What to eat on holiday in Spain so you don't gain weight

 What to eat on holiday in Spain so you don't gain weight

   

The characteristics of Spanish cuisine

SpainAs in Italy, here too we find great differences from one region to another. But being a peninsula, the basic ingredients are fish and seafood.

Spain's colonial past has left its mark on the kitchen as well. Thus, the exploratory sailors of Spain returned with ingredients specific to the overseas world: potatoes, tomatoes, pepper or beans.

On the other hand, the contact with the Moorish civilization, especially in the south of the country, made most of the Spanish dishes derive from this cuisine. Moreover, the conflicts with the Moors turned the consumption of pork into a true declaration of nationality for the Spaniards. That's because Muslims don't eat pork.

One thing is certain, however: all these ingredients are prepared according to Mediterranean techniques and mixed with local ingredients. This is how Spaniards cook with a lot of olive oil, which can cost you many extra pounds.

I also use as a base for sofrito dishes, a tomato sauce with garlic, onion and olive oil and eat bread at almost every meal.

• Fortunately, they also have healthy habits, which I encourage you to adopt: Spaniards eat a lot of salads and prefer fruits or dairy products as dessert.

Lunch hours

If you go to Spain, then you must be prepared for a completely different meal schedule than ours. The Spaniards wake up late and have dinner in the middle of the night.

Their siesta is one of the longest in Europe, most often lasting between 13.30 and 16.30. Thus, the typical Spaniard will make lunch the most important meal of the day, sometimes followed by a nap. After this almost royal nap, he returns to work, where he will stay until late in the evening. Therefore, he will have dinner somewhere between 21.00 and 24.00.

There are many restaurants following the same model, which will serve you dinner after 20.00, so be prepared!

How do you deal with so many challenges if you are on holiday in Spain? Let's see how I can help you!

Breakfast

Spain As I told you, Spaniards are in no hurry to start their day, so they won't serve you breakfast too soon. Therefore, breakfast and lunch will be quite close to each other as a time slot, so you can skip the morning snack and drink your coffee for breakfast.

What can you choose from their wealth of food? I recommend Tortilla espanola, a potato omelette with a generous salad of fresh vegetables.

If you find them in the morning, you can opt for Tapas or Pinchos (as they are called in the north of the country). Be sure to combine snacks based on cheese, fish or seafood with a large salad of fresh vegetables.

Lunch

After such a breakfast, be careful not to miss lunch! For this, make your schedule in such a way that you are at the table until 13.30. Otherwise you risk not eating, and the Spanish day is long :).

You can start your lunch with Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, or, if you go with friends or family, you can choose Raciones. These are also a kind of tapas, but slightly larger portions, which you can share with those at the table. But be careful what you choose, because many of them are bathed in very high-calorie sauces.

You can continue your lunch with the famous Paella, a tasty mixture of rice and saffron. You can choose a simple one, with seafood, chicken or vegetables.

If you like seafood, then choose a seafood platter, which the Spaniards really know how to cook.

Snack

Because you can only have dinner late in the evening, I recommend an afternoon snack, so that you don't end up hungry for wolves late in the evening.

If you are in the north, you can drink a glass of wine and "bite" a few sea snails. They have few calories and I guarantee that you will have fun rummaging after them through the shell with a bold. If you are in any other part of Spain, you can have a glass of wine with the traditional green olives or even some tapas. 

Although their best-known drink is Sangria, Spaniards prefer plain wine or beer, leaving sangria more for tourists.

You can also opt for a fruit or, if you really need it, for Churro - the Spanish donut that entices you everywhere.

But DO NOT eat churro every day, if you stick to your figure!

Dinner

SpainThe above snack should keep you hungry until dinner, where you can opt for a fried fish. It would be best to choose grilled fish, not grilled.

In Spanish, a la plancha can mean both grilled and fried. It would be best to ask the waiter what is the way to prepare, so as not to have unpleasant surprises.

Another option would be Gazpacho, if you haven't already ordered this type of soup for lunch.

If you are at the sea and have dinner at a late hour, I challenge you to a swim in the sea! It cools you down, helps you burn calories and have a restful night.