I cannot begin to tell you how many people’s first comment to me is about how fresh the food in Costa Rica tastes. I really notice it whenever I go back home to visit friends or family. The food in the USA is terrible. It is nothing but preservatives and additives and there is really no flavor at all. We read all the horror stories too about how many steroids and hormones are in the beef and chicken, along with MSG and sodium nitrate, just to act as a food coloring. And everyone stuffs their face on a daily basis with fast food. YIKES. No wonder kids are 7 feet tall and child obesity has tripled since 1980.

Not in Costa Rica. Almost everything I eat on a daily basis is fresh, with no additives of any kind. The taste is amazing; fresh and bursting with flavor! I really notice it with dairy products like milk and cheese. Wow, are the eggs incredible and having real orange color too. They are so fresh that the grocery store doesn’t even refrigerate them; they literally just came out of the chicken a couple days ago. Fish is another perfect example. Obviously when you live in Colorado, there is not going to be fresh Swordfish as they have to truck it 1500 miles, so it must be frozen. In Costa Rica

This time, the Costa Rica Gold Cup match against the United States will be played in the swelting summer heat of Connecticut, not the late-season winter wonderland of Colorado.

 Tuesday night in East Hartford, Conn., the United States and Costa Rica close out the first round of the Concacaf Gold Cup (8 p.m. Eastern, Fox Soccer). Both teams have qualified for the quarterfinals this weekend in Baltimore; the only matter left uncertain is which one will finish first in the Group. A victory or a tie would give the United States the top spot and a quarterfinal match against the third-place team from either Group A or B. The Costa Rica Gold Cup aspirations are the same.  

The last time the teams played