Eating right in Spain

If you're willing to eat more fish and beans you shouldn't have a problem in a lot of Spain and particularly when you're on the coast. A lot of tapas are seafood based or veggie-based. You say "mostly vegan" but don't say if you eat eggs or dairy. You will be able to get by a little better if you do. However, you will miss out on some of the best food Spain has to offer, so I'd consider cheating a bit, particularly if you're only on your diet for 'health'/weightloss as opposed to a medical condition. A lot of the best tapas are potato-based. Paella is delicious. I mean, yes, you can stay on your diet just fine, really, those are all places that will have food you can eat. (You'd be a lot more screwed in say, Germany). But I'd consider "cheating" at least a few times to really enjoy the best food of the regions you're going to, Spanish food is awesome!

Go into anywhere which has a tapas display on the counter and/or when the kitchen is open at tapas times and point. Find food translations, tapas translations and take a dictionary for those items that are not on display hiding in the kitchen and may not even be on any menu. You will not be able to avoid a piece of bread almost certainly served with almost any tapa, media-racion or racion. Where there are foreign tourists you should always find a salad. And I never go to 'expensive tourist restaurants' - look in the street behind the touristed areas, or the street behind that one and go to any premises - irrespective of it's title - with all the Spaniards in it. Do you drink beer, wine or spirit?

Hi Sarah, Thank you for your most kind and helpful reply to my post. Sounds like we can mostly stay on our diet. I presume we can get and eat fresh salads in most places - is that correct? Also sounds like we'll have to cheat a little especially eating eggs and a little cheese both of which we eat a little of when we "cheat" at home. Wow! I'm going to have a hard time resisting paella. Thank you again and best wishes to you, Edmond Green

In two weeks in Spain we ate no meat, just salads, seafood, vegetables, and the ubiquitous tortilla (Spanish omelette, made with potatoes.) It was great. The bad news is that much of the seafood is fried, but it is possible to avoid that and stick to grilled sardines, grilled swordfish, etc. One of my favorite non-fired dishes was piquillo peppers stuffed with baccalao (salted codfish, soakd to remove the salt). There was also a great salad in Granada, made with lettuce, oranges, sliced red onions, olives, and flakes of baccalao. Actuallly we had lots of good salads.

As noted, you will find plenty. The good news is that when you "cheat" with tapas, they are small plates that really just give a small taste if you share. Paella will have lots of rice but otherwise seems to fit your diet. Make sure you have it at a restaurant where it is made fresh. Most paella at tourist-based restaurants is pre-made, frozen and heated at the restaurant. If there are picture menus of various paella, you can be pretty sure it's all pre-made. Look for a place where it is listed as a daily special. I highly recommend some jamon. The good news is that it is sliced paper thin so you can just sample a few pieces to get a taste. Many tapas will come on toasted bread but you can always leave the bread on the plate.

Ditto to what prior posters said, but I'd opine that green salads (that you think of in the USA) aren't as readily available as you would expect, and often come topped with tuna (surprising if you're not expecting it). Ham is ubiquitous and often an unstated ingredient - make sure to learn the phrase that you don't eat meat, and include ham as a separate item (Yo no como carne o jamón). You may need to do some grocery shopping on the road to stay true to your diet. Tortilla (egg/potato dish) is on every menu at every meal, but be aware if calorie counting is one of your concerns, the potatoes are fried in an immense amount of olive oil before being mixed with eggs (that's why it tastes awesome).

Why in world worried about eating right? Surely, one can find some beans and fish in Spain. Spain has some vegetables, too. Why worry like that? Too much stress, just enjoy.

We are vegan and have been traveling in Europe and all ove the world for years with no problems, amazing food and incredible culianry experiences. The website happycow.com is amazing for fining vegetarian and healthy eating options worldwide, even in your hometown.... healthier eating options that are local based (vegan and veggie tapas), local ingredients, and it is where the locals go to eat, as they are not geared to tourists. We are in Barcelona and eat like kings here being vegan. I agree, enjoy, hit the local markets for picnics and do not live by a dogma alone. You are honoring yourself, your choices and your planet, so go for what you feel good about. We live by happycow: ) and local suggestions.
Buenas Suerte!

I realize that this isn't the place to discuss Dr. Atkins or any other philosophy of eating. I just want to make sure that you've read Rick's philosophy of travel: http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/travphil.htm To pick one example, when we got to Carmona, we were astonished to be given a Tapas Crawl guide by the TI. We couldn't eat everywhere, but eating is a religion in Spain. Did you happen to see last week's NY Times article about skiing in Spain, which emphasized the food and drink breaks, not the quality of the slopes! Now, it's finally legal to import a small number of the many cured hams from Spain. But there's a lot to learn about the Spanish by eating with them.

A buffet-style place that serves a large variety of salad stuff, pizzas, etc. in Spain is Fresc Co. I believe it is a chain business located in several cities. I ate there in Granada and found it inexpensive. I enjoyed shopping in the Boqueria market in Barcelona. Fresh produce, fresh fruit cut up into individual servings, and other possibilities.