Dining in Mexico Made Healthy

Out there hitting the shops today?

With Black Friday’s steals and deals, you’ll not likely be reading this post until a while after it’s been posted as you’re busy getting a head start on your holiday shopping.

I, however, won’t be ahead on my shopping; I’m relaxing on a beach in Mexico on day three of our relaxing (apart from a race on Sunday), non-traditional Thanksgiving.

As such, I felt compelled to share yet another post on how easy it is to stay fit and focused while traveling, without feeling like you’re depriving yourself from enjoying the local cuisine.

Since we’ve been here, we’ve dined on fresh, local ceviche, house made guacamole with crudités in place of tortilla chips, salsa so fresh I had to eat it like gazpacho, shrimp fajitas with side salad instead of rice & beans, fresh veggies, prepared both steamed and grilled and a particularly delicious, authentic meal at Casa Mission, a nearby restaurant recommended by our hotel concierge.

There, we started with an order of garlic shrimp to share, and their signature lime soup, which was a delectable, light broth with just a touch of chicken for flavoring, no more, no less.

Next, we shared an order of chicken fajitas and the grilled rib eye, both of which came with a half zucchini stuffed with diced steamed veggies.

For desert, we partook of a coconut sorbet that was the perfect balance of coconuts, not too sweet and an absolutely perfect texture.

And those are just a few examples of some of the food we’ve been able to enjoy.

I use this post and others I’ve written in the past like it before just to illustrate that wherever we go, there’s always a choice.

Choose crudités not chips. Choose guacamole, not a melted cheese nacho plate.  

Want a drink? Choose a neat tequila or Mezcal, not a Pina Colada made with carnation evaporated milk and corn syrup.

Choose local fish, not imported meat from thousands of miles away.

Go authentic; gosh- the number of restaurants I’ve seen offering ‘American Specials’ makes me feel a bit ill; as if to say the local cuisine isn’t adequate, which couldn’t be further from the truth!

And of equal importance- choose to move!
What better way to get a scope of a new place than to walk around in it, go for a run on its beaches or hike through its trails?

How much of a new place are you really exploring if you’re just spending the day in the touristy areas featuring yet another Hard Rock Café and another branch of the same jewelry shop you have at home?

Then, choose again- what better way to rehydrate than to drink from a fresh coconut rather than a bottle of Gatorade?

Same old thing I always suggest: eat food and move.

Even on vacation.