Recently, I went on a cruise with my husband for his job. Someone at work said "how can YOU go on a cruise; what can you eat?" To make the offensive conversation end quickly, I politely smiled and replied, "it's not easy." The truth is it's easy to find healthy options. It's harder not to eat everything else.
For breakfast each morning we opted for the dining room. Over the course of the week I had either (1) eggs benedict with salmon (no sauce) on an english muffin, (2) an egg white veggie omelet with salsa, avocado and side of fruit, (3) turkey sausage, poached eggs and avocado spread on rye toast. I told them no butter or cheese on anything and really didn't need it with salsa, avocado and the egg yolk. I skipped the bakery basket altogether, opting for fruit. My husband had a bite of each pastry and 4 of 5 were gross.
For lunch, I made salad with oil and vinegar at the buffet then walked over to the deli and asked for plain turkey. The chef said "you don't want bread?!?!" You would think I asked her for a sneaker on my salad but after the first day, she got the hang of this crazy concept.
For dinner, they showed me the menu every night for the next day so they had time to adjust anything I wanted. So while I could have easily had grilled fish or chicken with steamed vegetables every night, they found ways to make crab cakes, mango soup and even a dessert one night that worked with my needs.
We had a fruit basket in our room. One night when I really wanted to indulge with the group at the 24 hour pizzeria, I asked for a veggie slice without cheese and they happily made it. While it wasn't the easiest process, I had no allergic reactions, stellar blood sugars and didn't gain weight...unheard of on cruises. And while others ate like it was the last day of the world, they frequently commented "that wasn't that good." So I leave you with this thought...you can make healthy choices anywhere - the real question is will you!
For breakfast each morning we opted for the dining room. Over the course of the week I had either (1) eggs benedict with salmon (no sauce) on an english muffin, (2) an egg white veggie omelet with salsa, avocado and side of fruit, (3) turkey sausage, poached eggs and avocado spread on rye toast. I told them no butter or cheese on anything and really didn't need it with salsa, avocado and the egg yolk. I skipped the bakery basket altogether, opting for fruit. My husband had a bite of each pastry and 4 of 5 were gross.
For lunch, I made salad with oil and vinegar at the buffet then walked over to the deli and asked for plain turkey. The chef said "you don't want bread?!?!" You would think I asked her for a sneaker on my salad but after the first day, she got the hang of this crazy concept.
For dinner, they showed me the menu every night for the next day so they had time to adjust anything I wanted. So while I could have easily had grilled fish or chicken with steamed vegetables every night, they found ways to make crab cakes, mango soup and even a dessert one night that worked with my needs.
We had a fruit basket in our room. One night when I really wanted to indulge with the group at the 24 hour pizzeria, I asked for a veggie slice without cheese and they happily made it. While it wasn't the easiest process, I had no allergic reactions, stellar blood sugars and didn't gain weight...unheard of on cruises. And while others ate like it was the last day of the world, they frequently commented "that wasn't that good." So I leave you with this thought...you can make healthy choices anywhere - the real question is will you!