• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Vegetarians and 'Pilgrim Menus'

windeatt

Active Member
I'm not vegetarian but I'm going with someone who is. And she doesn't "do cooking" so the good advice already on this website is not relevant.

I've read the Tim Moore book and he suggests that the Pilgrim menu in Spain consists nearly always of 'lomo' and chips followed by flan. Have any vegetarians tried asking for just the chips bit? Or a tortilla instead? 'Flan' would be acceptable of course.

Any vegetarians out there with any experiences to share? And of Pilgrim Menus in France?

P.S. I haven't lived in Spain for over 30 years so things will doubtless have changed but in the those days 'lomo' was usually horsemeat (which I have to confess that I quite liked).
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Vegetarians in Spain

I am a vegetarian and have done two caminos in Spain (as well as one through France and the VF in Italy.) I didn't have too much trouble in France and Italy but Spain is a bit difficult as they are passionate carnivors!
I ate lots of 'ensalda' - sin tuna - (they don't seem to think that tuna is fish so add it to salads and sandwiches) - lots of fruit, nuts, chips, flan, ice cream and, of course, bocadillas.
I also bought those little instant pasta dinners that come in plastic containers where you just add hot water, tinned or bottled veges and cup of soups. Would never eat those at home but it was better than starving on the meseta! Even if your friend doesn't do cooking she could take a little spiral immersion heater and cup with her. I'm sure she won't mind boiling water in a mug so that she can have vegetable soups and veg pastas with fresh breads and cheese.
It isn't easy being a vegetarian in Spain but she won't starve!
 
Menus

Thanks, Sil. The tip about salad without tuna will be useful. She has been to Spain before (and lived on bread and cheese - or 'pan con tomate sin jamon'. )

But I was especially wondering about the 'Pilgrim Menus'. The thing is I fancy going out for a daily one of these myself and was wondering how easy it would be for her to come with me and eat part of it or whether I would have to go on my own.

I like the sound of the immersion heater - I've never seen one - but I assume there is something on this website somewhere . . . ?
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Vegetarians

You can buy an immersion heater from Amazon.com for about $5. They also sell a mug for about $11 but an ordinary enamel camping mug will do.
 
immersion heater

Interesting that you cannot seem to be able to buy these for shipping to the UK. They must be banned here as unsafe. I remember a friend had one years ago and we used it in our bedsit. But I have not seen them for decades.

Maybe I'll look out for one in France when we get there.

Sandra
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Immersion heaters

Hi Sandy,
You can get one that fits into a cigarette lighter socket from Outdoorgear.co.uk for £4.99
http://www.outdoorgear.co.uk

Or you can get one from Ebay for £1.99

Perhaps they can be converted to work off electricity?
 
I've walked the camino with a vegetarian and found that she was frequently able to eat the pilgrim's menu by getting two "first course" selections (salad and soup or salad and menestra de verduras (a vegetable medley kind of thing that can be very good)). If that didn't work, she was usually able to get a substitution with some sort of omlette, either with vegetables, cheese, or both. One thing to be on the lookout for, though, is that many of the most delicious vegetable dishes are flavored with little pieces of cured ham. As Sil says, the Spaniards are serious carnivores! But we never found a pilgrim's menu that couldn't be adjusted to work for a vegetarian.
 
It depends what you understand by vegetarian. If it is only meat you don't eat, so no problem. Walked the Camino and had almost always fish or tortilla on the "pilgrim menus". It happened once or twice that we had to choose between a sandwich with ham or nothing at all, but we didn't starve. Food is necessary but not that important on the Camino, you'll always manage to find a solution.
Buen Camino, Jupp
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
If you don't already it might be good to learn a little Spanish to explain exactly what you can and can't eat. Other people above have mentioned that the Spanish are serious carnivores, and don't consider ham or tuna to be meat or fish.

A good cover-all phrase would be something like "Soy vegetariano/a. No como carne ni jamon ni pescado ni atun" (I'm vegetarian, I don't eat meat or ham or fish or tuna.) In French it would be "Je suis vegetarien/ne. Je ne mange pas de la viande, ni du jambon, ni du poisson, ni du ton"

(My French isn't very good so maybe someone would be good enough to correct it)
 
Totally agree with all of the above... Tuna seems to live amongst all salad plants!!!

Tim Moore was quite right. Lomo is abundant, as is flan. Steer clear of the flan, not only because it's got a lifetime's supply of gelatine, but because it's bloody disgusting!!! :?
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
Flan and Lomo

Flan - if home-made - is simply delicious. Just baked eggs and milk with a brown sugar glaze (i.e. egg custard/creme caramel). But there is lots of packet stuff around that I agree is not nice.

Lomo - three decades ago in Spain was often horsemeat. A bit chewy but quite tasty. It had a faint purple tinge. But, now, I hope it is actually 'lomo' and real pork tenderloin? I'll find out.
 
Yes, I agree with all of you ... I am vegetarian and when I walked the Frances I lived mostly on the omelettes, bocadillos con queso, macarones and ensalata. The lentil dishes smell delicious, but they did have bits of mystery meat in them. So no, I didn't starve. Not much variety though. On the other hand, if you're a vegan, getting enough to eat could be a problem.
 

Most read last week in this forum

Could I ask what may be naive question. This will be my 1st Camino and I will be mostly staying in alberques. Could you please explain the bathroom/shower etiquette to me? I have no idea what...
Do i need both these apps? I want to spend as little time my device as possible so if one app will do fine that’s my preference.
I was planning to document my journey through my blog (or Vlog, as I would probably take lots of videos). I was thinking of using my iPhone, and I ordered a foldable keyboard to facilitate typing...
I did the Norte in 2017. This set off a wild ride of changes in life - shifting many things. I am now at a new plateau and it feels like the right time to do Camino #2, this time the...
Hi to all, I'm looking for a really, really good place (an artist) to get a Tattoo in Santiago, it could be before Santiago but I presume in Santiago I will be ready to have my first one. The...
My daughter and I will be on the Portuguese on June and July starting in Lisbon. We will arrive in Porto about the 27th of June. We want to stay for three nights. Can we stay in an albergue for...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top