I Ate Only Food Costing Less Than €1 in Spain for 24 Hours | Intermediate Spanish Listening Practice

Food for under one euro: Spanish and English reading

This edited reading companion follows Lucía’s day of supermarket shopping, cooking and eating. It condenses the conversations and translates their meaning; it is not a word-for-word transcript. Songs, song lyrics and dialogue from TV clips are omitted. Open a timestamp to hear the original scene.

0:01 — The under-one-euro challenge

Spanish: Lucía se propone pasar un día comiendo productos que cuesten menos de un euro cada uno. Todavía no ha desayunado: espera a que abra el supermercado a las nueve.

English: Lucía sets herself a challenge: spend a day eating products that each cost less than one euro. She has not had breakfast yet: she is waiting for the supermarket to open at nine.

Spanish: Es un reto de precios de esta compra, no un presupuesto de un euro para todo el día. Algunas compras se repartirán entre varias comidas.

English: The challenge concerns prices on this shopping trip; it is not a one-euro budget for the whole day. Some purchases will be shared across several meals.

0:46 — Spanish mealtimes

Spanish: Explica que en España muchas personas hacen cuatro o cinco comidas: desayuno, un aperitivo a media mañana, almuerzo, merienda y cena.

English: She explains that many people in Spain have four or five meals or snacks: breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner.

Spanish: Habla de almorzar a las dos o las tres y de cenar tarde, a partir de las nueve. Para ella, la merienda se parece al desayuno.

English: She talks about having lunch at two or three and dinner late, from nine onwards. For her, the afternoon snack resembles breakfast.

1:45 — A little bird interrupts the plan

Spanish: Encuentra un pajarito en el suelo que no puede volar. Llama a su hermana, que vive cerca y ya está cuidando otro pájaro caído del nido.

English: She finds a little bird on the ground that cannot fly. She calls her sister, who lives nearby and is already caring for another bird that fell from its nest.

Spanish: Le habla con cariño y después dice que está en buenas manos. Ahora sí, pueden continuar hacia el supermercado.

English: She speaks affectionately to it and then says it is in good hands. Now they can continue to the supermarket.

2:37 — Prices and shopping

Spanish: Comenta que antes de la guerra de Ucrania encontraba más productos por menos de un euro. Ahora le parece que los precios han subido mucho.

English: She comments that before the war in Ukraine she could find more products for less than one euro. Now she feels prices have risen a lot.

Spanish: Aunque hay una rampa, prefiere subir las escaleras. Coge un carrito y empieza a buscar el desayuno y la merienda.

English: Although there is a ramp, she prefers to take the stairs. She takes a shopping trolley and starts looking for breakfast and her afternoon snack.

3:21 — Choosing breakfast and merienda

Spanish: Suele desayunar y merendar cosas parecidas: bebida vegetal o zumo con galletas o cereales. Le encantan las galletas Príncipe, pero hoy cuestan más del límite del reto.

English: She usually has similar things for breakfast and her afternoon snack: a plant-based drink or juice with biscuits or cereal. She loves Príncipe biscuits, but today they cost more than the challenge allows.

Spanish: Elige bebida de soja, una caracola recién hecha y una berlina. Ya tiene el desayuno y la merienda.

English: She chooses soy milk, a freshly made spiral pastry and a filled doughnut. Breakfast and her afternoon snack are sorted.

4:37 — Breakfast in the garden

Spanish: Ya en casa, desayuna en el jardín con leche de soja y una caracola con pasas. Le encantan tanto las pasas como los dulces.

English: Back home, she has breakfast in the garden with soy milk and a raisin swirl pastry. She loves both raisins and sweet treats.

Spanish: Dice que la bebida de soja cuesta sesenta y nueve céntimos y que la usará también para merendar. Calcula que el desayuno le ha salido por menos de un euro y cincuenta. Ha desayunado muy a gusto y nos cita para el almuerzo.

English: She says the soy drink costs sixty-nine cents and she will use it for her afternoon snack too. She puts the cost of breakfast at under one euro fifty. She has enjoyed breakfast and tells us to meet her again at lunchtime.

5:23 — A vegetarian shopping basket

Spanish: Añade otra condición: es vegetariana y no come carne, pescado ni marisco. Busca productos baratos que también cumplan esa condición.

English: She adds another condition: she is vegetarian and does not eat meat, fish or seafood. She looks for inexpensive products that also meet that condition.

