Lifestyle choices

So today's post is going to be a rant. And that rant is directed at the Spanish population. However that's mostly just because that is who surrounds me everyday, and if I lived anywhere else, I'd probably rant about that population too.

I love to eat healthily and to exercise and just to lead a natural, good life (except for a pesky diet coke addiction). But organic, semi-vegetarian diets are not common in today's society. Girls going mountain biking (especially here in antiquated, chauvinistic Spain) is a rare sight. And no one seems to know what to think about it. No one has ever encouraged me to eat better here in Spain. Only a handful of friends don't look down on me for exercising.

They know they enjoy their oily, greasy fried foods. How much they love to sit around chatting. And they want you to partake in what they love. If they're going to "sin", they want you to do it with them. And they want you to enjoy doing it with them so they don't feel bad about enjoying it too.

Every time I turn down a third or forth helping of food, every time I mention that I went for a run, when I say I want fruit instead of pudding for desert... I get the most negative feedback ever. It's amazing. They want to know why someone as thin as I am would want to do exercise. Duh! As if me being thin has nothing to do with working out! They think eating right is being on a diet. Something temporary that you would only do if you were obese. Why would I ever want to be on a diet?

Grrr. It's not like I run a marathon every day or am wasting away from hunger. I would just like to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and I'd like people to take a positive interest in it.

First step to making bread: make sure you have all the right ingredients

I think today's discovery is a very appropriate example of how long it's taking me to get used to living abroad.

After hundreds of failed baking attempts and tantrums thrown on my kitchen floor (yes, seriously like in the Julie/Julia Project) over the past 6 1/2 years, I was reading the blog www.chocolateandzucchini.com and found out that American flour tends to have more gluten than European ones which could be a large part of my problem. Up until now all my cookies, cinnamon rolls, bagels and breads tasted great but were sooo dense that it was depressing. I had always assumed it to be differences with ovens, baking powder, baking soda and yeast.

This is just another moment in my life here when I stop and ask myself what the hell I'm doing in Spain. Over 6  years to figure this out??? All the wonderful food I could've baked back home in that time! And all the wonderful bagels I could have quite easily boughten and ate...

Tonight I'll start my bagels and hopefully tomorrow I have good news to share...

Update: The bagels were quite easy to make and the bread flour helped a lot!

However I must say they were the ugliest bagels ever!!! Must work on my shaping skills!