The junk food that Canadians living abroad crave

Joanna Martin (Canadian currently living in Milan, Italy for 2+ years)
“Definitely Reese’s Peanut Butter cups! I live 40 minutes from Switzerland and have access to the most delicious Lindt chocolate but they don’t seem to mix it with peanut butter over here! Also, chocolate milk! I miss buying a carton for $1 at No Frills!”

Ashley Payette (Canadian that previously lived in Buckingham, England for 2+ years)
“Buttery movie theatre popcorn and popcorn seasoning! Apparently due to health regulations in the UK, they can’t, or won’t, serve buttered popcorn at movie theatres. ‘Salty’ or ‘sweet’ are your options. It was an abomination. You could get microwave butter popcorn but it was tricky to find. Also, I’m a dill pickle popcorn flavour fanatic and you couldn’t get that anywhere. My dad brought me a shipment of five containers twice throughout the time I was there. I would bring vinegar to the movie theatre to pour on the salty popcorn so that the dill flavor would stick. I only now realize how insane that was."

Irene Sonnichsen (Canadian currently living in Padborg, Denmark for 17+ years)
“I miss homemade chocolate chip cookies! You can’t buy chocolate chips here so I always get my daughter to bring a huge bag when she visits.”

Tianna Edwards (Canadian that previously lived in Berlin, Germany for 6 months)
“I didn’t realize how homesick I was in Berlin until I walked through an IKEA and everything was exactly the same as back in Canada. At the end of my shopping trip, I got nostalgic and bought an IKEA hot dog. It was not the same as at home. It was gross, unfamiliar and made me miss home and strangely, Canadian IKEA hot dogs.”

Tyler Smet (Canadian currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for 2+ years)
“Garlic fingers with donair sauce, a staple in New Brunswick! It’s even hard to find when you cross the Quebec border. A true east coast delicacy that cheesy garlic bread cannot compete with! Also poutine with real curd cheese. We can get fries with gravy but without the cheese curds, it just doesn’t cut it!”

Cynthia Gray (Canadian that previously lived in Melbourne, Australia for 1 year)
“When I was living in Melbourne, I received a package from home. My cousin had included a single box of Kraft Dinner. When I flipped the box over, I noticed she had written a note declaring it unbelievable that this wasn't available in Australia – also telling me she was sorry. I served it to my English and Irish roommates and they were underwhelmed. I regretted sharing.”

Carly Ley (Canadian currently traveling in Abu Dhabi, South Korea and Nepal)
“Metro's cheddar cheese bread! One thing about living abroad in areas outside of Europe and North America is that you discover that bread and cheese are not easy to come by. When I return home from overseas, I love to indulge myself in a toasted slice of the cheddar heavy bread accompanied with a cup of Tetley's tea. Also, Kozlik's Canadian Maple mustard. I used to ask my family to ship over jars of this stuff when I was living abroad. The maple flavour makes me think of home and it makes any sandwich taste gourmet.”

Leigh Casey (Canadian that previously lived in Pohang, South Korea for 6+ years)
“If you've ever been to a restaurant with me in Canada, my staple is always a Clubhouse sandwich. I lived in Korea for 6 years and I only found one restaurant in my travels that ever had a club and it was very disappointing. There were weekends where I honestly would have paid $100 for just a simple club sandwich.”

Melissa Mann (Canadian currently living in Stockholm, Sweden for 7+ years)
“Farm-fresh maple syrup. In fourth year at Queen's I got into a habit of sipping pure maple syrup from Sandy Flats Sugar Bush in Warkworth, Ont. while writing my final essays. Quality maple syrup is hard to come by outside of North America. I try to bring some back with be whenever I return to Stockholm from Canada.”