Bread Cheese and Meat, Oh my!

[Joe Query]

Hello Pilgrims!
We are a month out from our month long journey and I am finally feeling those butterflies.
Our family of four (two kids ages 4 and 2, and ourselves) have decided to take a 27 day journey and start in San Sebastian and end in Llandes.
It is clear the Pilgirms are well taken care of, however I am curious about the variety and ease of accessing food.
While we can all live on bread and cheese, it is apparent that 27 days of it will definitely mess with our health.
We won't be staying in Albergues (you're welcome!) and we haven't eaten meat since 2008.
Can anyone please give insight to the food along the way?
Thank you in advance, our littles and my hearburn prone husband appreciate it!

 

[Bradypus]

While we can all live on bread and cheese, it is apparent that 27 days of it will definitely mess with our health.
We won't be staying in Albergues (you're welcome!) and we haven't eaten meat since 2008.
Can anyone please give insight to the food along the way?

Do you eat fish or shellfish? If so you will have plenty of options there. A huge part of the Spanish diet and available as an option in almost every menu del dia or menu peregrino. Lots of egg dishes available too - you may eventually get fed up of tortilla but it is very filling and widely available Also a lot of pulses: beans, chickpeas and lentils in a range of soups or in sauces as a starter or main dish. Plus plenty of supermarkets selling the same plus a wide range of cheese, yoghurt, fruit, sweet stuff,..... Personally I love meat dishes in Spain but I would have no fear of starving or malnutrition if for some reason I had to give them up

 

[VNwalking]

it is apparent that 27 days of it will definitely mess with our health.

You can relax, @ Joe Query, because actually, no it won't. The body adapts. At least, that's been my experience - and I'm a vegetarian. Which is not to say that bread and cheese all the time is my preference. It's not. But if you are fussy on the Camino, you suffer, and preference is merely that. Negotiable.
It does take a little extra effort to find vegetarian food but it's getting easier every year. And go to any tienda if you feel the need for some fresh veggies and variety. It's all there, in abundance. A packed lunch of salad with tomatoes, olives, and whatever else is available is delicious. And nutritious.

 

[MinaKamina]

It doesn't have to be bread and cheese all the way. Make a salad for lunch with chick peas or lentils and add what vegetables and other options are available. Mayonnaise comes in tubes, and there are small cans of olive oil. If you know how to make hummus, hummus it is, and if you don't know that yet, it is easy!
Spanish gazpacho, cold vegetable tomato soup, is sold in cartons.

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

The night before, we'd find the local market (no matter how small). In the morning, we'd stop and pick up fresh fruit, chocolate, nuts, etc. Maybe this will work for you, too. Buen Camino!

 

[Heather Abel]

Hello Pilgrims!
We are a month out from our month long journey and I am finally feeling those butterflies.
Our family of four (two kids ages 4 and 2, and ourselves) have decided to take a 27 day journey and start in San Sebastian and end in Llandes.
It is clear the Pilgirms are well taken care of, however I am curious about the variety and ease of accessing food.
While we can all live on bread and cheese, it is apparent that 27 days of it will definitely mess with our health.
We won't be staying in Albergues (you're welcome!) and we haven't eaten meat since 2008.
Can anyone please give insight to the food along the way?
Thank you in advance, our littles and my hearburn prone husband appreciate it!

Hello fellow vegetarians!
I walked the CF last year and did stay in alburgues which were mostly really nice and helpful and provided a pilgrim's meal or there was one nearby usually. What i thought were vegetable soups , I was later informed, were all made with meat bone stock so the gorgeous sopas de bonas and lentejas all had meat in. I eventually gave up trying to be veggie, really appreciated their sharing and generous spirit, albeit not what I usually eat and got on with it. It's a pilgrimage. My digestion coped absolutely fine and when I returned, I returned to being veggie no problem. Perhaps it was a miracle! Just kidding! I don't mind if I never see a tortilla again but I survived and so will you. What a fantastic experience for your family. We have such luxury in the west but a lot of these places in Spain are very poor and they eat what they have. No organic veg to be found because it's all on British supermarket shelves!!! Good luck! Buen Camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

This may help?

Lunch on the Camino

Breakfast on the Camino

Tapas and Pinchos

 

[classicalfan]

This may help?

Lunch on the Camino

Breakfast on the Camino

Tapas and Pinchos

This is amazing info - thank you!

 

[JillGat]

I tend toward vegetarianism at home, but am an opportunistic browser and grazer when I travel (so as not to miss local specialidades). I would think picnics at lunch and finding albergue kitchens to cook your own food from the market each day would work.

Oh, wait, not sure how that would work if you're not staying in albergues...

 

[BryanBailey]

Hello Pilgrims!
We are a month out from our month long journey and I am finally feeling those butterflies.
Our family of four (two kids ages 4 and 2, and ourselves) have decided to take a 27 day journey and start in San Sebastian and end in Llandes.
It is clear the Pilgirms are well taken care of, however I am curious about the variety and ease of accessing food.
While we can all live on bread and cheese, it is apparent that 27 days of it will definitely mess with our health.
We won't be staying in Albergues (you're welcome!) and we haven't eaten meat since 2008.
Can anyone please give insight to the food along the way?
Thank you in advance, our littles and my hearburn prone husband appreciate it!

The ‘HappyCow’ app will help you in the larger towns. For the Camino Frances there is a ‘The Vegetarian Way’ list that can be found on www. heartofthecamino.com. I am not aware of anything similar on the Norte.