Spanish: La berenjena se vende por peso, así que una puede costar menos de un euro aunque el kilo cueste más. También mira lechuga, garbanzos cocidos y pasta con tomate.

English: Aubergines are sold by weight, so one can cost less than a euro even if a kilogram costs more. She also looks at lettuce, cooked chickpeas and pasta with tomato sauce.

6:01 — Ingredients for burritos

Spanish: Bromea con que a quien le guste la cerveza le puede salir barato ponerse fino. Después encuentra tortillas de trigo de oferta para hacer burritos.

English: She jokes that anyone who likes beer could drink their fill cheaply. Then she finds wheat tortillas on offer to make burritos.

Spanish: Compra garbanzos, zanahorias, una berenjena, una manzana y canónigos. No compra más tomate frito, porque ya tiene en casa.

English: She buys chickpeas, carrots, an aubergine, an apple and lamb’s lettuce. She does not buy more cooked tomato sauce because she already has some at home.

6:45 — Time to cook lunch

Spanish: A las dos y cuarto empieza a cocinar. Prepara las tortillas, las verduras, los garbanzos y el tomate frito que ya tenía; la manzana será el postre.

English: At quarter past two she starts cooking. She gets the tortillas, vegetables, chickpeas and the tomato sauce she already had ready; the apple will be dessert.

Spanish: Se le ha olvidado comprar cebollas, pero después corta una y la añade. También usa ingredientes de la despensa, como especias y aceite.

English: She forgot to buy onions, but later cuts one up and adds it. She also uses pantry ingredients such as spices and oil.

7:26 — Aubergine, onion and carrots

Spanish: Lava y corta la berenjena y la cocina en un recipiente para microondas. Luego corta la cebolla y empieza a sofreírla con aceite de oliva virgen extra.

English: She washes and cuts the aubergine and cooks it in a microwave container. Then she chops the onion and starts gently frying it in extra virgin olive oil.

Spanish: Remueve para que no se queme ni se pegue. Pela y corta las zanahorias, y saca la berenjena con cuidado: el vapor quema.

English: She stirs so it does not burn or stick. She peels and cuts the carrots, then carefully takes out the aubergine: steam can burn.

9:05 — Chickpeas, tomato and seasoning

Spanish: Enjuaga los garbanzos, que ya están cocidos, y los echa a la sartén. Añade tomate y remueve.

English: She rinses the chickpeas, which are already cooked, and adds them to the pan. She adds tomato sauce and stirs.

Spanish: Echa salsa barbacoa, curri, pimienta negra y ajo en polvo. Con tanto relleno, bromea con que tendrá para toda la semana.

English: She adds barbecue sauce, curry powder, black pepper and garlic powder. With so much filling, she jokes that she will have enough for the whole week.

9:51 — Filling the tortillas

Spanish: Calienta las tortillas y les pone el relleno. Los canónigos del paquete ya vienen lavados; abre el paquete y los añade.

English: She warms the tortillas and fills them. The packaged lamb’s lettuce comes prewashed; she opens the bag and adds it.

Spanish: El almuerzo son dos burritos con garbanzos, berenjena, zanahorias, canónigos, cebolla y tomate. «¡Qué rico!».

English: Lunch is two burritos with chickpeas, aubergine, carrots, lamb’s lettuce, onion and tomato sauce. “Delicious!”

10:45 — Que aproveche and Spanish dubbing

Spanish: Se da cuenta de que no ha dicho «que aproveche», una expresión para desear a alguien que disfrute de la comida. A ella le gusta ver series mientras come.

English: She realizes she has not said “que aproveche,” an expression used to wish someone an enjoyable meal. She likes watching series while she eats.

Spanish: Muestra ejemplos de series dobladas al español, incluida The Big Bang Theory. También recuerda la guía gratuita en la descripción del vídeo.

English: She shows examples of series dubbed into Spanish, including The Big Bang Theory. She also mentions the free guide in the video description.

11:45 — Her favourite snack time

Spanish: Son las seis menos cinco y llega la hora de merendar, su momento favorito del día. Tiene hambre y prepara su berlina de chocolate y su leche de soja.

English: It is 5:55 p.m. and time for her afternoon snack, her favourite time of day. She is hungry and gets her chocolate-filled doughnut and soy milk ready.

Spanish: Espera que la berlina tenga mucho chocolate por dentro. Después de disfrutarla, toca pensar en la cena.

English: She hopes the doughnut has plenty of chocolate inside. After enjoying it, it is time to think about dinner.

