The Flexible Vegetarian

Okayyyyy I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I am back and SO excited to update you about my semester abroad in MADRID! To whoever is reading this, let me start by saying if you are an avid reader/viewer of Living Purely’s Instagram posts, you can probably tell by now what an adjustment it has been studying abroad in Madrid. If I’m bein’ honest- I totally did not look into the cuisine before I decided on Madrid, and although my grandpa would always remind me it’s “practically the meat capital, Colbs”, I didn’t let that interfere with my decision-making. Colbs was set on Madrid, and if that meant sucking it up with limited dinner menus, that’s what she signed up for! PS- There are basically whole chicken legs hanging from every other food shop you pass here. Oh, and ordering a vegetarian dish at a restaurant is practically unheard of; so when Living Purely came to town, she was in for a nice surprise.

Meal One. Didn’t seem too tough when I saw eggs on the menu. In fact, I was dining at one of the most famous brunch places in Madrid (Federal Café) they’d totally make it work! Figured if they can make an omelet they can definitely add in more veggies and make it an egg white, right? So time passes as I’m at brunch with my new abroad roommates who I’d just met an hour prior- obviously can’t come off like the psycho girl who takes a year to order her main dish on day one. The waiter takes everyone’s order and finishes with mine. “Can I get an egg-white omelet (huevo de blanco- learned that Spanish order quickly) pero muchos vegetales!”… In the most blunt way possible the waiter explains (in spanish) that they don’t make omelets with “just the white part” or “solamente blanco”, and only have limited vegetables. Might as well have shot me in the leg right then and there. Meal one and already starving in Madrid, great. Play it cool Colbs… Obviously I already had my backup salad plan incase that happened and ended up ordering that instead- no cheese, extra vegetables, dressing on the side.

When I first got here the jet lag was about as real as it could’ve been. I was sleeping until 3PM most days, on top of that taking siestas very religiously, eating an average of 2 meals per day (neither of which were Living Purely approved), and surviving off the GGs (my most prized possession- high fiber crackers for the newbies who don’t know me just yet). After a mini panic attack about my current lifestyle I realized it was time to make some YUGE changes. I couldn’t just survive off my GGs for every meal. Besides, there had to be vegetarians that lived in Madrid, right…?

As time passed, I finally adjusted slowly but surely. After hitting a few grocery stores (unfortunately there is no Trader Joes or Whole Foods out here... I know, how am I surviving?!) I found my fiber, veggies, fruits, and vegetarian protein.

May I point out that Yelp = da real MVP. Yelp. Saves. Lives. Is that too extreme? With the help of this beautiful red app that became my bible, I was in good hands. With the comfort of these new veggie restaurants I’ve begin to feel MUCH more at home. So vegetarianism is a thing here. I knew it!

Now let’s talk about TRAVEL. Traveling on the weekends and seeing new places/cultures is by far one of the BEST parts about being abroad. Traveling to Paris meant trying a crepe while standing alongside the Eiffel Tower. Brussels taught me how important it is to #treatyourself and that eating Belgian chocolate at 1PM is totally and completely a must! Yes, Living Purely had chocolate even on a day she wasn’t caught hitting the gym!

In all of this, being abroad so far has taught me the importance of balance, listening to my body, and enjoying life and all the nomz it has to offer- especially in new places! I may not always have my GGs on hand, but that is NO BIGGIE! Life is more than just being comfortable in your current routine. For me, that meant no making my famous Living Purely Blueberry High Fiber PB2 morning smoothie for a few months! Oh and rarely any tempeh – I KNOW *heart murmur*. I just had an internal freak out too. If there’s anything to take away from all of this, it’s the fact that life is way more than just working out and eating clean 100% of the time! Live a little. Have a Belgian waffle if you find yourself a hot one on the streets of Belgium- I totally botched that and had to get one in the airport on the way home; still regretting it. It was not as good or fresh as it could have been! I am also so thankful for my foodie adventures because through them I have learned what I genuinely crave...And that seriously is ALL DA COOKED VEGGIES! My weekend trips have showed me how awesome it is to treat myself but that at the end of the day, I genuinely love the lifestyle I am living. Eating healthy is most definitely not a chore! It should NEVER be! It keeps me sane, happy, and on track with my other goals. My Monday's back (after a weekend filled with a variety of pure and not so pure eats) allow me to start my week in a controlled way, and to me that means eating the way that I love, #LivingPurely.

If you are reading this and struggling with finding that balance, or find yourself to be too caught up in a comfortable routine, know that it is in your hands to make changes; and totally and completely doable!