Canyon Ranch provided me with complimentary accommodations at their resort as well as a spa credit and Discover Your Fitness Age assessment. The opinions expressed are honest and all my own.
Guys, oh my goodness, I had such a nice time at Canyon Ranch. I absolutely loved everything about my time there, but, not surprisingly, one of the highlights for me was the FOOD. Food, glorious food. It was so delicious, fresh, and nutritious, and it inspired a number of healthy eating ideas to bring home with me. I thought you guys might be interested in them too, so here are seven that I especially liked and plan to incorporate into my everyday life!
Pumpkin Crunch – This stuff is the bomb-diggity, and I couldn’t get enough of it while I was at Canyon Ranch. I seriously snacked on it all weekend. The base is pumpkin seeds, so it’s naturally gluten-free/Paleo and, well, it is just plain old delicious. I already made a batch of it this morning!
Green smoothies – I was doing great with my smoothie goal for 2015, but recently, I’ve started to slack off. When I was at Canyon Ranch, I drank three (yes, three) orange-mango-kale smoothies and they re-inspired my love for them. Bring on the green smoothies!
Almond butter + carrot sticks – Such a simple snack, but one I totally forgot about. I’m glad Canyon Ranch reminded me of it. I want to add it back to my regular snack rotation.
Eggs + butternut squash + goat cheese – I ordered a breakfast sandwich one morning and, my goodness, it was incredible. Inside was egg wrapped around butternut squash, spinach, and goat cheese with melted cheddar on top. OMGSOGOOD. I loved the flavor combination so much, I plan to take recreate this cheesy, veggie, egg-y goodness at home.
Peanut Butter Delight – The last time I visited Canyon Ranch, I wrote about my love for their Peanut Butter Delight, but I never made it at home. This time, however, I’m all over it, especially since I tend to go overboard on peanut butter, and the Peanut Butter Delight is a great way to cut calories and add more protein to my diet. I made my own version with Greek yogurt instead of ricotta, and it turned out great!
Small plates
On the first night of our visit, our media group enjoyed an amazing 6-course meal, which probably sounds quite indulgent, but each course was a small portion of a Mediterranean-inspired dish, featuring fresh, seasonal, and local foods. The menu was selected by chef Kyle Nottingham, who just happens to be Gina‘s brother. How cool! The small plates were such a fun way to try a bunch of different tastes without overdoing it.
Highlights from the meal”¦
Hearth Roasted Beet Salad with sheep’s blue cheese, kettle-cooked pecans, dragonfruit, and arugula. Everything was incredibly fresh, and it was fun trying dragonfruit for the first time!
Sear Scallops with grilled apple, bresola, and fennel salad. Once again, this dish was super fresh and flavorful. The flavor combination was so delicious together!
Berry Tart with Zabaglione sauce. INCREDIBLE! The berries, sauce and crust were heavenly together. It was a dessert that I will probably never forget.
Soup – Similar to smoothies, soup is such a great way to add nutrients and volume to your diet. This Apple Parsnip Bisque had so much flavor, and I think it would be pretty easy to recreate at home. I also think Quinn would really like it!
Question of the Day
How has traveling to a new place inspired a healthy eating habit of yours?
43 Comments
Man all the food looks amazing! I like to splurge a little when I go on vacation so when I come back I go full throttle with my healthy eating. Glad you had a great time 🙂
Oh my goodness all of these foods look so yummy!!!! I need to introduce some more green smoothies into my life! I know they are so good for me, but for some reason I just get lazy 🙁 Oh and I have actually never had goat cheese! This is probably a super dumb question, but where can you get it? Any grocery store? Thanks!!!
Most grocery stores sell it. It’s usually with the fancy cheese! 🙂
Small plates are an awesome idea! Love being able to try loads of different flavours and textures!
Yup, no questions asked, this place is definitely on my travel list!!
You would love it!
I’ve always always always wanted to go on a healthy retreat or to a wellness spa of some kind that has food like this. Typically on vacation, I tend to eat worse. I love the look of these meals and snacks!! Thanks for sharing!
I think not only smaller plates, but aesthetic plates make for a more satisfying meal 🙂
How lucky Gina is to have a chef as a brother!
I remember visiting California about five years ago and seeing fresh juice bars everywhere! It was a total eye opener to this Michigan girl. Not long after I left my corporate PR job and now work in health and wellness!
