In case you didn’t know… the entire east coast has spent the majority of 2010 in below average temperatures. I was one of the lucky to escape to a warmer, ok, tropical, climate for 7 days with my family. It had been 10 years since our last family vacation, and we were definitely due, so we packed our bags and headed to St. Maarten.
We spent the week relaxing, hiking, reading and cooking. Cooking, you say? You bet. The changes to our diet and lifestyle that my family and I have made were not about to take a backseat because we flew a couple of thousand miles to some tropical paradise. No offense St. Maarten, but how could I enjoy a beach vacation if I was bloated and tired the entire trip?
Our hotel room had a kitchen and small dining area. The slightly higher expense of the hotel room with a furnished kitchen more than made up for the cost of 6 people eating in restaurants 2 or 3 times a day. We flew with bags of quinoa and brown rice in our suitcases, found 2 grocery stores within walking distance of the hotel and worked together as a family each night to cook dinner, making sure to cook extra for lunch the following day.
Our meals were simple; a big salad loaded with veggies and beans, soup, whole grains mixed with veggies and some fresh veggie juice (my mom went so far as to pack her juicer – double brownie points for her). Simple, easy to prepare and loaded with nutrients. Plus we got to spend time together while grocery shopping and cooking. We ate as a family the meal that we prepared. With a few bottles of wine that we picked up at the grocery store, we had the best restaurant in St. Maarten in our hotel room and you couldn’t beat the price!
Each meal cost about $30 total – that’s $5 per person! Who ever said eating healthy was expensive never ate with my family. After our very satisfying dinners, we strolled downtown to see what the nightlife had in store.
We didn’t bring any recipes or fancy ingredients to St. Maarten. We sure didn’t spend hours in the kitchen chopping and cooking. What we ate was simple, easy, fast and healthy. We did this because we wanted to, not because we felt obligated or cheap. It was a bonding experience for my family and an essential component to a very memorable vacation.
Healthy habits stick when you ease into them gradually – not when you try to take on too much at once like with crash or fad dieting. If your healthy habits are in place before your next trip, sticking to them will be a lot easier. Trust me, you can still enjoy a vacation without overindulging. It’s not “sacrifice”, it’s “self care’.