Employ the following tips and tricks to bring cruise ship calorie consumption in check. Help yourself make the smarter decision regarding food on your plate. The listed healthy cruise food tips will help you out. However, the general advice is: think more about the theings you order or select from the buffet. Take time to feel and enjoy every single bite. Eating less will bring to you greater satisfaction. Do not think that you'll have to absolutely cut off the chocolate melting cakes, but you might do better to share half of it with someone else.
Healthy cruise food on board
Tips and tricks to eat healthfully on cruise ships
- Choose the dining venue wisely. The all-you-can-eat buffet can easily frazzle you into overeating and making bad choices, so stick with ship's main dining room. Or skip the formal dining if the set courses and long dinners overwhelm you - you'll then do better with the buffet's flexibility .
- Take half-portions. Lots of cruisers explain how you can order two main courses or three desserts at cruise ship dinner, but fewer mention the option to order for half-portions. If you do not have the willpower to stop after a few bites, but still wish to sample rich fare, order smaller portions. Unless mom is cruising with you, nobody will scold for not cleaning your plate.
- Don't order every course. You're not enjoying regular 4-course meals at home for sure, so please, don't be greedy and don't let the waiters bring to your table more dishes than you want to eat. Staff "encouragement" is not what you really need if you stick to the healthy cruise food plan. Truth is, they'll still serve you, even if you decline the triple-chocolate dessert.
- The buffet... Grilled meat! Indian food! Pizza! Cake! It's so tempting to pile the plate high with all the things that look yummy, and dig in until you are over-full. For healthy cruise food buffet dining, better take stock of all options - put together normal-sized plate of cohesive meal. Go back to take more only if you're still hungry after you've finished. Better sit with your back to buffet so you do not spend the meal staring at the yummy food.
- Eat off the cruise spa menu. Most lines denote dishes which are "healthier" - typically with fewer calories than other entrees and with less sauce preparation. These include the Canyon Ranch spa cuisine on board Queen Mary 2 , the "Vitality" selections in Royal Caribbean's main dining rooms, the "Spa Carnival Cuisine." Look for the spa restaurants - like the spa cafes in Celebrity's Solariums. However, have in mind that "spa cuisine" does not necessarily mean super-healthy, so don't pig out.
- Mix up light and heavy meals. If you plan to live it up for dinner with a delicious steak at the specialty dining venue, have a salad for lunch! Going all-out with bacon and a pancake for breakfast needs ordering a simple dish (fish is a good choice) for dinner, and skipping the dessert. To pair splurge meal with light dining during the rest of the day is the best decision so not to feel bloated by debarkation. Treat yourself, but don't do it at each meal.
- Limit dining to the actual meals. The midmorning pastries, ice creams at 3 p.m., afternoon tea and late-night pizza - these mini-meals all conspire against your healthy cruise food options. Eliminate any between-meal snacking. Then you'll be on your way to come back home the same weight as on day one of the cruise.
- Do not go to meal starving. The moments when you're super-hungry by the beginning of the late-seating dinner, you will be easily tempted to load up on appetizers and bread. Grab the healthy cruise food like fruits and veggies - these will tide you over till the late meal.
- Eat slowly, stop when you are full. If you're eating until your buttons are popping off the trousers and your beloved stomach is yelling in agony, the healthy way of dining on cruise ships has gone far away. Eat slowly, and savour each bite. Put down the fork when your bites are not as tasty and the body says it is full. Unfortunately, cruise ship dinners run long, so there is no rush to complete each course.
- Drink lots of water. Get rid of the sugary juices, and stick to the most basic beverage the world has given to us. Sips between bites or guzzling water by the pool and on shore will keep you hydrated and full. The bonus is that water has zero calories! It helps the body handle the extra salt you've consumed by eating all the "restaurant" meals on board.
- Limit the alcohol intake. Unfortunately, booze is calorie-heavy. And especially heavy when the rum is poured into enormous souvenir glasses along with ice cream and whipped cream ... Enjoy your wine and cocktails as part of your meals. if you want to order a glass of wine with your dinner, skip the starter then. Always treat the "umbrella drinks" as dessert. The creme brulee or the frozen cocktail - what would you prefer?
- Eat fresh fruit and veggies. Cruise ship buffets usually have salad bars and an array of fruits (both whole and cut). Fill up on the healthy cruise food staples instead of cookies.
- Limit desserts. A cookie here, a muffin there, or a slice of cheesecake with your dinner will put well over the recommended daily intake of calories, fat and sugar. It's your cruise vacation after all, so you shouldn't avoid all treats during the voyage, but we recommend you to limit to one sweet splurge per day, choosing puddings and cakes labeled as "healthier". Or simply take a few bites and do not eat the entire dish of ice cream or plate of pie.
- Skip all dressings and sauces. The heart-healthy salmon becomes "weight watcher's nightmare" after the waiter dumps hollandaise sauce over it. The feel-good salad doesn't feel so smug if you pour ranch dressing, nuts and croutons on top. Scrape off all calorific toppings! Ask for dressings and sauces on the side of keeping calories in check.
- Skip late-night dining. Already out of style, the Midnight buffets on every cruise ship have been replaced by 24-hour or late-night food option, even if sometimes it's just the room service. And nothing good comes out of eating fries and a cheeseburger at 1 a.m. ;-)! If you want to stick to healthy cruise food, say no to all after-dinner meals and think about early-riser breakfast that will come soon enough.
- When in doubt, better work it out! The temptations of cruise food are often too much for our willpower. Never fear if you have chucked the healthy-eating overboard at the sight of the buffet. Hit the cruise ship fitness center on board and devour ... pretty ocean views! The stairs and the promenade deck will easily sweat off the extra calories. Be sure to stay active in ports of call, too. While you cannot turn back the clock on the bad food choices, you can work it out to keep your clothing loose and your body strong. Tomorrow is the next day for making smart dining decisions on board and choosing healthy cruise food!