How was the food on your holiday?

How many of you put on weight on your holidays?

How many of you have spent months learning how to eat healthily, retraining yourselves to manage your nutrition only to decide it doesn't matter while you're on holiday?

It doesn't have to be that way!

We decided a year ago, as a family, to eat paleo.  We cut out wheat, sugar, starchy carbs, dairy, legumes and processed food.

We eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

This has changed our lives.

We could have gone on holiday and reverted to norm and feasted on easy quick foods: pizza and ice cream, croissants and bocadillos and beer and crisps and puddings.  We made a decision before we went to enjoy ourselves but to try to stick to plan as much as possible.

We stayed with my lovely mother-in-law and her equally lovely partner so we were able to cook for ourselves and our hosts were really accommodating when they cooked for us and made sure all the meals they provided were paleo!  I appreciate not everyone is going to be this lucky on holiday.

The most important thing we did in order to maintain our paleo ways as much as possible was to plan our meals, breakfast lunch and dinner and to make an effort when eating out to try to choose paleo options.

Now, I'm not saying no profiteroles, ice cream or chocolate was consumed but we did keep it to a minimum.  One of the major shifts was alcohol.  I managed just one sangria all holiday and only drank sparkling water the rest of the time.  My husband had a few glasses of wine but no more than one or two with his evening meal.  The kids, unfortunately, did have the odd coka and limonada.

The rule for the kids is that they eat paleo the vast majority of the time when I am in charge of the meals but they can choose what they want when we eat out - this is to try to avoid them going crazy when they are older and food is up to them - we'll just have to wait and see how that turns out!

Anyway, here are some of the things we ate while in Calpe this summer.

BREAKFASTS:

Made with creamed coconut, eggs, grated lemon zest, ground almonds and sultanas.

parma ham, egg, cucumber and watermelon

Bacon and eggs with pepper and watermelon

post-run breakfast in the seafront restaurant - French omelette with bacon and salad

banana pancakes with berry compote and pineapple

Paleo cookies made with creamed coconut, ground almonds, egg and chocolate chips - with coconut milk - paleo cereal to keep the kids happy.

mashed banana with scrambled eggs and berries and creamed coconut

Daddy pancakes - a bit of a cheat - oats, cottage cheese and eggs - good with marmite.

LUNCHES:

Tuna and egg mayo with lettuce, peaches, watermelon and pink grapefruit

tarragon chicken, apricots, watermelon and grapes

ham and cheese, lettuce, cucumber and watermelon

We had lunch at an all-you-can-eat Chinese, which was delicious but potentially dangerous!
Zack, my eldest went unbelievably crazy - it's astonishing how much an eleven year old can put away!  Any way - I went a little loopy with the dessert...all in all, 4 slices of watermelon, 4 profiteroles with chocolate sauce, lychees, some pink fruit that was similar to lychees, and a creme caramel!  Lunch was sweet and sour prawns, mixed seafood, cucumber, seaweed and pickled cabbage.

baked salmon, apple, peaches, lettuce and watermelon

with lettuce, avocado and watermelon

DINNERS AND SNACKS:

This must have been day 8...

Chicken and salad - an easy dinner - just ask for no chips!

Sardines and salad - sparkling water but chocolate crepe for afters!

Orange and almond dark chocolate naughtiness!

One glass of sangria - so delish!

Mixed grilled fish and salad - ask for no chips.

Ready salted crisps...a couple of days running

A mini magnum!  I had two of these on different days.

We didn't eat perfectly but it could have been a lot worse.  We didn't put on weight.  

If you are on a diet and your holiday is the end game, you will undo all your good work and either give up when you get home or have to start again.  Alternatively, see your healthy eating as a lifestyle change that is forever, then holiday should be no different to your normal routine.  You just need to remember to plan and be mindful.