Eating On Va-kay

I just got back from a 4ish day trip to Disney World. And while it was tricky at times, I always found a way to eat something relatively healthy and affordable.

Day 1

Breakfast:
I ate a egg and cheese breakfast sandwich from the hotel market/store. This gave me some protein and some carbs for the day ahead. Plus it only cost $5.

Lunch:
While walking around Downtown Disney I spotted a McDonald's. Personally, I'm not a big fan of them on principle, but I do love their fries. And they are pretty cheap and reliable. Instead of getting something fried, I got a large yogurt parfait and ate it outside. Again, this gave me some protein and some carbs, without being too heavy or full of empty calories. Cost $3. Fast food isn't something I normally recommend, but it can be handy in a pinch on the road or when the other options are more $$ or even worse for you. Just try to choose wisely. Try a salad with your sandwich or try the parfait.

Dinner:
For dinner I got to participate in a free company meal. It was a buffet. I got a small sample of a bunch of different items and decided what I liked the best, then I went back for more of that. I did NOT eat everything I got just to clean my plate. If I found I didn't like it, I left it alone. I ended up filling up on shrimp, veggies and beans. Then I indulged in a few adult beverages. ;)

Day 2

Breakfast:
At the end of Day 1, I walked through a small market/shop. It didn't have much, but it did have a sample pack of individual cereals. The cost was $7 for a pack of 8. While this is obviously more than a typical grocery store, I knew this would provide me snacks and easy meals if nothing else was available. So for breakfast on Day 2, I had 2 boxes of dry cereal and an orange that I brought with me from home.

Lunch:
After touring a park all morning, I was starved by lunch time. I was too hungry to wait until I got back from the park, so I ate inside. I checked out the map and found a place with a few options. Then I chose the kid meal instead of the adult. I got a small pizza (basically a slice), grapes, a cookie and milk for $5. It wasn't the healthiest lunch, but it filled me up and saved me the extra cash and calories from a full adult meal.

Snack:
Cereal.

Dinner:
Dinner was another company affair. At this buffet I did the same thing as before and chose a variety, sampled, then filled up on my favorite, leaving the other stuff on the plate. I also tried to choose salad and veggies. I did get dessert, but I only ate a few bites, stopping when I was satisfied...it wasn't thaaat good, so it wasn't worth the calories.

Day 3

Breakfast:
After a long run I knew I needed something more than one box of cereal. So I added some soymilk I picked up at a convenience store for some protein. I also had another orange.

Lunch:
I was starving for lunch! While walking around Epcot I could've picked the first thing I came to, fried fish and fries in England. Instead, I held out for a lighter cuisine. I was able to get a plate full of veggies, tofu and rice in China for $7. Then I shared a beer in Germany with Sir Cakewalk.

Dinner:
At dinner we found ourselves in another park. We checked the map and tried to find something that wouldn't cost too much $ and would be decent. We found a place where I could get a veggie burger. The sandwich came with fries and access to a topping bar for $8. And it was good. Enjoying fries every now and then is not a bad thing. I didn't feel guilty since I had run 5 miles AND walked all day long. Plus, we were at Disney! We had to be a little bad. ;)

Snack:
And carrying on with our badness, we decided to have a late night ice cream snack. I had a float! Yum! And I'm glad I did because we were out until 1am!

Day 4

Breakfast:
For lack of anything else available, I had another egg and cheese sandwich from the hotel shop. I also had a banana.

Lunch:
For lunch we found ourselves at the airport. We scoured the options and found a place that served wraps and salads. I had a veggie wrap with hummus for $8. Sir Cakewalk had chicken curry for the same price.

On the plane we avoided the high calorie snacks and drinks and enjoyed a seltzer water. If you haven't tried it, you should. It IS an acquired taste, but it can be acquired. I used to HATE it. Now I drink it all of the time. It's often free at restaurants and gives you the bubbliness of a soda without the calories or the chemicals.

Then we were home!

When on vacation, you don't have to through your diet our good eating habits out the window. You can still indulge, just do so wisely (make sure it's worth it) and don't go overboard....get the kids option or share something. Do a little planning ahead of time if you can. (I also research food options before I travel.) And you can usually bring some food with you. I brought oranges. And I would have brough some cereal of pretzels if I had had time to hit the grocery before I left. Even little snacks can be a life saver when you are starving and in an unfamiliar place.


Have you traveled lately? What did you eat? How did you keep from spending too much $$ or eating too poorly? Or did you throw caution out the window and eat whatever you wanted?