I was asked by a reader:
Hey Katie,
It would be great if you could do a post on eating healthy on vacation, especially how you deal with when you first arrive and haven’t had time to go grocery shopping yet. I always struggle with that! And working out too. Love your blog by the way!
I’m really lucky because the beach house where we’re staying is equipped with a full kitchen (oven, microwave, fridge and freezer). And—as I mentioned in my previous post—my parents drove down a week before me, taking dangerous “Katie things” I couldn’t bring on an airplane. They also bought a few staples, during the week, to save me from having to go grocery shopping first thing.
Breakfast was an old favorite: Blended Oatmeal Pudding.
I cooked the oatmeal in Texas and took it on the airplane in a small Magic Bullet cup. Thankfully, no one tried to stop me.
The above was my breakfast backdrop.
For lunch, on the first day, I utilized some of the items my parents bought. My meal was close to the ugly meal from yesterday’s post—with the monster salad, Artisana coconut butter, and Chee-fu. The only difference was that I had a bowl of corn instead of the zucchini fries. And now that I have had time to go grocery shopping, I’m eating very similarly to the way I always eat.
There’s just one exception: Since I’m on vacation, I want to enjoy the scenery, the town, the beach, etc. I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all day. So I’m keeping things simple—less cooking, more “thrown together” meals, with lotsa salads and fresh fruits and veggies (taking advantage of those side-of-the-road farmers’ markets we don’t have in Texas). Plus, being out shopping or hanging in the town requires portable snacks, so I’ll often exchange my beloved blended pudding or Vita-Mix ice cream snacks for Jocalat bars, fudge baby bars, raw nuts, or especially fresh farmer’s-market fruits. Yesterday afternoon, for example, I feasted on this:
Juiciest box of raspberries ever. In the words of Usher: OMG! These berries hail from the cutest little farmer’s-market stand. Honestly, I want to box up the entire stand and transport it with me back to Texas. Why don’t we have places like this? Almost everything is organic, everything is local, and the stand boasts the ripest and juiciest fruit/veg. Berries, peppers, asparagus, salad greens, apples, peaches, tomatoes…
Question of the Day:
How do you eat healthily on vacation? And in the summertime, do you tend to stick to the same type of routine, or do you completely deviate from how you live during the rest of the year?
Personally, I love the freedom of not having to be at a specific place at a specific time (unlike in college– *blah*). However, as far as eating is concerned, I still pretty much eat around the same times because that’s when my body is conditioned to feel hungry. Same thing with sleeping: For the most part, I still fall asleep around 11ish and wake up naturally around 6:30 or so. If I mess with my sleep routine too much, my body feels it the next day. (All rules go out the window on dancing nights, though. Sometimes, feeling icky later is soooo worth it!) But the rest of my family—and some of my friends—follow a completely different lifestyle during the summer months, eating dinner at 10PM, sleeping til noon, and having pizza for breakfast.
Thanks, Gisela, for the question. I’ll try to get to the second part of your question (about working out) later this week.
I think people tend to overthink the “healthy eating on vacation” concept – I mean, just because you’re out of your comfort zone, are you REALLY going to want to suddenly eat a thousand things you never eat on a regular basis? If the answer is yes, then fine, go ahead and DO IT, because that’s what a vacation is supposed to be – a break from your daily grind. If it will make you feel satisfied, eat it. It’s not the end of the world, and the vacation ends, and you’ll go back to normal when you get home. If the answer is no, then it’s really not a problem. I’ve literally never had complications eating on vacation – every restaurant has salads.
i hate that airlines are so strict now because it makes brining some staples hard – like peanut butter!! glad to hear you still enjoy yourself while on vacation and take advantage of the local markets 🙂
You’re lucky they didn’t try to steal your breakfast! I once had my entire yogurt parfait stolen at an airport, so sad for me! During my vacations I am definitely more aware of what I eat – and it depends what kind of vacation I am on. If it’s a beach house vacation – I come with ALL of my goods and pre-plan meals, but if I’m on a go-go-go I take a few staples along and wing it! 🙂 Enjoy your vacay!
It may be horrible, but I’m not too wrapped up in eating healthily on vacation. I try to stick to whole ingredients (and my vegetarian diet, of course), but beyond that…I prefer to just let myself be and indulge in some foods I might not always pick up at home.
Hope you’re having a wonderful vacation Katie! I’m surprised they let you through with your oatmeal. I got 2 jars of unopened nut butter confiscated once, and I was so upset. They said it was considered a paste or gel. 🙁
Anyway, traveling used to stress me out as far as eating and exercising goes, but now I just go with the flow. It’s so fun to try new foods and restaurants, etc. That’s what vacations are for! 🙂
Ironic that you posted on this subject! I just got back from 4 full days in NYC with my boyfriend. The purpose of our trip was for a wedding but we did a lot of our own things so we were so busy the entire time. We stayed with his cousins who are mostly meat eaters (no veggies in site :-0) and we also did not sit still for long SO eating was not regular and not as good as it should have been. Next time I plan on doing some research and really planning things out because my body was not impressed at all.
How ironic that the first post I got to check while
studying abroad in Japan was this one, ;]
I know I have been having difficulty with fresh fruits and veggies here
because they are so expensive! :s I knew it would be a bit difficult
for me to eat as a lacto-vegetarian here but am still very sad that
I have only had one apple in the eight days
I’ve been here because they are 178 yen each! :[
I also have to avoid foods with broth because I know the dashi here
is made with bonito flakes, and even if I ask if something is
“vegetarian” that word here is such a foreign concept they think that as long
as it is not red meat it is okay for me to eat. ._.;
I have been enjoying lots of ume onigiri, rice, and yogurt though,
and trying different foods like anpan and dango.
Sadly, bringing snacks and such with me was not really an option
because they would have gone in to qurantine. :/
Demelza,
Oh wow, I hope you’re having tons of fun! And Grrr bonito flakes were the bane of my existence when I visited Japan! 🙁
(The same thought concept goes for China. Not red meat = vegetarian. It was hard to get around that. I had to learn how to say “fish” and “chicken” and definitely “beef stock” in Chinese… hey, at least it helped me learn the language hehe!)
Ha, i always pack my own breakfast for early flights!! For healthiness and my slim wallet!! 😀 With those snug seating arrangements, i feel like my plane neighbor is always peering over at my 3 containers of yogurt, cereal, bananas and PB…hmm they’re probably just jealous ;D
I’m the same way on vacation–I don’t want to spend the whole time in the kitchen. I always make sure to stock up on my favorites: hummus, almond butter, fruit, and LOTS of veggies. The rest kind of takes care of itself.
Hope you’re having a great vacation!
Just FYI, I made your fudge babies and I am in love with them! Thank you for posting the recipe!