It’s A Holiday and I’m On Vacation (part 2)

Vacations can be a bit harder, depending on where you travel to.  I just got back from a few days in Puerto Rico with my son. We started with a big breakfast everyday, as the resort where we stayed: Wyhdham Rio Mar, had a great buffet; made to order fresh omelets, homemade waffles, Nova Lox & bagels, breads, pastries, juices, fruit including fresh mango and papaya, great chorizo sausage, etc. Needless to say, it was a feast worth feasting on. We sort of snacked during the day as we usually ate breakfast late, and just hung out on the beach. Drinks, of course were on the menu, but we were pretty calm about that as well. The resort had alot of food everywhere; Tiki grill on the beach, Asian Fusion restaurant, snack bar by the casino, the big dining room, etc. We had some great snacks at the snack bar such as,  pizza, tuna and egg salad sandwiches. We usually split the sandwiches. The best thing at the snack bar was the Quesitos, which are long danish like pastries with a cheesecake filling. OMG!! Need I say more!! Dinner was always an adventure. The first night we went to a restaurant on a horse farm where I had been for my birthday back in April when I was there. They were known for their skirt steak as they marinate it for 2-4 days, or something like that. Anyway it was so tasty and tender, it melted in my mouth. My son had a whole stuffed snapper, and when I say WHOLE, I mean WHOLE; head, tail, everything. We thought it was just stuffed with scallops, shrimp, and fish, but when the seafood inside was gone, all the meat from the fish was still on the fish, and easy to eat. It was quite the specimen.  That was our most memorable dinner of the three nights. We ate in a Mexican restaurant in Old San Juan the second night, and I had great Puerto Rican food; white meat chicken with rice and vegetables, fresh cut avocado, and fried plantains. I am a sucker for the local favorites. I eat Caribbean food with my friends at their house alot and it is very similar. I love it. I ate all the chicken and veggies and left about half of the rice, even though it had a great flavor. The last night we were exhausted from hiking at the rainforest (El Yunque) all day. For all of you Puerto Rico lovers, we went to kiosk #2 La Parilla in Luquillo. I had pork stuffed with homemade ground beef,and plantains, and my son had mofungo (mashed plantains) stuffed with seafood. I forgot to mention my son is a vegetarian, hence all the seafood.

I know this sounds like a food fest of a vacation but we got quite a bit of exercise as well. Everyday we walked on the beach for about an hour, as well as walking in Old San Juan, and hiking trails in the rainforest.  I felt totally justified to eat whatever I wanted knowing I was getting the exercise I needed to maintain it. It was a great balance in a wonderfully warm and beautiful location.

Vacationing For Life

Substitutes: Yes You Can (part 3)

I usually eat dinner at home during the week. I keep chicken, shrimp, and meats in the freezer as I buy them in bulk. I usually buy fresh seafood when I am really in the mood for something specific, and I cook it that night. I like fresh veggies but they go bad fast so I only buy what I will use for about a week at a time. I always have a bag of broccoli florets, baby spinach, grape tomatoes, and onions in the fridge. During the winter I like soups and casseroles; comfort food. I like to make my own but I do buy cans to have on hand when I don’t have time to cook or I am just getting home from the gym and want something fast and easy. Some of the soups I buy are Amy’s organic soups; lowfat split pea, black bean vegetable, black bean chili, vegetable barley. They are very healthy and flavorful but be careful of the fat content in some of them. My son is a vegetarian and he loves her chili made with vegetable protein. The consistency is just like meat but it’s a little high in fat. I also buy the Campbells Healthy Request soups; Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, and Italian Wedding Soup. These are my favorites but there are many choices. You have to buy what you like or you will not eat it. I also love little smokie sausages. When I was a kid we would make sausage sandwiches all the time. I was so excited when I found Hillshire Farms turkey smokies. They are great and the fat content is so much less than the pork or beef smokies. Recently I found chicken smokies and they are even better, with the same fat content. Substitutes, substitutes, substitutes. I add the smokies to the split pea soup and it is great, as well as adding a boost of protein. Grab a handful of reduced fat wheat thins or a peice of wheat or pumpernickel bread and you have a quick balanced meal.  I also buy the Indian vegetable packages such as Spinach Channah, or Madras Lentils. These are great to add to your meal as a side dish or a topper for fish, chicken or meat. I forgot to mention that I do go to Nawab, the Indian restaurant, for lunch about once a month. The food is fresh, with lots of veggies, good spices and sauces, meats and chicken. I don’t go more often than that because it is a buffet and I always tend to eat to much and want to take a nap by the time I get back to work. Everything in moderation.

I do like to go out on the weekends since I have eaten home all week.  I can find just about anything I want at any resaurant and fit it into my food plan. Once again I try to only order what I will eat, unless I am going straight home and I can take the leftovers, or I can split the dish.  I order what I like, keeping in mind the basic food groups; protein, carbs, veggies, as well as lowfat items. I do let myself go sometimes if there is something I really want that I would not otherwise eat on a regular basis. About every 6 to 8 weeks I get a pedicure in the evening, and next door to the nail place is an Uncle Al’s Hot Dogs. It’s usually around 7:30pm when I’m  done with my pedicure, and I am hungry, so I go next door for my usual indulgence; one hotdog with hot mustard, chili, and onions, and an order of sweet potato fries with an unsweet tea. It is just enough and I do not feel guilty as it is only once in a while. EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!!

You shoud always enjoy eating. I was raised to appreciate good food, and have been exposed to the worst and the best. The point is that there are good, healthy, satisfying, flavorful choices that will fit into your lifestyle.  Stick with what you like, but be willing to try new things. You never know what you might be missing!!

Living and Loving Food