Stay healthy while cruising
hi! My name is Jasmine from the healthy living blog Sweet and Fit. When Danica told me she was looking for guest posters while she will be on her anniversary cruise with Jay, I knew I just had to take her up on that offer. Danica is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met and I am honored to do this guest post for her – thank you Danica!
Right about now Danica is probably soaking up the Caribbean sun, shopping around on the islands, or maybe even winning some in the cruiseship’s casino – meanwhile I’m wearing two pairs of pants and roughing it out in the rain & wind here in DC. Its no surprise that I try to escape from the nasty weather in DC almost every winter, I have been on about a dozen cruises, ten of which were with Royal Caribbean cruise lines. As I grew older, watching what I eat and maintaining a healthy lifestyle became more and more important to me. Over time, I learned to adapt to my environment and make the healthiest choices while cruising. Sometimes it can be challenging to maintain a healthy lifestyle at sea, but with an open mind – its actually fairly easy. I think many people are going on cruises because of how affordable they are and also since its really an all-inclusive vacation (except alcohol that is). I figured I’d share some of the ways I stay healthy on cruises, and perhaps someone may find this helpful =)
- excursions! I think just about all cruiselines have offer activities at the different ports of call, some are just a walking tour – but other excursions really give me a work-out! I don’t know about you but my usual work-out is nothing like snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming with dolphins, hiking, or any type of watersport you can think of.
- walking – I notice that I end up walking so much more when on vacation without a car, than when I’m at home. Not only do I find myself walking up and down lengthy corridors on cruises ship, but I also do a TON of walking around on the islands. Not having a car will do that to a person, you find yourself walking a few miles over the course of the day.
- dinner – For people that are trying to eat healthy on a cruiseship, the fancy dinners in the dining room may not seem to find healthy options. However, the dining room almost always offers two healthy entrée choices for those who don’t like anything on the menu for the evening, the healthy choices may be a grilled chicken of grilled Atlantic salmon with steamed veggies. I find that while in the middle of the ocean, its probably best to take advantage of all the fresh seafood available – such as this amazing jump shrimp cocktail:
Also, the dining staff are really more than happy to accommodate any dietery needs/restrictions you may have. Its really not any trouble for them to put sauce on the side or modify the dish to your needs – they are really more than happy to make sure you are satisfied =) If all else fails, the buffet-style dinner option is a great choice for picky eaters – with a HUGE salad bar and sooo many other options, its so easy to pick and choose everything to create a well-rounded healthy meal.
Lastly – it’s a cruise after all! If there’s ever a time that you need to indulge and treat yourself, its probably on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. When cruising, I do enjoy indulging a bit every night at dinner, but I try to make up for it by eating somewhat healthy most of the day.
Thank you so much Danica for giving me this opportunity to guest post on your lovely blog!
Happy sailing!
Soda Stream Giveaway!!!
I seriously have a NEW LOVE and it’s a SODA STREAM in case you all haven’t notice. I am a bit obsessed with Fizzy Water and it is honestly my drink of choice.
I LOVE Soda Stream for so many reasons, but, here are a few:
* It’s 110% environmentally friendly – no more fizzy water bottles to recycle, ever!
* It only takes 30 seconds to whip up a batch of cold fizzy water any time you want it
* It comes in FLAVORS if you want them or you can have it straight up
* It’s fun to make and totally encourages me to drink A-LOT of water
Ok ~ enough rambling by me because honestly I think EVERYONE should have one of these. Now, let’s get down to business. The AMAZING people over at Soda Stream are giving one of my readers an opportunity to WIN this AWESOME PRIZE PACK!!!
Fountain Jet Soda Lover’s Start-Up Kit.
This FANTASTIC KIT It includes the winner’s choice of:
* black/silver, white or red/silver Fountain Jet
* CO2 to make over 100 liters of soda
* 2 reusable carbonating bottles
* 3 full-sized flavors of the winner’s choice
HOW TO ENTER:
1) Leave your FIRST comment below telling me ONE reason why you want a Soda Stream or how you plan to use your Soda Stream.
2) TWEET about this giveaway and include @danicasdaily in your tweet so I know you did. You can also post on Facebook including a link to this giveaway if you don’t tweet. Be sure to leave a SECOND comment to let me know you did.
3) If you have a blog, post a link back to this post and leave a THIRD comment with the link letting me know you did.
4) If you do not have a blog, leave a COMMENT letting me know at least one other person you told about the giveaway.
There you have it ~ THREE ways to enter to WIN this awesome prize!
This contest is open to U.S. Residents only sorry my international readers 
One winner will be randomly drawn and announced on Tuesday, December 1, 2009!
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE ~ This is DEFINTELY a prize you will want to win!
Dill-Yogurt Dip
Snack-Girl features a snack makeover every week. This one is about dip!
Have you noticed how many calories a sour cream and onion dip has? We can fool ourselves into believing we are eating healthily by dipping veggies in these dips. Alas, they taste good but they are killing our waistlines.
Everyone loves vegetables when you start adding fat, salt, and sugar. And this is a good thing – but how much fat, salt, and sugar do you need to have a yummy snack?
This is a great makeover because you are not only using a low calorie substitute for sour cream but you are adding vegetables to the dip! So you get twice the veggies out of your snack.
Greek yogurt has a thicker consistency than regular yogurt which makes it feel and taste more luxurious than regular yogurts. There is a zero fat version which tastes pretty good.
Dill-Yogurt Dip
Fat-Free Greek Yogurt (6 ounces or so)
One half cucumber
2 tsp. fresh dill
Red wine vinegar to taste (splash or two)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mince cucumber and dill. Mix together with yogurt, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Serve with sliced carrots, broccoli, celery, sugar snap peas, etc.
The vinegar makes the yogurt sour (like sour cream) and the salt and pepper give it the saltiness that tastes great with raw vegetables.
Find more healthy snack ideas and snack makeovers on http://www.snack-girl.com
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