Real advice if considering 3rd worlds....

I should be more specific. organic food. whole wheat real bread. Sure. fried food is plentiful but everything is sugar laden & added sugar & greasy food
are not my food choices.

100% whole wheat? you did not read the ingrediants in the last 30 years. high-fructose corn syrup, can have health consequences. And is in your bread.

Not to mention the high chance of spray residue from Monsanto's 'roundup' being present in the whole wheat bread.

The little Maya girl does not know her food is organic, where would she get the chemicals?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjxGjwzWUuA

Actually, the chemicals used in developing countries, whether in Latin America or Asia or where ever, may not even be legal in the USA, or is used in amounts not recommended by the EPA here in the states. You never know what the farmer in a rural area with a tight budget would be using on his tomatoes, asparagus, apples etc...

Most posters on here live in the United States or Europe. I live in the U.S. and spend a lot of time in Guatemala, so am very familiar with the prices in both countries. Lodging in Guatemala is about 1/3 of what it is for comparable lodging in the states, maybe 1/4 when all the U.S. lodging taxes are added in. That fits my definition of cheap. Restaurants are about 1/3 for a comparable meal and setting, and maybe 1/4 when taxes, tips and drinks are included. Again, I consider that as cheap. And Guatemalan "fast food" such as in markets and on the street is about 1/4-1/3 the cost of American fast food. And then there are comedors, many with tasty food in a charming setting. Medical costs for dentists, doctors, clinics, hospitals, shots and drugs are about 1/4-1/3. That's cheap. Transportation is not only cheap, but frequent, convenient, and available to everywhere. Need to buy some clothing? The markets practically give away much of what one might need to buy. Lots of enjoyable free to cheap entertainment is available in Guatemala. I must respectfully disagree with your assessment that Guatemala is not any cheaper than the states.

oh yeah VERY aware of ALL forms of sugar...snuck into everything! esp here in USA. Being a diabetic
has made me so aware of its presence. A lot of people are unaware of it in most foodstuffs for sure.
I enjoyed your anecdotes of eating in Guatemala healthily....

Great thoughts & points Aloysius. Of course everything you mentioned IS economical in Guat.... but I still have hard time with finding some decent whole grainbread. But I have learned a lot from the many great responders like yours!

1 of our last visits to Guatemala we saw a huge line of locals waiting outside of a primary school on a weekend with papers in hand. Turned out they had proof of property ownership and paid taxes and were waiting for goernment provided (decidedly not organic) fertilizer.

I baked virtually all of my family's bread for more than 35 years until my husband decided a few years ago that he wanted to learn and and proved to be a gifted student. I am happy we have our own place in Guatemala now to bake and prepare our own meals but sometimes finding a good loaf of 'pan integral' in the past has been a treat after a month of tortillas. In San Pedro La Laguna, for example, Idea Connection sells wonderful loaves you can order ahead.

Is San Pedro near Lake Atitlan?

Yes.

Is it fair to paint a pretty picture only? There is crime in Guatemala. What about the guys that wanted to snatch my backpack? I said, hey mi torta. They felt certain all gringos had packs full of money, enough to get high for 3 days. So I told them I had 100 grams of oro. When I showed them my small bag of Oro De Maya, (rice), they lost interest, and did not hit me with the hammer they had. ····ing bandidos.

The Mayan people are as beautiful as the bandidos are ugly.
weigh that on your scale.

I once asked the lady at the tourist information place not to use to much white out. A well educated person can make better choices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jseTa7HUIDU

Not to mention the high chance of spray residue from Monsanto's 'roundup' being present in the whole wheat bread.

monsanto ism is left off the list of ingredirnts. Are we able to hide from his fake corn in Guatemala? It is against the law in the USA to grow corn that is not genetically-modified by monsanto.

The side of the scale with the Guatemala food looks better than the gringo side.