Anyone in Spain??!

sierra_12

Hello everyone (:
So, I will be leaving for Benidorm, Spain on December 17th. (my fiancé is currently there playing professional basketball) I have absolutely NO idea what kind of foods I will come across there. I need a little help with what to expect, what will I find and what will I not be able to find there? What foods are higher in sugars/fats/carbs/etc for me to stay away from.
Any little bit of help from anyone will be wonderful!
Thanks you! (:
Sierra

MyChocolateDiet

OR....Alguien en Espana?

wilddavid

I was in Barcelona a few months ago... The constant small meals get you that and the wine!

sierra_12

OR....Alguien en Espana?

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you said lol

bottemil13

I studied in Spain for a few months. It can be hard because bread is a huge thing and so is lots of olive oil (and wine!). But i walked EVERYWHERE, a couple hours a day exploring and walking to classes and ended up losing weight. Just balance as you would here in the states! Cook healthy at home and dont eat out a ton (but defiantly explore the culture!)

jonsey_s

Benidorm is a horrible place, that would be improved by a bombing strike.

You can get British food there and if you look very hard some Spanish food too! :happy:

EDIT: Just realised you're American so you probably have no idea that it is the main holiday destination for cheap holidays is Spain.....think Myrtle beach but with less class.

sierra_12

Benidorm is a horrible place, that would be improved by a bombing strike.

You can get British food there and if you look very hard some Spanish food too! :happy:

EDIT: Just realised you're American so you probably have no idea that it is the main holiday destination for cheap holidays is Spain.....think Myrtle beach but with less class.

Awh well that's a little disappointing.. Akeme really seems to like it there. Oh, well, his contract is up in May so we'll only be there until then.
I'm just not even sure what to expect from the grocery stores. Will I be able to find a lot of the same foods that we have here in the US for me to make at home?

jonsey_s

Yes!

You might see some stuff that you might not recognise, different cuts of meat for instance, but nearly everybody there speaks English so it won't be a big shock.

Out of the city there will be less English speakers.

LStar123

Don't know about that city but to prepare you for Spain in general food wise:

If you go out bread will be served with practically every meal; there is a custom of Menus when eating out even in normal non fancy restaurants at lunchtime which tends to be Primer Plato, Segundo Plato, Bebida & Postre, beware that this is basically a first plate that can be your entire meal, a second even stronger plate, drink and dessert so plan accordingly. One of the main social activities is drinking so you might get invited quite a lot for drinks, usually drinks include tapas which is a small meal in itself some places let you choose some give you what they have.

As for normal day to day stuff you probably won’t see familiar brands and there are certain American style foods that will taste different or be difficult to find, but you don’t need to shop at a special super market or anything like that. Usual fruits/veggies/protein are all easily available in any supermarket.

Once you get over the social aspect of food eating you’ll start noticing more and more people that lead a pretty healthy lifestyle with eating proper balanced meals and walking everywhere so you’ll adapt just fine.

PM me if you’d like to know anything more specific, and have fun! Spain is amazing.

(P.S. there must be more than a few people from Spain here because the usual brands are already available when I log most of my food in).

MelodyandBarbells

Vacationed in Barcelona for a hot minute. We noticed that the bread served with meals in restaurants wasn't free, so we quickly learned to ask, "es gratis?!" And if the answer was No, it was no thanks to the bread! :laugh: and, oh my! to the walking. I could have sworn one we walked a mile to get from the entrance of one of the stations to the train platforms. Finally, they mostly spoke Catalan (I think), not Spanish. Not sure how much this helps you, but have fun!!

Ely82010

Hello everyone (:
So, I will be leaving for Benidorm, Spain on December 17th. (my fiancé is currently there playing professional basketball) I have absolutely NO idea what kind of foods I will come across there. I need a little help with what to expect, what will I find and what will I not be able to find there? What foods are higher in sugars/fats/carbs/etc for me to stay away from.
Any little bit of help from anyone will be wonderful!
Thanks you! (:
Sierra

I vacationed in Denia several years ago, this city is also in Costa Blanca and not too far from Benidorm. very nice area, good food and lots to drink, specially wine, beers and sangria.

Be aware that most restaurants serve dinner after 8PM, in Spain, something that most of us are not used in the US. Paella Valenciana, is served in most of the restaurants. Delicious rice, fish, chicken and sausage dish with lots of calories and carbs. Try it you never had it before but a 2 people portion actually serves 4 to 6 people. It is big!

Google to the rescue, check the links below and enjoy your trip.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Benidorm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0NlKHOW0Ug

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benidorm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g187525-Benidorm_Costa_Blanca_Alicante_Province_Valencian_Country-Vacations.html

http://www.alicante-spain.com/benidorm.html

IrishgirlinSpain

I've been living in the very south of Spain for over a year now and I just watched what the locals do...most of whom are very slim! Although there is a great culture and eating and drinking they do only eat small amounts at a time. They use olive oil INSTEAD of butter and traditionally make things from scratch. You can def find a lot of pre-packed things in the supermarket and esp in Benidorm you'll prob find more familiar products. There is a lot of bread around, so be careful!