Following my post on staying healthy on holiday I thought it might be good for me to share with you my food outings whilst I was away.
I was lucky enough to stay in a Villa, which gave me the flexibility to pick and choose my own food and cook my own meals, however I know that when you are staying in a resort or hotels it can be really hard to determine exactly what kind of food you are going to get before you get it.
My top tips would be:
* Determine how busy a food establishment is the busier the better
* Always read the menu before you go in so you can choose what you want and see if there are healthy options
* If you have a naughty treat, no need to worry your on holiday but perhaps take a walk or do a few extra laps of the pool!
So I hear you cry how did Duckey do?
Well considering I am incredibly picky with food and deprive myself from the good things in life sometimes, this time I didn’t!
I usually started the morning off by my usual half hour of yoga but this time with a difference I had the warm sun! There was no better way to start the day than with a stretch in the sunlight to start your energy flow.
I then popped in for a quick change into my swimmers and hit the pool. Usually I would try and do 50 laps in the morning splash about during the day and 50 laps before I finished my day by the pool.
This was the only exercise I let myself do, it was very relaxing easy exercise which is what I needed! I would usually enjoy a run around the block in the sun or some more intense workouts but not this time.
As for food after my swim thanks to the delights of the supermarket I was able to obtain some Dorset Cereal which was more like muesli. This would usually start my day on a real natural note I had this every morning.
For lunch I would usually get hungry around 2pm so I headed into the kitchen where my dad would make me a cheese and tomato sandwich on brown bread.
The bread in Spain is so light even the white bread would not have bloated you. As for the tomatoes and fruit well they were as delicious as you could imagine in flavour and very natural as were the Olives and Almonds I usually snacked on.
If I didn’t fancy a sandwich I would have a few rice cakes with some watermelon.
Drink wise I took my green tea for the daytime along with some water and in the evenings I would treat myself to some vino at dinner and on a few occasions a cheeky Gin and Light tonic (which is one of the healthiest alcoholic drinks!)
For the evenings we visited on most occasions the most fantastic Italian Restaurant, my word to describe it would be rustic! The owner was a huge Italian with the attitude of Godzilla, he would tell you to “sit” and at first I thought how can your Italian be so busy?
In the end he warmed but it was his personality that attracted us back. It was covering 80 people a night and there were four staff the Italian, his two daughters and his wife in the kitchen.
The food was as fresh as it came, we always started with some bread and Olive oil – I felt like I was on the Mediterranean diet!
Although eating out can be unhealthy because the ingredients were so natural and fresh it didn’t feel like it. The pizzas were light and not cheesy, the pasta light and not too creamy and my dad has Spag Bol five nights in a row so I am guessing that was pretty good!
One night I decided to eat alone so went to a contemporary English establishment called Stan and Ollies where I had a fresh prawn cocktail, BBQ’d chicken and vegetables and a treat for dessert which I will come onto!
My naughtiest treat of the holiday was probably the Amaretto Ice Cream, or the Chocolate Brownie I had at Stan and Ollies... but my gosh it was worth it!
On the nights we decided to eat in we had one BBQ as we wanted to make use of the cute little villa grill, and I created a Duckey Spanish Supper for the family to enjoy.
The thing I learnt about this holiday was that I ate like a normal person, three good meals a day, a few treats in the evening and it didn’t harm me. I look healthy feel healthy and sometimes it’s the stress of worrying about what you eat that is much worse.
So my advice is to eat healthy but one week of not being so strict on yourself won’t kill you, however using my little tips may save a few calories along the way!
