murphybrown

Hello, my family will be arriving into SJO and then on to La Paz. I will need to purchase additional nutritional items for my child. We will need standard baby food fare and Pediasure.

Are there any grocers that you can recommend or a site where I can search for locations so we do not need to stress?

Thanks so much

shillmac

Not sure about Pediasure, but you can find a good selection at Mas X Menos, very near the airport. You'll be able to find it most places, but the larger stores will have more selection, of course. Across the highway from the airport, there is a Hampton Inn, Denny's, Fiesta Casino. There is a road that runs parallel to the Interamerican to the west right in front of those businesses. That road will take you to Mas X Menos, which is just a short distance past those large establishments. There is probably a farmacia right there next to it as well.

We haven't driven up to that area for awhile, and there may well be additional supermarkets along the way, such as Hipermas (like Wal-Mart), Perimercado, Jumbo, Mega Super, even the discount Pali is fairly easy to find.

Be aware: if you want your child to have a few green vegetables, take them (peas, green beans, etc). You won't find green ones, only yellow/orange (lots of carrots). The fruits will most likely be tropical such as mango, guava, etc. You'll see banana, peach, etc., also. It's all pretty good. We bought dry cereal to mix with milk also. Check with a farmacia for Pediasure.

Baby items are generally pretty easy to find--everyone needs them, including Costa Ricans! Have a great time; hope this helps. . .

qwovadis

Have your driver stop at alajuela at any

supermercado on the way to waterfallgardens.com

nothing much will be up there so pick up

around the airport B4 you head up.

Have fun,

Jeff_Costa_Rica

As an aside, Gerber has a large plant in Costa Rica near Cartago. Its banana products (purees and flakes) are made there.

murphybrown

Thanks for the information. I'm glad you pointed out the prevalence of the yellow fruits and veggies as opposed to greens. That will help me prioritize packing spinach etc.... We actually try to avoid the carotinoids(orange and yellow foods) as some research suggests they may worsen his retinal disease so I'm really thankful for the tip. I am looking forward to eating some fresh mango, though, myself.

Many thanks.

hsmithcr

You don't say if you are renting a car or have other transportation, but this is what I would do.

If you are renting a car - get a taxi and go to the Mas x Menos which is, as shillmac said, close to the airport. It is a huge grocery store. From the top of the parking garage, you can probably see it. It is located in the International Mall and every taxi driver knows it, about 5 minutes from the airport. Take an orange taxi there and go out back of the mall for the taxi stand to take a taxi to the rental car office.

Do your shopping -- yes there are "green" baby foods and lots of formula options as well as things like Ensure - they may have Pediasure, don't remember.

If you have lodging that has a kitchen, you can buy fresh stuff everywhere and make your own baby food.

After you have stocked up, taxi to your rental car office and go from there.

If you have a private driver, just tell him to take you there first.

Enchanting_girl

You can find Pediasure everywhere, and any kind of food you need for your baby, there are many option in the supermarkets, american brands as well as costa rican brands. Also finding supermarkets is very easy, they are everywhere in CR, if you pass by any downtown like for ex. Alajuela, you will find many options.

shillmac

hsmithcr

The Mas x Menos I am thinking of it actually on that road just west of the Fiesta Casino heading into Alajuela toward the big 4 way stop where McDonald's, Taco Bell, etc., is.

And I'm going to stand by my "no green veggies" tip. We've shopped for baby food down there in several places, including Mas X Menos, as recently as 2 weeks ago. I've yet to see green. Maybe some of the larger stores have started carrying some greens, but we sure didn't have any luck looking for them recently. We were there for an extended time a few years ago and actually had to have some shipped down from the states.

hsmithcr

shillmac - either Mas x Menos will do. Actually, don't remember one on that road from the Fiesta to McDonald's but whatever. They could just tell the taxi driver - Mas x Menos - and let him choose!

As for green veggies babyfood -- I watched some Costa Rican friends yesterday feeding their baby Gerber strained green peas that they bought locally. So ??? I have also seen some green baby food in my local grocery store and I live 150 miles from San Jose in a small town.

Just different experience, I guess.

murphybrown

Thanks so much for the information and suggestions. It sounds like we will not have any problem finding some nutrition for our son for the week. The names of the stores will help immensely as we search where to go on our way out. I feel much better prepared now.....thank you!

shillmac

I guess!

Have a great trip, mb--enjoy!

amac

Do be aware, when I was there a couple of years ago and needed baby food and baby cereal, as others mentioned it was hard to get green veggies (I just bought squash and made my own). Also, all of the baby cereals (gerber rice, etc.) contained sugar, as did the baby foods in the jars (fruit, etc.). I took a big bag of organic cereal with me because I wasn't sure it would be available and I was really glad I did due to the sugar issue.