What Food to Bring From The USA When You Move Abroad

There are a ton of things I wish I had brought with me when I moved from the States to Europe. Some are seriously random and most I’m totally embarrassed about, I can’t believe I’m actually sharing this on the Internet. But, you can never guess the stuff you’ll crave just because you can’t have it.  So I started a what to bring from the USA when you move abroad list so when I go back to the States this year, I can make sure to stock up.

Having been to Europe many times before, I knew there would be different food, products, and brands. So I made a list before I came, of the stuff I thought I couldn’t get in Europe. One thing I was totally right about was Annie’s Mac and Cheese, although, I didn’t know how right because I went through all 10 boxes in a few months. I was also seriously wrong about a few things. They do sell Heinze Ketchup and Hellman’s mayo in the Netherlands. In hindsight, I don’t know why I was under the impression that they didn’t. I also brought real Maple Syrup from New Hampshire, which I am glad I bought because it’s from my home state, but they do have real maple syrup from Canada here.

My List

My cure for homesickness is food. And OMG after writing this list I am so ashamed, it is all junk food! I’m such an American. They have very healthy food here in the Netherlands, fresh and no preservatives, so naturally, I miss the food with preservatives. 

• Annies Mac & Cheese (or Kraft I guess)
• Captain Crunch
• Cereal in general – They don’t even have Cheerios here! The only thing recognizable is Frosted Flakes; they seem to prefer granola. Cereal takes up a lot of space though so you probably can’t bring much unless you have a shipping container.
• Chips Ahoy
• Famous Amous
• Elf Fudge Cookies
• Cookies in general – The only American brand here is Oreos
• Cake Mix
• Brownie Mix
• Chocolate chips – I don’t understand why but these are so hard to find!
• Ghram Crackers – I really needed these, I couldn’t find a good replacement and I wanted to make Key Lime Pie.
• Popcorn – the buttery unhealthy kind.
• Kraft singles cheese – If you want American style grilled cheese
• Breadcrumbs – Random but their Italian style bread crumbs here are so salty!
• Your favorite BBQ Sauce – they do BBQ here but they’re not big on the sauce

Things You Don’t Need to Bring

• Mayo
• Ketchup
• Bagels – well if you’re in Amsterdam. We were very happy to find East Coast Bagels ships from NYC!

I also have a list of some of the personal care stuff I bring with me from the States, I will be posting soon!

Another tip: When you get to Europe or wherever you’re moving, you’ll have to figure out where to shop. I made a list of shops in The Netherlands and what they are comparable to, like Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.

P.S. I want to thank my awesome friends who brought me stuff on this list when they visited. You are life savers!

Now see what food you should eat before you leave the states.