Mike and I wanted to go on a cheap, fun, vacation before embarking on our busy summer plans, so we decided to hang in Ocean City, Maryland for a few days. We had spent a few days in OC a couple years ago, when we were a much younger couple and much younger people. We gorged ourselves on the Boardwalk, baked on the beach, and took a high-speed dolphin watching cruise. This time around, we wanted a different experience.
Since I'm in the second week of my summer vacation, which I hope will be my dress rehearsal for my ever-encroaching adult life beginning in August, I'm trying my hardest to eat healthy and exercise as much as possible. I didn't want to go to Ocean City, catch a whiff of Thrasher's fries and have my whole workout regimen and all the work I'd done to go down the toilet. So, I informed Mike we would be going on a health-cation.
The FoodIf we were going to be feeling healthy on this vacation, we certainly weren't going to be eating out every day, but we also didn't want to be stuck nibbling on nothingness in the name of our cause. Here's how we noshed in OC.
Breakfast- Any combination of: organic yogurt with fresh blueberries, honey, or Kashi Go Lean Toasted Berry Crunch; eggs; English Muffins with apricot preserves. Lots of protein for post workout boosts and lots to keep us full until lunch!
The salad was served with a delicious and easy to make
balsamic-dijon dressing... mmm.
Lunch- Since we knew we'd be hankering to stay on the beach a full day, we took some cooler ready food: turkey breast, cheese, rolls, and light versions of condiments. Our lunch triumphant was a salad of baby lettuce, baked goat cheese buttons and rosemary walnuts from my beloved
goat cheese cookbook .
Dinner- is where we really got cookin'. Our first night we made a delicious meal of
Bon Appetit's Slow-Baked Salmon with Lemon and Thyme served with baked sweet potato fries and fresh greens in balsamic vinaigrette. We shared the meal with our hosts as a thank you for their hospitality, and it caused one of them to remark, "I'm not just saying this... this is the best salmon I've ever had."
Slow-baked salmon with sweet potato fries, which are
so easy to make- just toss some sweet potato slivers
in a bit of olive oil, salt them, and throw 'em in the oven!
Our second evening we ate at the much-famed
Grove Market , a tiny shack across the bay, about a 15 minute drive from OC. We made an exception on our eating out rule for this place because (a) we had heard a lot about it from our hosts, who are regulars there, and (b) they use local ingredients, and the menu is truly based on what is fresh and in season at the time. We ate: Shrimp Bisque, Smoked Bluefish Pate, and a Beet and Goat Cheese salad with a Mustard Vinaigrette for our appetizers. Mike enjoyed Shrimp Creole and I ate a delicious duck (my first ever)... I understood why the duck was their house specialty. Overall, The Grove Market comes highly recommended!
Our last evening we made a simple recipe of my mom's creation: "Cold Spaghetti." It's a delicious, light, healthy, and easy-to-prepare dinner that keeps in the fridge for a couple days.
Not the prettiest, but it sure is tasty!
Ingredients1/2 pound linguine
1 bell pepper (pick your favorite color!)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 small can chickpeas
1 can artichoke hearts (if desired)
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
grated parmesan cheese
Cook pasta. Meanwhile, halve tomatoes and cube bell pepper. Drain chickpeas. Combine, then add balsamic vinegar and olive oil and mix. Top with parmesan. Yum!
Desserts and Snacks: We had a lemon merengue pie on hand, I ate some Kohr's Frozen Custard at the Boardwalk, and we made some smoothies.
The WorkoutsWe didn't really do anything particularly inventive or crazy, but we had fun. Every morning we went
running on the beach . Sometimes we saw beach creatures, including horseshoe crabs, but other than them the beaches were pretty empty in the mornings, which was lovely. On Monday we went kayaking around Assateague Island and saw some wild ponies, which was difficult since it was a tad stormy that day, but delightful overall. The goal for the vacation was to have fun while getting some fitness in, and we did. Mission accomplished.
The SkinnyBarring our meal at The Grove, which I was unable to track, every day of our trip I was somewhere between 200 and 400 calories under my recommended intake, thanks to exercise and healthy eating choices. This all amounted to my dropping a pound over the four days. This was never the goal of our trip, but hey, I'll take it. I didn't feel hungry or like I was denying myself foods I wanted (except maybe some Thrasher's fries...), and I thoroughly enjoyed our health-cation.
Since I'm in the second week of my summer vacation, which I hope will be my dress rehearsal for my ever-encroaching adult life beginning in August, I'm trying my hardest to eat healthy and exercise as much as possible. I didn't want to go to Ocean City, catch a whiff of Thrasher's fries and have my whole workout regimen and all the work I'd done to go down the toilet. So, I informed Mike we would be going on a health-cation.
The Food
If we were going to be feeling healthy on this vacation, we certainly weren't going to be eating out every day, but we also didn't want to be stuck nibbling on nothingness in the name of our cause. Here's how we noshed in OC.
Breakfast- Any combination of: organic yogurt with fresh blueberries, honey, or Kashi Go Lean Toasted Berry Crunch; eggs; English Muffins with apricot preserves. Lots of protein for post workout boosts and lots to keep us full until lunch!
balsamic-dijon dressing... mmm.
Dinner- is where we really got cookin'. Our first night we made a delicious meal of Bon Appetit's Slow-Baked Salmon with Lemon and Thyme served with baked sweet potato fries and fresh greens in balsamic vinaigrette. We shared the meal with our hosts as a thank you for their hospitality, and it caused one of them to remark, "I'm not just saying this... this is the best salmon I've ever had."
so easy to make- just toss some sweet potato slivers
in a bit of olive oil, salt them, and throw 'em in the oven!
Our last evening we made a simple recipe of my mom's creation: "Cold Spaghetti." It's a delicious, light, healthy, and easy-to-prepare dinner that keeps in the fridge for a couple days.
1 bell pepper (pick your favorite color!)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 small can chickpeas
1 can artichoke hearts (if desired)
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
grated parmesan cheese
Cook pasta. Meanwhile, halve tomatoes and cube bell pepper. Drain chickpeas. Combine, then add balsamic vinegar and olive oil and mix. Top with parmesan. Yum!
Desserts and Snacks: We had a lemon merengue pie on hand, I ate some Kohr's Frozen Custard at the Boardwalk, and we made some smoothies.
The Workouts
We didn't really do anything particularly inventive or crazy, but we had fun. Every morning we went running on the beach . Sometimes we saw beach creatures, including horseshoe crabs, but other than them the beaches were pretty empty in the mornings, which was lovely. On Monday we went kayaking around Assateague Island and saw some wild ponies, which was difficult since it was a tad stormy that day, but delightful overall. The goal for the vacation was to have fun while getting some fitness in, and we did. Mission accomplished.
The Skinny
Barring our meal at The Grove, which I was unable to track, every day of our trip I was somewhere between 200 and 400 calories under my recommended intake, thanks to exercise and healthy eating choices. This all amounted to my dropping a pound over the four days. This was never the goal of our trip, but hey, I'll take it. I didn't feel hungry or like I was denying myself foods I wanted (except maybe some Thrasher's fries...), and I thoroughly enjoyed our health-cation.