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a vegan pilgrim.....problem?

A

ajp

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Sept-October (2009), Sept-Oct (2013)
I am starting my second camino in September /13. Since walking the camino in 2009, I have become a vegan. I ate everything and anything last time out, now as a vegan, I am expecting some new challenges in finding food and some variety ( salads are great but can be monotonous if that is all there is). Has anyone who is vegan walked the camino recently and give me some comments or suggestions? Thanks.

AlanP
 
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NoQ: Thanks for that information, I have just spent some time checking out that Happy Cow website and it is excellent!

Alan
 
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Pilgrims are from Mars and Vegans are from Goodness only knows where. Most Spanish vegetable soups have a nice chunk of pork fatback to add flavor, this small chunk of meat is not considered meat when you make soup - a problem for vegans and we Jewish pilgrims; Spanish omelet - onions tomatoes perhaps peppers but maybe just maybe cooked in lard so it won't stick to the pan; bacala, the ubiquitous and expensive cod often cooked with just a bit a tiny amount of bacon, if you don't cook for you don't cook for yourself well forget about vegan the Spanish are not less than forthright, the North American mind is incomprehensible to them-try ordering decaff coffee with soy milk.
 
Scruffy 1- a vegan or plant based diet does not include diary products or fish so the ubiquitous Tortilla española will not work. Ensalada mixta will also be a problem unless you tell them no eggs or tuna but then you will miss a protein source.

Cooking on your own will be the best bet- I always had a can of garbanzos with me and would pick up fresh salad fixings along the way, nuts, etc. The lentil soup is wonderful but as Scruffy 1 mentioned the Spanish often throw in ham or sausage for the flavor. When I was a hospitalera in Grañón we made two versions, one for the vegans/vegetarians. The meat eaters were surprised how tasty my version was!

I am not strict when traveling and will eat dairy products so I would say that you will have to do some planning.

Good luck and let us know how you do.
 
I'm neither a vegetarian nor a vegan myself, but I have cooked for them several times (soy-free !! I hate the stuff), and I think you'll mostly have not many problems.

Though, hmmmmm, simply for a question of protein, you might want to consider going vegetarian rather than vegan on the Camino. There are many albergues where you will be able to cook yourself a fully vegetable meal, and many protein-rich vegetables are very popular and therefore easily found in Spain, but your muscles will be VERY hungry for protein, so that you might want to relax your standards in favour of some dairy and especially eggs ; both for breakfast purposes and for the ubiquitous protein-rich tortillas.
 
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Believing that a PURE vegan diet is low in protein has been debunked a long time ago. Too much protein on the other hand is a real problem. I think this post is not on giving nutritional advice to vegans or telling us to RELAX our beliefs but rather helping us to find places where we can eat or what meals are typically like.
 


Thanks! I love garbonzo beans! And I am sure rice is a plenty too! And Salads. I plan on doing a lot of my own meal preps...
 


Thanks for the great links! I will check them out!
 
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