Vacations are not easy for me because I love food and usually like to indulge my sweet tooth and love of all carbohydrates especially bread when on a break. It also means a few pounds gained which I have to work on after I get back. For spring break, we headed to Toronto, Canada and we all wanted to eat foods we had missed due to COVID and closed borders. I ate to my heart’s content and I knew that the scale will not be kind to me when I got back which was the case when I stepped on the scale after a week and a half. The ethnic foods I had eaten were worth it because it was a sense of familiarity and comfort that I had missed for a while.
Getting back from vacation is always hard because you have to get back into a routine and start cooking healthy again. One of the ways I ease back into routine, is to prepare easy dishes which are wholesome but take little time to get together. I like to have frozen packets of Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower on hand and usually prep something where not a lot of thinking is required.
One of the easiest recipes to throw together is ground beef with cauliflower rice. I cook the meat, drain the fat and set meat aside. Throw in some Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower in the pan, let water evaporate, add some spices, put meat back and then add whatever else you like into the pan and voila, an easy low carb meal which checks all the boxes for a healthy meal. I add some cheese to give it some extra richness and some pecans for extra crunch. Not the most appetizing to look at, but it is healthy and satisfying and can be done in no time at all. It makes you feel that after a week of food indulging, you are back on your diet and helps to not give up all together. Vacations are usually a setback for weight loss, but there is nothing wrong with taking a break and getting right back to trying to losing those unwanted pounds. Try the Trader Joe’s Spicy Mexican style riced cauliflower-it’s a solid 10 for me. For the kids, who are not watching their carbs, I add a flat bread (paratha) which is also also available from Trader Joe’s or any Indian grocery store to make it taco style.
