The post Eight Steps To Dining Out Like A Local In Spain appeared first on The Fine Food Magazine .
]]>Dining times here in Spain are much later than what you are may be used to. Lunch is usually between 2-4pm and dinner from 8.30pm onwards. Most restaurants will open at these times and close between the seatings to reset for dinner and give their own staff a chance to rest and eat, so if you are like me and like to eat an early dinner (6-8pm), this could be difficult to find unless you are in the centre of one of the big cities such as Madrid where kitchens are open all day. This is one of the biggest hardest cultural differences many expats find it difficult to adjust to.
Translated to “Menu of the Day”, you will see many chalkboards offering these outside most of the traditional Spanish restaurants at lunchtime. For a set price you can enjoy a starter, main course, dessert or coffee, a drink and bread. These can range from €9 up to around €15 depending where you are but are a common choice for most workers as it is usually a large meal which will set you up for the rest of the day. In Spain, lunch is considered their largest meal and dinner is often something smaller. Many attribute this as one of the main reasons why Spanish people enjoy such long life expectancy.
TOP TIP: Out with a group of 2 or more? Order “agua, vino y casera” which basically gives you a large bottle of water, a bottle of wine and a bottle of casera (a sweet fizzy soda water). This allows you to have more than one drink for the same price. Word of warning: Alcohol is prevalent throughout the day even during working hours, the drinking culture here is as common as going for a coffee (plus the prices are very reasonable, thanks to the many local brands of he country)
Coming from the UK I grew up on meals which consisted of meat, potatoes and vegetables. Here in Spain a portion of vegetables with your meal is quite uncommon and even hard to find as a side dish on most menus. Aside from a couple of pimientos de Padron (Small green peppers cooked in oil) or a side salad (iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion and tuna – yes tuna is a common ingredient in salads) the absence of vegetables on plates is very evident.
That said, potatoes is a main staple with most meat and fish dishes and a meal is always served with bread (but not butter).
TOP TIP: If you don’t want potatoes, it’s worth asking if they have an alternative as an accompaniment. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
One of the perks of living in Spain is undoubtedly the climate and the joy of eating in the sunshine even in March or October.
The streets and squares of Spain are lined with terrazas and it is tempting to choose to eat al fresco. However, if you do decide to sit here be aware that you could be charged a premium, something that isn’t always explained when you sit down and order.
Dining out in Spain is a very social experience, many locals will often meet for an aperitivo and then spend at least 2 hours eating lunch. After lunch is finished, it is common to order a “chupito” which usually would be something creamy, similar to a Baileys or something more herbal. In many restaurants, especially more traditional Spanish ones, you will be offered these for free. But after dinner is the time to order “copas”: Long drinks such as gin and tonic or rum and coke.
Unlike other cultures tipping is not something that is compulsory or expected here, and many could arguys meet e that as a result of this the customer service does not always meet the standard you’d desire. However, if you do feel you want to give something and the staff were particularly friendly and efficient then a handful of small change is more than enough.
Particularly in traditional bars where stools are placed at the counters or there is a large space to stand, you will start to notice serviettes or tissues on the floor, and I don’t mean just a few here and there. This was one of the most difficult things to adjust to and actually I still question it now. Someone once told me that if a someone is to throw one on the floor it is a sign of a good experience. This always confused me as there are bins at floor level, yet none of these were any-where close.
Spain is well known for giving out a small “tapa” for free when you order a drink. Now, depending where you are, you can experience very different things. Smaller offerings can include olives or crisps (chips) but this could also span to tortilla, potatoes or some sort meat or fish with bread.
TOP TIP: When going to a bar where you know you will order food, only order a drink to start and wait a while to suggest you are interested in food. By doing so, you are more likely to get that “free tapa” with your drink at the beginning, rather than risk missing out because the staff know you will be ordering food and don’t want to fill you up with a freebie.
Source: The Local
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]]>The post Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate appeared first on The Fine Food Magazine .
]]>Whenever an article floats around the Internet touting research that a “junk” food — whether it’s bacon or cheese or wine — is actually healthy, people go wild with excitement, regardless of the source or details. Unfortunately, those articles tend to be based on studies that do not include enough unbiased scientific evidence. But, since chocolate comes from a plant, you may be wondering if the rumored health benefits to one of nature’s yummiest desserts are actually true. Does dark chocolate actually have any health benefits?
