My jouney to Sanitago de Compostela was extremely challenging in the food department. In rural Spain, where I was, they have not a good selection of food at all, for me. Absolutey disgusting, I am, you could say a fussy eater but still I have no idea how they can survive, I was dieing! I have really discovered how lucky I am to firstly live in such a beautiful country and also to have such fabulous food. In Australia we should be so greatful for all the gorgeous food we are presented with. Even in not the best resaurants we still have edible food but in rural Spain, all the restaurants would be shut down, for sure, for lack of customers if they were in Australia. I am really missing the delicious, fresh, home cooked food and also a choice of variety, In Spain it's all the same. There is no such thing as a green vegtable! As most of my school firends would know I eat a salad everyday for lunch, I would call my self healthy, so I am not surviving very well here because of the no fruit or veg factor. I am being a little eccentric about it cause I am used to really fabulous food cause my mum and little sister are wonderful cooks and I live in Melbourne, I guess the food capital, so I need good food to survive!
This is what they eat in the Spanish country-side:
Bocadíllos, which are served in every restaurant/bar. A Bocadillo is a giant sandwich made from a big French bread stick. You can get special Spanish ham, Iberico ham, put in the Bocadillo. After a while of eating them, I actually became quite fond of them! The Iberico ham is really yummy! Another famous Spanish food is the Tortia. A Tortia is a big omelet, with potatoes inside, they are quite massive, some are up to 6cm tall and might have a diameter of about 30cm! But one single person would be served one slice, you don't get the whole thing to yourself. And sometimes there are Bocadillos that have Tortias inside them! A two in one combination! Some other food I was definitely not used to eating was meat with fries. A combination of carb and protein, which always gives me a stomach ache. I just can't get my head around eating French fries with meat! What on earth?! And on its own no other veg, just fries and meat. They are also very big on sweets and I do admit, yes of course I have a sweet tooth! And I could not back away from all the chocolate croissants, omg they were really bad but I was addicted to sugar! Once I started eating such bad food, it was just normal and I just kept eating it!
That is what they eat in Spain, sweets, fried stuff, meat and pan (bread), pan pan pan! It is amazing that they are not morbidly bease!? Their diet mainly consists of carbourhidaraights, hardly any fruit or vegetables.
I just want to add in there, that I was in rural Spain, in minute villages, in the middle of no where, so I was not eating the best food . If you are Spanish and are reading this and are thinking 'I do not eat this food', well this is just my personal experience and how I felt eating this food! Sorry if I offend anyone in what I say about the food that I had to eat while over there.
And yes, if you are wondering, over the time I spent there, I gained 7kg! 7KG!!! I could not believe it!!! As soon as I got home I worked out so hard and I went back onto my nutritional good food and my usual diets (all my school friends know what I'm like!!) And it's been four months since my pilgrimage and I still have not got back to my original weight! I am kind of freaking out a little because over in Australia we are coming into Summer and I'm still not bikini suit ready!
Wish me luck on the rest of my health and fitness regime before Summer starts! I am so motivated to never eat that kind of food again! My advise: A minute on the lips, a life time on the hips! This is my new motto!
