A few of my friends back in the States keep asking me to send them pictures of what I am eating while in Spain. Unfortunately, I am terrible at food presentation and not great at food photography either. The only two people I fearlessly send every food picture to are my parents. But since I have my food history all documented in our group chat, I decided that I would instead do a quick post that covers what I have eaten this past week, home-cooked or not, to give a written snapshot of my life. In the best case scenario, this post will inspire you to try some new recipes or ingredients. Worst case, you get a little hungry. I promise a strictly restaurant-oriented post will come in the future when I have more time to explore, refine my food photography skills, and make comparisons.

I have been trying to create meals that are simple, healthy, vegetable-heavy, and do not use dairy products. I hope these recipes reflect these values well!

Breakfast

It’s cold season here in Madrid, so I took it upon myself to fill up on as much Vitamin C as humanly possible.

When I woke up late:

• 2-3 clementines
• 3-4 oatmeal/wheat meal digestive crackers

When I woke up early:

• 2/3 cup overnight oats with 2/3 cup almond milk, a sprinkle of craisins, and a hefty pour of chia seeds prepared the night before; topped with a sprinkle of pre-shelled sunflower seeds and 1/2 tablespoon peanut butter when plating day of
• 1 plum

Home-Cooked Lunch and Dinner

The fresh proteins I purchased this week were salmon, pork meatballs, and eggs. Meanwhile, the fresh vegetables I purchased this week were broccoli and onion. Since I used some ingredients that I have had in my cabinet for a while, I cannot do a precise cost analysis. That being said, I spend between 21-28 euros per week on groceries.

Fried rice [3 servings]:

• Carb: 1 cup brown rice – it is best to cook the rice in advance and have it sit for at least 6 hours in the fridge so it is more conducive to crisping up in the pan!
• Vegetables: 1 small head of broccoli, frozen peas (as much or as little as you would like), 1 onion
• Protein: 2 eggs, scrambled; 2 salmon filets
• Other: 2 cloves garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), turmeric, paprika

I cooked the rice separately from the salmon and simply placed the salmon on top when done. To cook the rice, I started with the rice, soy sauce, and sesame oil in one pan and cooked the onion and garlic in a separate pan with a dash of EVOO. Once the onion and garlic were mostly cooked, I added them to the rice with the frozen peas so that they could finish crisping up together. I also sauteed the broccoli separately before combining with the rice/onion mixture just so I could make sure it was not raw but also not be cooking for so long that it lost its color. To add eggs to fried rice, I usually make a little hole in the pan, crack an egg into it, and scramble it inside of there.

This dish tasted like a healthier and more filling version of a salmon roll. I cooked my salmon with turmeric and paprika because…why not? They are some of the most beneficial spices out there. For my third serving, I just fried an over easy egg as my protein source since I had no more salmon.

Pasta [2 servings]:

• Carb: 2 servings penne lisce, or penne with no ridges on the outside (simply known as macarrones in Spain)
• Vegetables: 1 large jar of tomate frito (tomato sauce), 100g frozen spinach, 1 small head of broccoli
• Protein: 8 pork meatballs
• Other: 2 cloves garlic, garlic salt, black pepper

I cooked the pasta in one pot and sauteed the pork meatballs and garlic in a separate pot first before draining the fat and adding the tomato sauce, spinach, and broccoli. I never eat pasta without a boatload of vegetables anymore.

Avocado toast [1 serving]:

• Carb: 2 slices rye bread
• Fat: 1 small avocado
• Protein: 2 eggs, over easy
• Other: garlic salt, black pepper, paprika

I will be honest, this was dying for a squeeze of lime and Everything But the Bagel seasoning.

Tomato rice with pork [1 serving]:

• Carb: leftover brown rice (from when I made fried rice)
• Vegetables: leftover tomato sauce (from when I made pasta), 1/2 onion
• Protein: 4 leftover pork meatballs (from when I made pasta)
• Other: garlic powder

I sauteed the onion first before adding the rice and tomato sauce. I cooked the meatballs in a separate pan so that I could easily drain the fat.

Lentils [2 servings]:

• Carb/Protein: 1 cup lentils cooked in 1 cup chicken broth
• Vegetables: 1 small head of broccoli, 1/2 onion
• Other: 3 cloves garlic, EVOO, garlic salt, black pepper, turmeric, paprika

Similar to the fried rice, I briefly sauteed the onion, garlic, and broccoli with EVOO separately before combining with the lentils. TIP: the longer you soak the lentils in advance, the quicker they take to cook in the pot.

For my first serving, I topped it with an over easy egg for some added protein. Definitely not what I would consider a normal thing to have with lentils, but alas!

Restaurant Meals

Tapas at El Tigre del Norte:

• Tinto de verano
• Sliced tortilla de patata on bread
• 2 types of jamón (ham) on bread
• Mushroom cap filled with garlic and ham on bread
• Croquetas
• Patatas bravas
• Alitas de pollo (chicken wings)

The article picture is from this place! I was sad to find out it is a rather touristy place because 5 euros goes a long way here.

Brunch at Mür Café:

• Ginger green tea
• Orange juice
• Yogurt cup with granola
• Eggs benedict

Most brunch places here give you both a hot drink and a cold drink, which I really appreciate. My bill was 16,50 euros.

Lunch at Ramen Shifu:

• Hot green tea with honey
• Kimchi (split with friends)
• Edamame (split with friends)
• Shoyu ramen with 200g meat

There are so many ramen places in Madrid; I look forward to trying more! My bill came out to about 13 euros.

Desserts

Normally, I just eat a piece of fruit post-lunch or dinner because I do not have a sweet tooth. However, this being the week of Halloween, I also indulged in some sweet treats, including chocolate crinkle cookies, baked by my friends; mantecados, a traditional dessert I bought while in Cuenca the weekend before; and pop rocks that I bought from Flying Tiger.

And there you have it! I love connecting with people over food, so I hope that you understand me a little better from reading this article. If you have a recipe to share, leave a comment or feel free to reach out to me through other means.

Note: views are my own and do not reflect those of The Fulbright Program or La Comisión Fulbright de España.