The 2016 Rio Olympics are here, and the host country of Brazil is best known for its unique cuisine and traditional melt-in-your-mouth dishes. I travel there every year with my mom, and besides seeing family of course, it's the grub that keeps me going back. Brazil, hands down, has the best food on earth, and here's 10 dishes to prove it:

1. Coxinha

Tastes Like: Creamy Mac & Cheese Balls

If you had to award a medal to any Brazilian food, these babies deserve gold. These little bundles of joy compare to an American fried mac and cheese ball, but from the first bite in, exceed mac and cheese expectations times 10. The ingredient that separates them from the rest of the world's cheesy creations, is Brazil's secret weapon: catupiry. Catupiry is a type of Brazilian cheese that holds an extremely creamy texture, so when you combine the Coxhina's soft doughy outside with the cheesy chicken catupiry inside, the result is nothing short of heavenly.

2. Brigadero

Tastes Like: A ball of Nutella wrapped in sprinkles

For all you chocolate lovers out there, these chocolate truffles are the best things ever created. Think Nutella, but better. The main ingredients include condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter, of which are all mixed together and formed into little balls, then wrapped with an outside layer of chocolate sprinkles, shredded coconut, or peanut butter morsels. As a kid, brigadero was all that I would eat, all the time. At every restaurant or bakery, I would skip straight to the dessert section and engulf this chocolate truffle, the closest thing I knew to heaven. When we would go get ice cream, the only flavor I would ever get would be brigadero, and when we were home, I would mix up the ingredients in a bowl and literally eat it straight from the bowl. My world revolved around these bad boys, and I have a feeling it always will.

3. Pao de Quiejo

Tastes Like: Gooey cheese bread

Once you try these, I promise you'll never go back to regular bread. On our annual trips to Brazil, my mom and I would land at the Sao Paulo airport, and the first thing we would do to celebrate our arrival was buy pao de quiejo, because trust me, nothing tastes more comforting and satisfying than one...or seven of these cheese puffs. They have a crunchy outside with a warm gooey inside that makes your tastebuds melt and every muscle in your body relax. Simple and exquisite all at the same time.

4. Acai na Tigela (Acai Bowl)

Tastes Like: Mixed Berry Gelato

Yes believe it or not, acai originated in Brazil, so those bowls that have become the new craze you love to indulge in, that started in Brazil. Acai is a berry from the Amazon; and what you eat is actually the pulp from the berry seed that has been blended into a paste. It has the sweet texture of a really thick smoothie crossed over with fruity ice cream. Acai bowls are normally topped with granola, honey, and fruit, and the acai fruit itself is regarded as one of the best superfoods in the world containing tons of antioxidants and minerals. Yet it's miraculously disguised as a sweet bowl of gelato. If only all healthy foods could taste like that.

5. Churrasco/ Churrascaria

Tastes Like: An all-you-can-eat BBQ

Steak, steak, and more steak. Churrasco is a term that refers to a combination of meats, and a churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse, where in traditional Brazilian style, waiters walk around with different meat skewers, slicing selected pieces onto your plate. Steak is what Brazil does best, and when you go to a churrascaria there's an endless array of prime meat to choose from: pichanha (Brazilian top sirloin), filet mignon, pork, linguisa (sausage), chicken, and ham wrapped in bacon. And alongside the meat comes the traditional arroz con feijao (rice and beans), mandioca frita (brazilian french fries) and banana a milanesa (fried caramelized bananas). And did I mention churrascarias are all you can eat?

6. Guarana

Tastes Like: Fruity ginger ale

Guarana is to Brazil as CocaCola is to America. Acting as the classic soda of Brazil, Guarana has a very sweet, almost apple-like taste, with a tiny hint of ginger aftertaste.

7. Cafe Com Leite (Brazilian Latte)

Tastes Like: A Caramel Latte (but without needing to add caramel syrup or sweeteners)

Brazilian coffee is known for being the best in the world. It has a sweeter and smoother taste than all other roasts, due to the fact the traditional Brazilian coffee bean is dry-processed, meaning that the sweetness within the bean is preserved and therefore carried over when you brew the coffee.

8. Okinawa Soba

Tastes Like: A crossover between chicken noodle soup and pho

Before the Soba Noodle Bowl was put on Panera's menu, this dish was a staple in many Brazilian cities. Okinawa soba is a type of noodle soup that usually has sliced meat, vegetables, and egg on top of it. It originated in Japan, but due to the immense numbers of Japanese that migrated to Brazil in 1908, they brought the dish and its popularity with them.

9. Pudim de Leite Condensado

Tastes Like: Caramel custard

Pudim is probably one of the most famous desserts in Brazil. It's present at every restaurant and party, a staple that all Brazilians swear by. Pudim has a creamy custard texture, glazed with a caramel sauce that runs down the sides and soaks into the batter of the custard. The ingredients are simple: eggs, condensed milk, and sugar; the outcome: simply golden bliss.

10. Doce de Leite

Tastes Like: Caramel topping

Brazil has quite the trend of turning caramel into a delicacy; but how do they make caramel taste like ambrosia (food for the gods)?...with their second secret weapon: leite condensado (condensed milk). In almost every Brazilian dessert, leite condensado plays a leading role, and it's this ingredient that has turned yet another Brazilian commodity into an American fan favorite. Simply try the Haagen-Dazs "dulce de leche" ice cream, and this sweet treat will become an assured indulgence that might make trips to the grocery store a lot more enjoyable.