Vegetarians on the Camino

[Debilicious]

Hi there,
I’m wanting to find out about the availability of vegetarian foods along the trail. Things like lentils/beans/chick peas, oats/muesli, rice/quinoa/couscous, nuts, seeds etc. Well proteins mostly!!!
Can anyone advise please

Can you buy these foods elsewhere and post to Albergue if required?
I'm keen to mostly cook for myself is this feasible?

Cheers

[geraldkelly]

Hi Debilicious!

I'm not a veggi but I can offer you my observations anyway.

Cooking for yourself is doable because many albergues have kitchens. Except in Galicia where most don't (or have kitchens which doen't work).

The Spanish diet includes loads of lentils, chick peas (and various other beans) and rice, so all of these are commonly available even in villages. Nuts are also commonly available (although often fried and heavily salted).

There are a few veggi restaurants in the bigger towns such as Pamplona and Burgos and one veggi albergue in La Faba.

Ger

[Debilicious]

Oh great, thanks, that is welcoming news.

[nicksloanz]

I spoke to a vegan girl on the trail and she was managing ok, mostly cooking for herself. Some days she had to eat just bread, and it's almost always white bread.

Take some oatcakes or something, they make a nice change anyway and serve as useful emergency food.

[Debilicious]

Oh right - yeah vegan requirements are more strict. Always a good idea to have emergency rations. Thanks heaps

[nicksloanz]

Oh and you don't need to post food to the albergues. Use your supplies and top up when you can when you pass a shop (almost every day). Some dried pasta or something doesn't cost much in weight.

[Bix]

I am vegan and have been a bit concerned with the availability of suitable food. I thought that a lot of Spanish bean stews etc are cooked in a meat stock. I had resigned myself to not having much food. tins of beans are heavy. Actually, I am training with a backpack with tins of beans....

[Leslie]

Hi bix,

good to see you got signed in ok.

there is a good supply of fruit and veg along the way, also in many albergures you can cook for yourself, pasta etc. The Spanish diet is quite full of meets, but you will find enough to eat not just the choice you are used to at home.

[Bix]

Thank you Leslie, I think I was feeling very glum yesterday. We have been snowed in for the past week, but the training has been going well! When I went to Turkey I thought there would be little for me to eat and I was very wrong! Lots of yummy veg dishes, salads and fruit. I had heard though that the Spanish like a lot of vegetables with meat.
I had not realised before that you can do your own cooking.