La Comida de España

The food in Spain is amazing!!!!

Just like in Chile, lunch is the biggest meal.  However, the lunch in Spain is in my opinion much bigger.  In general, I feel that Spaniards eat much healthier than Chileans and eat more.  Eating in Spain is a huge part of the culture.  The social life is commonly centered around delicious food.  When I was in Chile, I honestly felt like many women had fears of eating in public.  When I was eating dinner with my soccer team, the boyfriend of our captain commented that he had never seen girls eat so much!  I was shocked.  He said that he rarely sees women eat a lot in general and that many eat additional food in their rooms in private.  Since the food in Chile is not the healthiest over all, and many women do not exercise regularly, I believe that Chilean women control their weight by limiting the amount of food consumed.

Unlike Chile, Spanish women eat just as much as Spanish men and everyone enjoys good quality food.  Spain highly values extra virgen olive oil, fish, vegetables, and fruits.  One of the most recommendable diets in the world, the Spanish diet is healthy and well balanced.  I also love that people here just love food.  Spaniards love chocolate and are not afraid to indulge.  With a healthy attitude towards food, and active life styles of walking or biking everywhere (at least in Sevilla), Spaniards tend to be thin and fit.

Even though the Spaniard diet is fantastic, I do criticize the amount of bread I eat here and the small breakfast.  Sometimes I feel like I eat a loaf of bread every day.  I also wish I could eat yogurt or fruit for breakfast instead of two big slices of bread every morning.

The type of food varies from region to region of Spain.  In general for lunch, Spaniards eat a soup, salad, or small appetizer first, then a big dish, and then a fruit or yogurt for desert.

In Andalusia, gazpacho is famously delicious.  Other appetizers I commonly have in Spain are fried fish, sardines, chorizo (spicy sausage) and bread, and empanadillas (similar to empanadas).  Typical big dishes are fried fish and potatoes or french fries, paella, sea-food cazuela, and eggs and chorizo with potatoes.  There is a such a variety of dishes, I generally have a new dish every lunch.  After the main dish, we have kiwi, orange, apple, pear, or yogurt.

For dinner, we eat something smaller, such as salad (with tuna, pomegranates, lettuce, and olive oil), or croquetas (fried or oven baked potato with meat or seafood or cheese), or cheese and chorizo and bread.  After dinner we have another fruit or yogurt.

When I go out to eat, I love sharing tapas (small appetizers) with friends.  We order a variety of great small dishes and can spend hours eating and drinking together.

People generally do not eat by themselves in Spain.  When people go to work with out a packed lunch, they go to a restaurant to eat lunch with friends.  People do not run around eating food in the street like Americans.  Spaniards take time out of their day to enjoy food in the social company of others.