12:25 — Dinner ingredients

Spanish: Para cenar elige pasta pequeña y pastillas de caldo de verduras. Dice que el paquete de caldo cuesta setenta y nueve céntimos y da para doce caldos.

English: For dinner she chooses small pasta shapes and vegetable stock cubes. She says the stock pack costs seventy-nine cents and makes twelve batches of stock.

Spanish: Se queja del precio del aceite de oliva: «¡Maldito aceite de oliva virgen extra tan caro!». Para picar elige unos conos, y de postre un flan de vainilla.

English: She complains about the price of olive oil: “Damn extra virgin olive oil, so expensive!” She chooses cone-shaped snacks to nibble on and a vanilla flan for dessert.

13:09 — Very late summer dinner

Spanish: Saluda con «buenas noches», aunque todavía queda luz. Cuenta que en verano anochece tarde donde vive. Son las diez menos nueve; ya va siendo hora de preparar la cena.

English: She says “good evening,” although there is still some daylight. She says it gets dark late where she lives in summer. It is 9:51 p.m., so it is time to make dinner.

Spanish: Llama a la pasta caracoles, tiburones y conchas, y bromea: como es vegetariana, es pasta y ya está. Prepara el caldo en una olla con agua de la hervidora.

English: She calls the pasta snails, sharks and shells, then jokes: since she is vegetarian, it is simply pasta. She makes the stock in a pot with water from the kettle.

13:50 — Soup, handfuls and snacks

Spanish: Le encantan las pastillas de caldo. Echa dos o tres puñados de pasta y luego el agua hirviendo.

English: She loves stock cubes. She adds two or three handfuls of pasta and then the boiling water.

Spanish: Mientras se hace la sopa, come los conos. Después presenta la cena: sopa y flan de postre.

English: While the soup cooks, she eats the cone-shaped snacks. Then she shows her dinner: soup and flan for dessert.

14:26 — Getting used to dubbed voices

Spanish: También escucha Los Simpson en castellano, es decir, en español de España en este contexto. Pregunta si resulta raro oír otras voces para los personajes.

English: She also listens to The Simpsons in Castilian Spanish, meaning Spanish from Spain in this context. She asks whether hearing different voices for the characters feels strange.

Spanish: Explica que te acostumbras a las voces si ves la serie en ese idioma. Termina la sopa y llega el momento de su precioso flan.

English: She explains that you get used to the voices if you watch the series in that language. She finishes the soup and it is time for her lovely flan.

15:16 — The challenge is over

Spanish: Ha terminado de cenar y ha acabado su día comiendo productos baratos. Ahora se preparará para dormir: se duchará y regará el jardín.

English: She has finished dinner and her day of eating inexpensive products is over. Now she will get ready for bed: she will shower and water the garden.

Spanish: Invita a comentar qué ha gustado más o qué ha sorprendido. Se despide hasta el próximo vídeo.

English: She invites viewers to comment on what they liked most or what surprised them. She says goodbye until the next video.

Useful words and expressions

• merienda / merendar: Afternoon snack / have an afternoon snack. Almuerzo here means lunch; uses vary regionally.
• estar en buenas manos: Be in good hands; be looked after by someone trustworthy.
• carrito / de oferta: Shopping trolley (US: cart) / on offer or on sale.
• caracola / pasas: A spiral pastry in this scene / raisins.
• berlina: Filled doughnut; here chocolate-filled.
• berenjena / garbanzos: Aubergine (US: eggplant) / chickpeas.
• canónigos: Lamb’s lettuce, also called corn salad; a leafy salad vegetable.
• tomate frito: Cooked tomato sauce, not slices of fried tomato.
• sofreír / remover: Gently fry or sauté / stir in this cooking scene.
• pelar / pelador: Peel / peeler.
• enjuagar / relleno: Rinse / filling.
• ¡Que aproveche!: Enjoy your meal! A conventional wish before or during a meal.
• pastilla de caldo / puñado: Stock cube (US: bouillon cube) / handful.
• tiburones / conchas: Names for small pasta shapes here: literally sharks / shells. They are pasta, not seafood.
• flan: A set custard dessert, often served with caramel; she chooses vanilla flan.
• doblar / acostumbrarse: Dub a film or series / get used to something.
• las seis menos cinco: Five to six; 5:55 in the afternoon in this scene.
• las diez menos nueve: Nine minutes to ten; 9:51 p.m. in this scene.

Watch a short scene once without subtitles, then replay it with subtitles. Say what Lucía is doing using your own words, and copy one useful expression aloud.