Healthy Meals on Vacation

by Lois Breneman, © 2006, Heart to Heart

        In our home we are trying to change our eating habits, little by little.  This year for our annual family beach vacation we planned more healthy meals and it worked out great!   Basic meals contained no sugar, artificial sweeteners, white flour, bad fats, etc.  Sugar and coffee were available for those who couldn't live without them.  Our future daughter-in-law, Rachael,  gave me a copy of the book, Greater Health God's Way, by Stormie Omartian, which gives seven steps to greater health - God's way, and it has had an impact on me.

        My husband suggested we take our water distiller along, rather than the countless gallons of water that we would all consume.  Because of higher prices at the beach, we saved money by taking almost all our food, including orange juice and some milk.  Some jugs were frozen to help keep other food cold, and nothing thawed out during our long drive.

         Before the planning I asked for meal suggestions and made it a point to take favorites of family members, and they appreciated that.  We were all glad for Rachael's suggestion to make homemade ice cream at the beach, and took our electric ice cream freezer along and made it twice!  We served it with various healthy toppings (sliced toasted almonds, toasted unsweetened coconut, natural peanut butter, natural granola, crushed strawberries, and carob chips).  We also had hot fudge and caramel available for those who didn't want to have a sugar withdrawal.  Once you go off sugar though, you will find that you don't desire sweets nearly as much, and other foods have much more flavor.  Of course, the health benefits are endless!

        Using whole spelt flour and Montana golden wheat, whole grain loaves of bread and Pennsylvania sticky buns (using butter, sucanat, cinnamon, nuts, honey and pure maple syrup) were made ahead and frozen.  Specially-made pizza crusts, homemade pizza sauce, and taco shells were brought along by Rachael.

        Homemade pizza was a favorite, with whole spelt pizza crusts and lots of toppings choices, including ripe olives, mushrooms, and crushed pineapple.  Joy and Wayne cooked that night and took topping orders before they assembled the pizzas.  A green tossed salad completed the meal, as we all enjoyed the cool breeze on the deck that evening.

        Another evening Jeff and Rachael prepared tacos with lots of toppings lined up for everyone to help themselves and build their own, plus a green salad.  James and Emily put together a fantastic green salad with plenty of varied toppings to pass around.  Everybody pitched in during cleanup time and it always went very fast!

          Other dinners that we took along - prepared as much ahead of time as possible - were garlic lemon ginger chicken, brown rice with veggies, pulled roast in broth (quick to serve for the evening we arrived).  Side dishes such as red parslied potatoes, frozen stir fry vegetables and others rounded out the meals.  We enjoyed the mealtimes so much and only ate out once.  We also took along cooked and sliced turkey breast for sandwiches.

        The bun buggie veggie dip was lots of fun and enjoyed by the adults too!  I'd encourage you to try that recipe.

        Homemade Granola was used for breakfast and as a snack.  I used my mother's recipe (oats, honey, olive oil, sliced almonds, unsweetened coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, raisins, cranberries).  It was packaged in a large freezer bag, as well as in individual bags, each with a plastic spoon to take to the beach for snacking.  The plan was to take these "snack packs" on the sailboat too, but those ocean waves keep us far too busy to think of food!

You can find the recipes on the other Recipes blog for:

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
My Mother's Granola
Bun Buggie Veggie Dip
Green Garden Salad
Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies
Honey-Wheat Bread
Brown Rice with Veggies