Going to rural Spain - help!

[moideux]

Hi everyone, hubby & I are off to Spain next month for 2 weeks. We're getting ferry from Ireland to UK, then ferry onto Santander. Renting a house in a rural area on Portugese border. Strange as it may seem but we're never been to Spain before. Hopefully we will BBQ a lot, but I'm really worried about what to choose if eating out!!! AND to make matters worse, we have no spanish. I want to be as careful as possible. Any thoughts or ideas would be really appreciated. Obviously I'll bring Frylight, Bovril but won't be able to take chilled food. From what I've learned, Spain is very like France in that they don't seem to have low-fat products much. Thanks, Marian x

 

[emma-louise]

hi hun, i didnt want to just read and disappear but i dont really have anything useful to say except it might be worth having a chat with fillymum from some of her posts ive read she lives in quite a rural part of spain so she might have some advice for you hun? whatever happens, have a lovely time and enjoy your holidays xx

 

[moideux]

Thanks a mil - really appreciate your reply :hug99:

 

[Meli]

I'm off to Spain in 8 days and I'm taking along some things with me as I'm not sure if I'll get them there and I have extra space in y suitcase (ie- AH Cous Cous, Alpen Lights, Ryvita CrackerBread, Splenda tablets, Green Lemon tea).
When eating out you should look out for anything that says "asado" or "a la parilla" as these will be healthier options. There was a really good section on holidaying in Spain on the SW website which also gave great advice especially when eating out. Will see if I can find it for you.
Have a great time!

 

[Meli]

This is the page I was talking about which specifically talks about food in Spain:

Lifeline Online - log on.

 

[atcer28]

Ideally it is probably worth trying to find a hypermarket in a town nearby to buy some lower fat options as you won't find many options in the smaller supermarkets. What about taking some low fat salad dressing as well? Grilled fish or meat is probably the safest bet as most things have a lot of olive oil in. A la plancha also means grilled. Why don't you buy a menu translator book from amazon? I think the one I bought was only a couple of pounds.

 

[emma-louise]

aceite is oil hun just so you can avoid that if poss xx

 

[moideux]

I'm off to Spain in 8 days and I'm taking along some things with me as I'm not sure if I'll get them there and I have extra space in y suitcase (ie- AH Cous Cous, Alpen Lights, Ryvita CrackerBread, Splenda tablets, Green Lemon tea).
When eating out you should look out for anything that says "asado" or "a la parilla" as these will be healthier options. There was a really good section on holidaying in Spain on the SW website which also gave great advice especially when eating out. Will see if I can find it for you.
Have a great time!

Great advice, I really appreciate it thank you! ps I haven't achieved the ability to 'thank you' so please take is as done

 

[moideux]

Ideally it is probably worth trying to find a hypermarket in a town nearby to buy some lower fat options as you won't find many options in the smaller supermarkets. What about taking some low fat salad dressing as well? Grilled fish or meat is probably the safest bet as most things have a lot of olive oil in. A la plancha also means grilled. Why don't you buy a menu translator book from amazon? I think the one I bought was only a couple of pounds.

Again, great advice and thank you! I mentioned in previous post that I haven't achieved the ability to 'thank you' so please take is as done

 

[poweris3]

Aw good luck staying on plan in spain... I'm sure you will be fine, as someone else said, find a hypermarket and stock up on low fat healthy options.

I've never been to Spain either but if it is anything like the EU countries we went through en-route to Bulgaria some things (such as fresh milk) will be a struggle... Just look out for the percentages of fat in diary products and use your best judgement...

Hope you have a lovely holiday... and I wouldn't worry too much about SW, holidays are for letting your hair down... just keep the plan in mind and be sensible..

xx