{"id":42881,"date":"2015-04-12T09:57:33","date_gmt":"2015-04-12T07:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=42881"},"modified":"2019-01-28T01:45:39","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T00:45:39","slug":"vegan-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/vegan-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Vegan in Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"

It takes a fair bit of commitment, not to mention money, to spend time in Spain as a vegan<\/strong>. Well, unless you are a fruitarian and then it’s a piece of (fruit) cake. “Soy vegano\/a” (I\u2019m vegan<\/strong>) may be met with incredulous looks at more traditional Spanish restaurants, where meat, fish and\/or cheese will be the center of many of the dishes. If you say that you are a vegetarian<\/strong> (soy vegetarian\/a) you may be offered something with fish or even jamon (ham), but not too often. Spain is a country of meat, fish, white bread, cheese and pastries. There are vegetarian and vegan restaurants<\/strong> in Barcelona and Madrid and a few other main cities, but less so in smaller cities. However, as with any cities, once you find a markets where you can buy your ingredients and some restaurants you can count on to fit your dietary needs, you’ll be all set.<\/p>\n

Vegan and vegetarian eating in Barcelona<\/h2>\n

Eating outside of vegan<\/a> or vegetarian restaurants<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>may be\u00a0more difficult. Spanish fare is very much based on animal products, and the most traditional tapas menu may not have much of interest to vegans, but other restaurants should have options that fit to your needs. If you are at a more traditional place, the delicacy known as\u00a0pan con tomate<\/a><\/strong> (bread and tomato) is often tasty, and the traditional\u00a0patatas bravas<\/strong><\/a> (spicy potatoes) is another staple of the typical tapas menu, but you might want to ensure that the oil is non-animal and hasn\u2019t been used to cook items of a non-vegan friendly<\/strong> nature. However, seeing as Barcelona is a large and trendy city, there are a variety of tapas and meals that use eggplant, chickpeas, hummus, substitute meats such as jackfruit, and delicious vegetables, and lots of restaurants that adapt to a vegan and vegetarian diet.<\/p>\n

Related article:\u00a0Molt Veg: Barcelona\u2019s raw and vegan culinary school<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

Self-catering, naturally, will offer more food options. There\u2019s a good range of vegetables to be found \u2013 generally a good few\u00a0varieties of lettuce, loads of different types of tomatoes, knobby cucumbers, red and green peppers, potatoes, onions and the lovely source of fat that is the avocado. These can be found everywhere from supermarkets to convenience stores and markets. For a more inspiring choice, large markets<\/a><\/strong>, such as\u00a0La Boqueria<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>on La Rambla, are the best bet. Here you can buy imported exotic fruits, whole young coconuts, kale, chilies, and all sorts of delicacies.\u00a0Markets<\/strong> are a good place to pick up cheaper items and luckily, Spanish markets are pretty spectacular places – just avoid looking at the fish and meat sections if they make you squeamish.<\/p>\n

Photo via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

The best supermarket, but definitely\u00a0not the cheapest, is Carrefour. The larger stores even have a small organic\/healthy section where you can pick up substitute milks such as soy and almond milk and organic and vegan<\/strong> cookies and other desserts. Your best resource for anything other than olive oil and vegetables in Catalonia is the chain of organic supermarkets<\/strong> \u2013 Veritas<\/a><\/strong>. Here you can pick up premium priced oils, seaweeds, organic rice and pasta, tofu products, chocolate, herbal teas, organic coffees, potato chips and eco-friendly washing products and cosmetics such as Weleda. They generally also have a small variety of baked goods. It\u2019s not a cheap place to shop, but for alternate milk and other staples, it\u2019s great to have around.\u00a0Most cities and small towns tend to have at least one little\u00a0independent organic shop that sells the usual range of gluten free breads and pastas, soy and rice milk, nuts, seaweeds, agave syrup, organic<\/strong> sugars and herbal teas.<\/p>\n

Related article:\u00a0Ale&Hop: craft beer and vegetarian meals in El Born<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Items like spirulina, agave, hemp seed, maca, cacao and coconut oil, were all fairly hard to come by up until recently, but now are thankfully on the rise. Nuts and dates are available in markets, but in supermarkets they are generally limited to a few basic types. It\u2019s worth locating the nearest market and buying in bulk. Finding places outside of big cities, such as Barcelona, Madrid, that offer soy milk in drinks can be a little harder, but you shouldn’t have too much trouble. When ordering salads, explain that you want it without tuna or egg, and with dairy-free dressing. Add in a raci\u00f3n (portion) of pan con tomate, and you have a vegan<\/strong> meal!<\/p>\n

Looking for an apartment<\/strong> in Barcelona? ShBarcelona<\/a><\/strong> is the answer!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n 2.4<\/strong>\n \/<\/span>\n 5<\/strong>\n (<\/span>\n 11<\/strong>\n \n votes <\/span>\n )<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It takes a fair bit of commitment, not to mention money, to spend time in Spain as a vegan. Well, unless you are a fruitarian and then it’s a piece of (fruit) cake. “Soy vegano\/a” (I\u2019m vegan) may be met with incredulous looks at more traditional Spanish restaurants, where meat, fish and\/or cheese will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":42883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[2110,2113,2122,2123,2112,1350,2111,2124,2121],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42881"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42881"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97660,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42881\/revisions\/97660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}