HEALTHY EATING ON YOUR GREEK HOLIDAY
You’ve been dieting, juicing and putting in the extra hours at the gym and now you are ‘beach body ready’. …Come on … who is ever really ‘beach body ready for a Greek Holiday?! Most of us plan to do all of the above but never quite get round to it. I like the recent joke on Facebook that is currently doing the rounds:
“Due to recent setbacks, my beach body will be postponed another year. As usual, your patience is much appreciated.”
For many of us going on holiday is a chance to indulge a little and relax any strict eating regime we may have tried to put in place. Having said that when we go away we sometimes fall into eating a lot of extra calories without even realising it and return from your Greek holiday needing to put some work in.
A delicious healthy Greek Meze
A HEALTHY DIET WHILE ON YOUR GREEK HOLIDAY
For those of you holidaying in Greece you are in luck. Greek and other Mediterranean diets are one of the healthiest diets around. It is centred on vegetables, fish, fruit and legumes. This diet can be both low fat and offer many other health benefits. Research has shown that the kind of food you can eat while on your Greek holiday can reduce the risk of heart disease, dementia and keep the pounds off. But beware…. as with any cuisine there are healthy choices you can make and others that will steer you towards the dark side!
FOODS TO GO FOR ON YOUR GREEK HOLIDAY
Here we will list the top healthy choices you can make when ordering on your Greek holiday and the ones you might want to avoid:
Greek Salad. This is an obvious choice. Packed full of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and olives this is a fresh zingy salad served in every taverna you will find on your Greek holiday. Of course it makes sense to ask for your dressing on the side and go easy on the feta. Restaurants often dump a huge great slab of the feta on top. Why not halve the portion and give to one of your other diners.
Chicken Souvlaki. This delicious chicken skewer is both lean and tasty. First, the chicken is marinated in olive oil, garlic, lemon and oregano then it is gently grilled over burning coals. What’s not to like?!
Hummus. Although not officially a Greek dish you will see this item on all starter sections on your Greek holiday. It is a great source of protein and fibre. As with all foods, portion control is important here if trying to keep a check on the calories so again share a portion with a friend.
Grilled Fish. As many Greek holidays are spent on beautiful islands, surrounded by plentiful seas grilled fish is always an excellent choice when eating out. Fresh, tasty and often very filling, a whole grilled fish is a delicious way to eat healthy Greek food.
Grilled Sardines with just a squeeze of lemon.
Gigantes are essentially are wonderful, filling dish of protein rich butter and lima beans smothered in garlicky tomato sauce. They are both satisfying and nutritious. Kids seem to love these too so a great choice to order on your Greek holiday.
BOOBY TRAPS – FOODS TO BE CAREFUL WITH ON YOUR GREEK HOLIDAY
Mousakka. Although this dish may have aubergine as one of its main ingredients it is also packed full of fatty minced lamb and calorific béchamel sauce. Tasty but deadly!
Gyros Pitta. This pitta bread staple can be found at many outlets while on your Greek holiday. A large pitta bread is stuffed to overflowing with fatty meat, tzatziki and cheese. Recently there has been a new trend to stuff chips into the pitta as well. A high-fat choice that will soon have you waddling around those beautiful beaches!
Baklava. A free desert is often offered at the end of a meal on a Greek Holiday. Often restaurants will present a healthy fruit platter sprinkled with cinnamon and a dollop of Greek yoghurt but many times they will serve the layered pastry dessert of Baklava. It comes dripping in honey syrup and packed full of groundnuts.
Spanakopita or Spinach Pie. Another popular dish in Greece but the layers of flaky pastry, feta cheese, oil and egg can pack a calorific punch and is high in fat
Bread. Of course the village bread served in all tavernas on a Greek holiday is not unhealthy in itself. When presented with a big basket of bread and a few Greek dips such as taramasalata and tzatziki at the beginning of your meal it is easy to load up on the carbs and calories before your main course has even arrived. Take a tip from us. Tell the serving staff that you don’t want the bread and then temptation will be put finally out of your way.
ENJOY ALL THE WONDERFUL FOOD
So do try all the wonderful cuisine while on your Greek holiday. Island living means that there are many wonderful restaurants in stunning locations, serving amazing food. If you are clever you can eat extremely healthily and return from your holiday more beach body ready than when you went out.
So what’s stopping you? Book your Greek holiday now and soon you can be sitting by the water’s edge eating delicious food and soaking up spectacular views. Why not stay at the luxury family villas at The Asteri Collection Zakynthos. These villas are close to many beautiful restaurants with fabulous food. If don’t fancy eating out they can even provide a private chef to create wonderful healthy meals. What are you waiting for book now!
