It's Wednesday, and we're heading to the shore this weekend for a week of family time, sand, and eating. In our pre-real food days, this meant pigging out on caramel corn, cotton candy, frozen custard, taffy, Mack 'n Manco pizza, and lots of homemade desserts. We always joked about how much weight we'd gain in the one week. Even early morning bike rides on the boardwalk were just an excuse for fresh donuts.
Now that my in-laws have switched to a real food diet too, the menu at the shore is changing! Pizza and McD's nights are gone. Home-cooked meals are in. Tons of dessert options are gone. Honey-sweetened homemade treats are in. From a health perspective, these are amazing changes. From a packing and prep mommy perspective, we just added a bunch to our workload. (From my husband's perspective, he still wishes someone would make peanut butter rice krispy treats. :-))
Strategies for eating real food "down the shore:"
1. Have a plan.
Create a meal plan for your vacation time, and don't forget to include snacks, desserts, and drinks. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. My mother in law planned simple dinners like tacos, meatloaf, pulled pork, and Barbeque chicken. Everyone else will bring sides. Our CSA begins tomorrow, so I'll bring lots of greens.
2. Shop before-hand.
I've haven't been very impressed with the old grocery store in Ocean City, NJ. Many items are over-priced compared to home, and I don't expect to find organic options. We stopped at Trader Joe's last night to load up on items for our trip.
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3. Bake and cook what you can before-hand.
Yesterday my boys and I made Flourless Peanut butter chip cookies, and today we made Grain-free Strawberry Streusel muffins. I also want to make some Soft and Chewy Double-Chocolate cookies. These are all going into the freezer until we leave. I'm going to measure out ingredients for our home-made waffle mix, and then we'll just have to bring the wet ingredients. I've heard that my husband's 90 year old grandma even helped to prepare some fruit crisps for the trip. My mother in law gave her some sucanat to substitute for regular sugar.
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4. Make healthier substitutes for traditional favorites.
I didn't think our homemade ice cream would transport down to the shore, but I wanted to have a healthier option for frozen treats. I decided to buy some organic strawberry lemonade, and I'll add it to our popsicle molds when we are at the shore. I also found some salt water taffy at Trader Joe's. It's made with coconut oil and is colored with vegetable extracts.
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5. Have healthy drinks available
We bring our reusable water bottles everywhere so that we aren't tempted to buy sugary drinks. I'm also going to bring some kombucha flavored with sparkling clementine juice and coconut water for beach days.
6. Be prepared for upset tummies.
When we're really careful about what we're eating at home, I've noticed that I'm more sensitive to the artificial junk when we indulge and eat out. I'll be bringing our probiotics and my Young Living peppermint and Di-Gize essential oil blend to help with digestive issues. I found this to be a helpful article for what supplements to bring on vacation.
7. Relax and enjoy!
My family and I will be eating home-cooked meals during the week, and we'll have our snacks and drinks from home for beach days and outings. If we decide to have ice cream on the boardwalk one night, I'm going to join in and thoroughly enjoy it. A few special treats during the week are not going to undo the benefits of our regular healthy diet. Shore time is time to make memories, and I plan to play with my family without worrying about food.
Resources for Healthy Living at the Jersey Shore and Delaware Beaches
1. Health food stores in New Jersey
3. Rainbow Earth Foods - Rehoboth Beach, DE
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