashem, famous for its falafel, and my host mom ordered me the most delicious falafel sandwich I’ve ever tasted. It had hummus, chili, and a tomato salad that came together in the ultimate combination. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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For dinner on Saturday, my host mom made kibbeh, a Lebanese meatball of sorts, which I wrapped in bread with yogurt and veggies. On the side I had fries! Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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Sunday’s breakfast included a beautiful spread of bread, dates, hummus, leftover baklava, yogurt, and mint tea. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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For both lunch and dinner on Sunday, my host mom made one of my favorite dishes, kushari, an Egyptian dish which has rice, lentils, caramelized onions, and a yummy tomato-y sauce. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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Monday’s breakfast was also delicious—more tea, baklava, hummus, yogurt, and bread! Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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For lunch, I had maghmour, which I ate with bread and some fruit. Maghmour has tomatos, chickpeas, and eggplant and is usually served cold. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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For dinner, I had a light tomato/feta/tahini salad with some bread. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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For breakfast on Tuesday, I had a smaller spread—just baklava and a Turkish coffee (without sugar!) since I was in a hurry before class. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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For Tuesday’s lunch, I went home early in time to have some of my host mom’s famous falafel with some veggies. It was incredible, this is one dish I could eat for every meal and never tire of it. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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Still full from the falafel, I had a small serving of another of my favorite dishes so far in Jordan, bamiyeh, a tangy okra stew, with some rice. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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Wednesday I was back to my usual huge breakfast spread (I rarely finish all of the food on the tray, so it gets saved for the next day) which included tea, baklava, hummus, bread, date rolls, and some cheese. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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Today, I had a lot of food leftover from lunch, so I ate the same thing for both meals-- some green beans which my mom told me were prepared the way she learned in Lebanon alongside some bread and warak enab, or stuffed grape leaves, and, of course, bread! Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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Thursday I woke up to the smell of freshly baked bread and found my mom had prepared zaatar! I had two pieces, one with feta and one without, and a cucumber for breakfast. I took a couple more pieces with me to have for lunch. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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In celebration of a classmate’s birthday, we went downtown for dinner and ate at the famous Hashem Falafel restaurant. As promised, it was absolutely to die for—my favorite was the hummus! The full meal included hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush, and fries! Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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For the start to the weekend, I had more falafel for breakfast with some hummus, bread, and veggies. Even though Hashem’s falafel was delicious, I think my host mom’s narrowly wins out. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

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Closing out this week of delicious meals is more hummus, tahini tomato salad, bread, and tabouleh, a parsley salad that is another of my favorites! It was so good at lunch time that I had another serving for dinner. Photo credit: Magnett, 2021.

Destiny Magnett is a senior at Grinnell College studying on the Area and Arabic Studies program in Amman, Jordan this fall.