I'm not really a snob about food, I'll eat almost anything. Every Tuesday I eat lunch at a teacher's house and they always ask me if there's anything I don't like, or is bacalao ok? My response is always "Me encanta comida, no hay mucho que no me gusta comer. No preocupes." (I love food, there's not much that I don't like to eat. Don't worry) Always with a huge grin. Because it's true, I love to try new food, I love to eat and I'm lucky enough to have a body that goes through it quickly and without a problem.
But let me step onto my soapbox for a minute. I do what I call "eating consciously". I keep track of what I'm eating and I don't sweat it when I eat an ice cream or drink a soda, but I make sure not to do it a lot. I try to load my body with good, clean healthy fuel from fresh fruits, vegetables, juices and water. How this works out in Spain is that I eat extremely healthy when I'm at home and I don't really sweat it when I go to someone else's house and load up on carbs and protein. (Did you know that meat takes at least 3 days to break down in your stomach? Eww. nAnd when I was in the states I ate meat probably twice a day. That's way too much.)
But it's easy to be healthier in Spain, despite the huge quantity of bread, meat, cheese, potatoes and salt. The vegetables here are outstanding. The flavor bursts from them like the finale at a fireworks show. And they're CHEAP. Really cheap. I bought this entire load of verduras (vegetables), un pañuelo (a scarf), zapatillas (house shoes), una camisa (a shirt) and medias (tights) for 21 euros. *Bows enthusiastically* Now that is shopping. :D
Those are cherries people. 1/2 kilo for 2 euros! That monstrous cauliflower you see cost me 1 euro. The celery and parsley was given to me. I also bought an orange and 2 plums in that budget, but they were my breakfast. And every single one of them tastes better than anything I've ever eaten in the states. The reason that the produce tastes so good is because it's local. They didn't have to pick it while it was green just for it to arrive without rotting. They pick them fresh, you buy them quickly, and not only do you get a great tasting veggie but so many more vitamins.
During Christmas I talked to a New Yorker that was working here in Spain (for 18 years now) as a nutrition researcher. He said that people are suffering from mal-nutrition and they don't even know it. Let's think about a potato. A potato doesn't have very many vitamins and something like 90% of them are in the skin. The vitamins first start to leave the potato when we pick it, and we pick them early, so they haven't even reached their peak. This is why they don't have as much flavor. We buy them 4 days later and they've been losing vitamins the entire time. Then they sit in our pantry for a while. Then we finally decide to cook it and we first peel it, then fry it. What's left? A bunch of fat and carbs that didn't do anything for your health. Vitamins, people!! You have to get your vitamins!
Spanish people are the worst too. I've only very rarely seen an american peel their apple but I see it all the time in Spain. Their pears, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, even squash they'll peel. The vitamins are where the color is. The more intense the color, the more vitamins. That's almost always the peel.
And they can't imagine eating most vegetables crudas. My favorite snack here is vegetables with hummus. It's quick, easy, delicious, healthy. When Spanish people come over here and see me eating that they think I'm really strange. But don't worry, I've got Lucía hooked, she loves it. :)
I will say that they almost religiously eat a piece of fruit after lunch (la comida) which I actually struggle to do. I just never feel like fruit after a heavy meal.
So how shall we conclude this conversation? How about this:
Have I lost weight? Hell yes. Bring on the Bikini, Spain, I'm ready. :D
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