Healthy Eating on Holiday in Greece

Having just come back from the beautiful island of Kefalonia (Greece), I thought I’d share with you how I personally kept to the 80/20 rule whilst on holiday and maintained my weight.

I was self-catering (for 7 nights) and ate from the apartment for breakfast and for most of the lunches (apart from a couple of Greek Salads [recipe here!] whilst out and about!) and then ate out on an evening (my favourite part of a holiday!). So to see what I ate and drank on a daily basis, in a bit of a ‘What I Ate Wednesday’ style blog post, carry on reading!

 

P.S Do check out my How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain blog post for more information on how to stay healthy when abroad as well as my French Supermarket Haul!

 

• Breakfast

Breakfast is one of my favourite meals of the day and after a quick swim in the pool (and a drink of water with lemon!) I made the most of the local fruits. Fruit always tastes so much better on holiday and it’s packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to keep us healthy, as well as slow release energy! I enjoyed my peaches, nectarines, banana & watermelon with 2% Greek yoghurt (naturally!) and honey for some natural sweetness. Greek yoghurt is a great source of protein and calcium and combined with the fruit is guaranteed to keep you feeling full until lunch! For a drink, I had herbal or fresh mint tea (except when I had breakfast on the beach!).

P.S The middle picture is when I enjoyed breakfast on the beach – I picked up these disposable tins from the local supermarket & chopped up the fruit on the beach.. delicious!

 

• Lunch

I ate out on three days (the first day, the last day and one in the middle when it rained!) and enjoyed a Greek Salad (I posted a picture on my Instagram!) on two of them and an Italian Salad on the other (top picture). On the other days I ate in and enjoyed a protein-based lunch consisting of cottage cheese, ham, cheese and scrambled egg along with fresh tomatoes and I always finished it with Greek yoghurt, banana and honey (I have a sweet tooth!). I prefer to eat more on an evening than during the day when on holiday, mainly because of the heat and also because it’s never that great swimming or playing in the sea with a super full stomach!

 

• Snacks

Ok so this is where the 80/20 rule comes in.. I usually had an afternoon snack of either fruit or a milk shake but on one (or two!) of the days fancied a few sweets and a couple of biscuits (yes it’s naughty, no I didn’t personally buy them and yes I enjoyed them!), and I ate them guilt-free(!).

 

• Evening Meal

My evening meals were pretty much always the same.. they started with tzatziki and pitta bread, always featured a local fish dish with vegetables (the tuna steaks were amazing!) and they finished with an often free (shared) dessert.. think creme caramel, apple pie, jelly, or a frozen Greek yoghurt with delicious toppings! I did have a cheeky pizza on one of the nights, however I skipped the starter and dessert to balance things out ;).

 

• Drinks

To stay hydrated during to the day, I drank chilled bottled water and flavoured it with frozen lemon pieces. I would take a frozen bottle of water with me to the pool and as it defrosted I drank it! I ordered a cheeky frappe (like an iced mocha but without the chocolate!) and diet coke whilst out and about on two days, and then on an evening I enjoyed a glass of wine with my meal (as well as bottled water!) and a couple of cheeky cocktails on two of the nights (they came with either fruit or nuts.. bonus!). I don’t normally drink every night (I drink once or twice a month usually) so thought a holiday with a cheeky glass of wine on an evening wasn’t too bad. Ideally we should aim for at least 2 alcoholic days a week, having no more than 1-2 alcoholic drinks a day.

 

I really hope you’ve found this blog post interesting .. I practice what I preach when it comes to healthy eating and healthy living.. I believe that if you stay active and eat wholesome, healthy food most of the time then indulging a little is not a problem.. AT ALL!! I believe that life is for living and no food is bad in isolation .. so don’t be hard on yourself next time you have a few cheeky biscuits ;).

 

What do you enjoy eating on holiday?! – do leave me a comment below!