Healthy Eating in the Big City

Sticking to healthy on vacation isn’t easy, and it’s especially tricky when you’re really trying to not be “that person” who won’t do anything fun because they’re “watching what they’re eating”.

I’m not going to add up all the calories and stuff, since I’m showing you some random meals from different days. I did try to sneak in healthy food while tasting my way through the city. Please note that fro yo, wine, and macaroni and cheese were all consumed on this trip, but those pictures weren’t anything special!

So this is the What I Ate Wednesday: New York Edition

Favorite Breakfast

I got to meet Meredith from Dare You To (how gorgeous is she?!) and we took a trip to the Chobani store. It was amazing! I had a bowl of greek goodness topped with pistachios, chocolate, orange, and agave. It was super creamy and delicious. It was so much fun chatting with Meredith about blogging, food, and life in general! Why have I never put pistachios in my yogurt? New thing to try.

Favorite Lunch

We stopped by the Smorgasburg festival in Brooklyn and I tried everything. From second row: Soy Hound Soymilk, McClures Spicy Pickles, and some kind of coffee infused chocolate which was amazing. For my actual lunch, I got some of  this quinoa falafel, which was absolutely amazing. I have to try making falafel with quinoa…

Favorite Dinner

We went to a little cafe called Once Upon a Tart and it was so adorable. I had a tomato and mozzarella sandwich, served with a lentil and feta salad. I forgot how much I love lentils! And obviously I’m still obsessed with feta. I need to recreate this salad.

And just to prove that I did take pictures of people… here are some favorites from the trip!

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently?

5 Tips for Healthy Traveling

The past few days have been a bit of a blur, as we’ve packed the days with activity here in the big apple. We’ve toured, tasted, traveled, and taken way too many pictures.

I’m still trying to keep track of my daily eats as part of the Get Well Challenge, so I’ve tried to keep things balanced while out and about here. It’s not easy when we’re surrounded by so many delicious places! I found a few simple tricks to keeping things in check.

1. Cut calories without noticing

I’ve had some seriously amazing food here. The quinoa falafel I had from the Smorgasburg Food Festival was amazing. But I didn’t really need the pita it was served in. And the tomato + mozzarella sandwich I had from Once Upon a Tart was amazing, but eating it as an “open faced” sandwich saved me a few more unnecessary calories. Eat the best part of the meal, and skip out on the extras.

2. Watch your drinks

No seriously, keep an eye on them. Speficially when ordering, try to keep the sugar down. If it’s a fancy coffee drink, opt for coffee with skim and sugar free syrup. If you’re ordering  a cocktail, go for something like vodka + soda water (not vodka + tonic, which has lots of added sugar!) Or enjoy a glass of wine, but skip the sugary cocktails which can have 300+ calories.

3. Make exercise a fun activity

I haven’t been running while we’ve been here, but we’ve literally walked miles and miles every day. Not only is it cheaper to walk, it’s an easy way to get in exercise without even thinking about it. We’ve taken walking tours, we’ve explored the city, and yes, dancing counts as cardio 😉

4. Don’t skip breakfast

Don’t do it! Start the day off on the right foot. Even if we woke up late, and I knew lunch would only be a few hours away, I still munched on an apple so I wouldn’t get overly hungry and over do it at lunch. Starting the day off right sets the tone for the rest of the day. 

5. Be prepared!

I always packed a snack (either an apple, or a granola bar) so if I got hungry while we were out and about, I wouldn’t be stuck trying to find something from a street vendor or convenience store. I do this when I’m home too. You never know when your stomach is going to start rumbling for a snack. Come prepared! (Some of my favorite snack bars: Kashi Pumpkin Flax, Adkins Advantage Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Fiber One Peanut Butter, KIND bars)

What are some of your healthy traveling tips?

Single Serving Apple Crisp

Happy Friday! I’m sitting here at a hotel in New York City, so I can’t stay long. I’ve got a whole city to explore! A few friends and I are spending a long weekend here, shopping, eating, exploring, and picture taking. It’s definitely my type of weekend 😉

Anyways, I do have a new recipe for you! After our apple picking adventures, I have an abundance of apples sitting on my fridge. I absolutely love apples so it’s not really an issue, but I figured I should at least try some fun new recipes. Wednesday night I was in a baking mood, but since I was leaving for NYC on Thursday, I didn’t want to bake massive quantities of anything.

Seemed like a good time to play with some single serving recipes!

[Vegan]

• 1 large apple
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Earth Balance butter (or regular butter)
• 1 tbsp whole grain oats (I used steel cut)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Peel and chop your apple into small pieces (I did thin slices, halved). Put those into a small oven safe dish. I used a large ramekin.  Combine the flour and brown sugar, and then use a fork to cut in the butter until it’s crumbly. Add oats and cinnamon and then pour it over the apples. I only had steel cut oats on hand, but I think regular rolled oats would be even better. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. When I made this, I split it into 2 ramekins, and made 2 mini servings (one for me, one for Lindsay!)

Nutritional info: 190 calories, 4g fat, 4g fiber, 1g protein.

I still have more apples to use up… any ideas?

The Dallas Edition

Eating on vacation is so much more fun than a regular day. And not just because I can bring my camera with me everywhere… Poor Eric had to accompany me as I acted like a tourist, snapping pictures everywhere we went.

So it’s fun to show you some food that’s a little outside of my boring routine!

Breakfast

Monday morning, I woke up early (for no apparent reason) and went to the gym for a quick workout. When I came back, I had a bowl of pomegranate Chobani with some frozen raspberries.

I know this sounds like a typical breakfast but it’s not. I only ever buy plain 0% Chobani, because I try to cut down on the added sugar. But I really wanted to try a fruity flavor and I fell in love with this one. Seriously, SO good. I’ll be dreaming of this for awhile.

Lunch

Eric and I ran errands all morning, getting him furniture and things. It was torture walking through Ikea knowing I couldn’t actually buy anything that wouldn’t fit into my suitcase. I basically wanted to just move into the store, permanently.

We stopped by Taco Cabana, which was sort of like Chipotle with more options. I got a bowl filled with deliciousness.

3 Tips for eating healthy at a Mexican Restaurant

1. Go vegetarian (not just because I heart vegetables, but so you’re not getting stuff cooked in lard)
2. Skip the cheese and sour cream, and go for guacamole instead. Still creamy!
3. Load up on salsa, rather than sauces. Salsa are basically all veggies!

Dinner

We went to Uptown Dallas to try a bar called Tate’s, known for their Blackbird Julep. I can see why.

Look at all that fruit! It’s like they knew I’m obsessed with blueberries.

I also had a “Skinny Dip” Martini, as well as a plate of roasted goat cheese bruchetta.

I was going to get the hummus and veggies, which might have been a little healthier, but I always get hummus, so it was fun to try something new. I loved that it came out warm, with lots of peppers and tomatoes on top. The goat cheese had a perfect amount of seasoning, to give it a little kick. I might trade my feta obsession for a goat cheese obsession.

I loved Dallas so much. Not just the food, the city seemed to be bubbling with life! It was huge, and I wish I could have done more exploring. I totally can’t wait to go back! But I’m now in Ohio, visiting family and friends, for the rest of the week. I like Columbus too, and not just because they have the worlds best veggie burger and the most delicious ice cream in the universe. (I will be getting both of those while I’m home.)

Which do you like better, goat cheese, or feta cheese?