Good news for chocoholics! There are a slew of health benefits and nutrients you can get from eating dark chocolate — bearing in mind that the higher the percentage of cocoa the chocolate contains, the more nutrients you will get. That said, you should know that eating a bar of chocolate is never the most efficient way to nourish your body, since chocolate bars are usually filled with sugar and fat — which are also what helps make them so yummy.
For one thing, most dark chocolate bars do not include any animal products (though some do include milk fat, so always make sure to check ingredients). In those instances, eating dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate will make your treat a bit less unhealthy, since the dairy added to milk chocolate bars contains cholesterol, as well as mammalian hormones. So if you have high cholesterol, are looking to reduce your consumption of dairy, are considering a vegan lifestyle, or want a slightly healthier chocolate bar, always opt for dark chocolate.
Interestingly, dark chocolate contains a few key nutrients for our bodies. For example, a 100-gram bar of Lindt’s 85 percent cocoa extra chocolate contains about 15 grams of fiber, 12.5 grams of protein, and 62.5 percent of your daily value of iron — those are pretty significant amounts. Healthline noted that dark chocolate also contains magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc.
That said, eating an entire bar of extra dark chocolate is not the most direct way to up your intake of fiber, protein, and iron — that’s because the Lindt chocolate bar also contains 27.5 grams of saturated fat (thanks to cocoa butter and oil) and 12.5 grams of sugar (thanks to added sugar). If you need to increase your intake of those nutrients, more efficient sources are whole foods like beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains.
Dark chocolate can also be a significant source of antioxidants, meaning it can protect your nervous system and can also shield nerve cells from damage, according to Food Matters. In fact, dark chocolate often makes internet lists of foods that are high in antioxidants, along with berries and dark leafy greens.
Basically, while dark chocolate does include significant amounts of some nutrients, it is not a health food. But if you want an excuse to add as much chocolatey goodness to your diet as possible (and we don’t blame you), consider starting a romance with cocoa or cacao powder.
According to NutritionFacts.org, the best way to get dark chocolate’s benefits is by using cocoa powder or cacao powder. As explained by Food Matters, cacao powder comes from cold-pressed, raw cacao beans, with most of the cacao butter (fat) removed from the final product; while cocoa powder is roasted cacao and naturally a bit higher in fact. For example, one serving (2.5 tablespoons) of Navitas Organics Cacao Powder naturally contains 5 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 0 grams of sugar, and 1.5 grams of fat.
There are so many meals and drinks you can easily add a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder to — not only will it increase the meal’s nutrition, but more importantly, it will also make it taste like chocolate! For example, you can easily add a spoonful of cocoa powder to oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt, coffee, or non-dairy milk (for instant chocolate milk or hot cocoa!). In case you’ve never used cocoa powder before, it tastes similar to dark chocolate but less sweet, so depending on what you’re adding cocoa powder to, you may want to sweeten things up with some maple syrup, agave, sugar, or fruit.
There is some evidence that dark chocolate can reduce your cholesterol, blood pressure, and subsequently your risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, according to Food Matters.
Unlike milk chocolate, dark chocolate (as long as it’s dairy-free, which most dark chocolate bars are) is free of cholesterol, meaning it will not contribute to raising your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which is what causes arteries to clog. Once again, the “darker” the chocolate (the higher the cocoa percentage), the less “unhealthy” sugar and fat the bar will contain, and the healthier it will be.
A 2017 study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association studied the effects of eating almonds combined with dark chocolate in a group of overweight adults over the course of four years. The study concluded that incorporating a combination of almonds, dark chocolate, and cocoa into the standard American diet “may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”
It can be beneficial to make your own dark chocolate bars from scratch — that way, you can control exactly how much of each ingredient you are consuming. Check out this five-ingredient recipe for chocolate bars from the Sweet Simple Vegan blog.
Additionally, the Minimalist Baker blog has a roundup of seven of its best recipes that use dark chocolate as a star ingredient. Are you drooling yet?
When shopping for dark chocolate, try your best to find fair-trade chocolate that is also palm oil-free, since many cocoa farms exploit and enslave workers — some farms even exploit child laborers. To combat that, the Food Empowerment Project has a detailed running list of many chocolate brands with fair-trade policies that the organization recommends. Additionally, any brand that is Fair Trade Certified will say so on the package, so look out for the little green logo when chocolate shopping.
Source: Green Matters
The post Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate appeared first on The Fine Food Magazine .
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