How I eat on vacation can be summed up pretty simply…whatever I want! I consider vacations (and girl’s weekends and quick getaways) to be sacred me time and I allow myself to let loose a little and eat, drink, sleep as I please. This goes back to my childhood. My family always spent two weeks at the beach each summer. My dad loves to cook and while we always ate home cooked meals in “real life,” on vacation we went out almost every night, had donuts or bagels for breakfast and kept things in the kitchen that would usually be a no go at home. It was such a treat for us!
One of the food comments that I get more than anything is how surprised people are that I eat everything. I’m not dairy-free, gluten-free, Paleo, low-carb, no-sugar, etc. I’m all things in moderation. I don’t count calories or macros, food journal or stress out about my diet. One week I might be all about dark chocolate and sandwiches and another salads and smoothies. It all balances out in the end.
The same applies for vacation. One week of splurging (even with an upcoming photo shoot! :P) is not going to totally derail all of your hard work. I ate whatever I wanted on this vacation but was lucky that the resort was wellness focused and had a lot of healthy options (although you’ll see I bypassed them often). Instead of my normal 80/20, I was probably more 50/50 on this trip but I felt great when I packed up and headed home. I just posted about my vacation week workouts and that definitely helped to balance out the splurges but in general I just tried to do and eat what felt right and good.
You’ve gotta live life and soak up special times.
And here’s what that looked like.
Breakfast
Breakfast was in general my healthiest meal of the day although it was hard to resist the giant basket of pastries that traveled around the restaurant with someone encouraging you to take several. I started almost every day with the resort’s homemade green juice.
They had this incredible cottage cheese that tasted nothing like we have here in the states. Eggs and fresh fruit.
Egg white omelet with veggies and smoked salmon.
Huervos rancheros. My favorite breakfast of the week.
Pita sandwich with cheese, tomato, avocado and a side of scrambled egg whites to make it an egg sandwich.
This was my appetizer for breakfast one morning.
And foamy cappuccinos made with creamy whole milk to go with.
Lunch
Lunch was always eaten pool or oceanside and generally started with a big tray of chips, guac, salsa and refried beans while waiting for the food to be delivered.
Grilled chicken and avocado salad.
Sushi, sashimi and octopus ceviche.
One of my favorite dishes at the resort was this shrimp ceviche made with lime juice and patron. I ordered this several days.
Dinner
We always got dressed up and went out to dinner as a group. The resort is big on starter, salad/soup, entree and dessert. Most meals were a four course affair.
Salad with pears, sorbet, fresh peas and a parmesan crisp.
Filet.
Gnocchi with butter sauce, parmesan, truffle oil and asparagus. This was another favorite dish of the week and I will definitely be recreating it at home.
One night they offered these grilled meat and veggie pots poolside with all the fixings to make tacos/fajitas.
Another night there was a made to order pasta station where I concocted an awesome seafood pasta with penne, scallops, calamari, pesto, artichokes and parmesan.
Dessert sampler.
Guava with chocolate ice cream.
Needless to say, it was a week of good eating. If you are a foodie who is hesitant about all-inclusives due to food quality, I definitely recommend the Zoetry Resorts. I’ve stayed with them three times now (twice in Dominican and once in Mexico) and the food has been wonderful each stay.
What is your vacation food philosophy?