Adding almond butter and carrot sticks to my list of easy, healthy snacks, thanks for the inspiration! Also, I looked at that smoothie recipe – did they add spinach or greens to it to give it the green color? Love smoothies, always.
This looks like a great time! That dessert definitely caught my eye and I bet it was amazing. Glad to see that you had such a relaxing time and got to eat such delicious food 🙂
I love the idea of the pumpkin crunch! Pinned that from their website already. Thanks for sharing – was a great drool-worthy read in a 2pm work slump! 🙂
I should really start having more smoothies…haha. All that food looks delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Wow this all looks heavenly! I seriously don’t know what I like more and I wish I was there to try absolutely everything!
That egg & butternut squash sandwich look amazing! I’m obsessed with eggs and butternut squash right now. It’s my most liked recipe. I need to make that sandwich soon!
http://skinnyfitalicious.com/butternut-squash-spinach-breakfast-bake/
Yum! Thanks for the link! 🙂
Traveling abroad- especially to France and Spain, always inspires me to eat more high quality foods and to take the time to really enjoy my meals!
Wowza, so much goodness at Canyon Ranch! I am def trying that egg sandwich at home. Thanks for sharing your awesome eats 🙂 I travelled to Spain last year and had so many tapas (small plates) that have inspired much of what I eat at home, as well as what I order at restaurants.
This food all looks so amazing!! I also forgot about how great soups are to fill you up on low cals. They are SO easy to make as well – here’s to some soup re-inspiration!
Jill
Yum! Looks like heaven! I’ve never tried carrots and almond butter…hmm. Going to make your dairy, egg free chocolate chip cookies tonight for the blizzard! Yay!
I like eating out for new salad topping ideas and ways to cook vegetables!
Which canyon ranch program did you do?
It’s called Discover Your Fitness Age. A description is linked at the beginning of this post, and I’ll have a post up about it later this week! 😄
That breakfast sandwich looks sooo good! That’s definitely something I’d like to try.
Eggs and butternut squash! I never would have guessed that would be a good combination. Maybe I’ll make a quiche of sorts? Thanks for the inspiration.
I’ve already bookmarked the pumpkin crunch recipe and cannot wait to make it!
That sandwich sounds awesome. I need to try to re-create that flavor combo you mentioned. Glad you had a nice trip!
Mouth is watering! So much freshness and deliciousness in one post! I can’t wait to make the pumpkin crunch. It looks like the perfect snack to keep with me on the go.
Everything looks so good! I would love to have someone making healthy meals for me and cleaning up after me for a couple days.
I actually make a version of peanut butter delight with greek yogurt all the time but I didn’t know it was actually a thing. So good!
holy wow! All that food looks so tasty and fresh. Mmmmm!!
Cruises always inspire me to try new, healthy things. I know that sounds crazy because of the buffets, but I’ve always found the seated dinners to be the perfect, balanced portions and a great way to try new things.
I used the peanut butter delight for apple dip. Yum!
I want to try that pumpkin crunch. It looks so yummy and filling. Best yet – portable!
Butternut squash + eggs sounds SO yummy. I am going to grocery shop accordingly – Thanks for the inspo! When Tim and I went to Greece I was reminded of how delicious simple ingredients can be when you buy really fresh food. Also, OLIVE OIL on everything 🙂
All of the meals you had look incredibly delicious! My mouth is watering! I love carrots and almond butter and totally forgot about that combo!
I love sponsored posts where you travel and show us your experiences. Sponsored posts like Blue Apron, not so much!!
That breakfast sandwich looks to die for!
Please recreate the apple parsnip soup and share the recipe with us! Thanks so much and hope you are faring alright in the snow!!
Great ideas and I love the pictures. Sear Scallops looks really yummy. I’m going to try it.
OMG it looks so Good <3
My heavily pregnant wife is all about the green smoothies at the moment :D. The Mango-Orange-Kale smoothie sounds great, might surprise her with one on Sunday morning! Thanks for the write up!
Great ideas! Eggs and butternut with Goat cheese is the favorite one for me.
Really enjoyed your post
what! that seriously.. come on now, that looks so delicious! I might just have to give this a try..that seriously just look too good to not try. haha. Thanks for this treat!