Traveling and eating healthy By Lily Aronin
A farmer’s market in NYC (Flickr: John)
Ready to hit the Big Apple with your family and still enjoy a healthy and easy vacation?
Step 1. Find out where you are staying.
Stock up on fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy snacks to tide your family over between meals. (Flickr: John)
There are few places in NYC that don’t have a Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or a farmer’s market close by. You can find your closest option with a simple Google search. Or go straight to GrowNYC.com. Stock up on fresh fruits, vegetables, granola bars and fiber rich, whole grain, healthy snacks to tide your family over between meals. Healthy snacks will help you all to stay energized and happy throughout the day. The family with stable blood sugar will have a much more stable vacation.
(MORE: Look for fantastic kid-friendly hotels to stay in New York City.)
Step 2. Eating out.
The key is finding a family-friendly restaurant. (Brother Jimmy’s BBQ)
No one said, “I can’t wait to get to get cooking on vacation.” To eat out well in NYC on a family vacation, the key is finding a family friendly restaurant. My favorite site for a kid-friendly eatery anywhere in NYC is from MommyPoppins.com. Every single one of these places will let you relax with your family, so that you can make good decisions when ordering. To order well without giving up on your foodie pleasures, just avoid fried food, ask for simple sliced vegetables that your kids already like as a starter and pick small portions for everyone. Order a balanced meal for the adults as well so that you have enough energy to keep chasing after them the rest of the day. Skip dessert and save room for the best traditional indulgences in NYC.
Step 3. NYC must eats.
You cannot have the complete NYC experience without its traditional thin crust pizza. (Flickr: Guian Bolisay)
The top two treats to enjoy that scream New York are ice cream in Central Park and the traditional NYC pizza slice. There is nothing more iconic than enjoying an ice cream cone in Central Park. You can always get a cone or bar anywhere in the park itself or you can have an experience at Grom, the best authentic Italian Gelato, at one of their two locations around the park. This is a great way to eat naturally and indulgently on vacation. You cannot have the complete NYC experience without its traditional thin crust pizza. Once you are going to eat pizza you should visit Lombardi’s, which is actually known as America’s first pizzeria. It has been around for 100 years and makes a great story for the family photo book. Things to know, before you go for traditional pizza. You must order a pie and bring cash (though there is an ATM on site). This is a great memorable piece of family fun and American history that you can enjoy for around $11 a pie.
(MORE: Need help with planning your NYC vacation? Get some ideas from our New York City Travel Itinerary.)
Step 4. Peace of mind.
A healthy family vacation really depends on managing stress. When we are relaxed we always make better choices and enjoy our vacations more. To help, try drinking a glass of water before your morning Starbucks and swap that second latte for one of the famous new iced Teavana teas. Just make sure you get yours without added sugar, you can always add honey or sugar on your own, just like coffee. For a real stress buster pick up one of their Evolution Juices, the Sweet Greens with lemon will calm down your adrenal system and really detoxify those stresses.
Lily Aronin contributed this to MiniTime.
