Like to travel? You don’t have to bust your healthy eating while on the go, that’s for sure! I love traveling and my husband does too. Recently, we went to Washington, DC, with our friends Randy and Kym, for a work trip and stumbled upon lots of unexpected, good eats.

Some tips: For breakfast, have some of the hotel’s fruit, whole wheat toast or a bit of oatmeal, and coffee – black. Just pick what you like and stick with it – no need to try a little bit of everything on the hotel’s breakfast buffet – it’s probably not all good anyways. Go to a coffee shop, have some good coffee, and don’t feel like you need to put cream and sugar in it. If you must, try skim milk and one sugar packet.

Definitely add in a workout on your trip. Every other day, or everyday, if you can. Don’t leave the gym sooner than 30 minutes! Lots of hotels have gyms now. Utilize this, in addition to all the walking you’ll do on your trip (this counts as exercise, too!). I did 40 minutes on the elliptical and some weights a few times during our stay, and worked out 3 of the 4 days we were in DC. I definitely felt good about myself before starting the day.

Don’t feel you have to say “no” to desserts, for goodness sakes. Plan out your meals and portion control your desserts. We were in Georgetown one day and out of Serendipity 3, Georgetown Cupcakes, dolcezza artisanal gelato, and Pie Sisters, we decided to go with Pie Sisters. Imagine our disappointment when we arrived there late, trekking in at 8pm when they closed at 7pm. But one of the sisters, Alli, let us in! She was so nice, and her pies were amazing.

I tried the Key Lime pie, P had the apple pie, Randy had the banana cream pie, and Kym had the cherry pie. I had a bite of everyone’s pies – they were so, so, so good. The Key Lime pie was creamy, and not bright green from artificial coloring, but pale green from the key limes. The graham cracker crust was thick and crumbled in your mouth. P’s apple pie was comfort in a bite. Perfectly spiced apples, flaky crust, yum. Randy’s banana cream pie was fresh and was the best banana cream pie I’ve ever had – definitely not from those pudding mixes they have at the store. Kym’s cherry pie was tart and sweet – I loved it. It’s a good size for those of you who want portion control, coming in a mini-pie size.

Kym’s cherry pie


Alli, who let us in when they were closed. Thanks Alli!

My key lime pie. Yum!

For lunch one day, we Yelp’ed some reviews and this food cart place always came up. We decided to try it, and gosh, was it good! It was very clean and cheap – $6 for a lot of food. We could have easily shared a plate. It’s located near Macy’s in Arlington, Virginia. We simply bought some food and brought it in the food court in the mall across the street to sit down and have lunch (it was freezing outside!). It’s called the Metro Halal Food Cart (halal meaning the animals are slaughtered in a humane way, according to Islamic law). If you’re taking the metro, it’s off of the orange line, off of Ballston Metro. Here’s the address:

4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA

P had the chicken and rice, with some saag (cooked spinach) and salad on the side:

I had the chicken korma, with spicy potatoes and salad:

The owner told me he makes his own food, five days a week (they’re closed on weekends). I asked him what he put in his potatoes and he wouldn’t tell me (dangit!), except at one stage he adds in homemade pickles. Mum on the seasoning. I think there’s fenugreek in there anyways. I loved P’s saag – you must get that. It was creamy, you’ll fulfill a veggie requirement of the day, and you’ll be happy you ordered it.

You’ll do a lot of walking in DC. You can use the Metro system and get to a lot of places without a car, which is good. Just museum-hopping will burn a lot of calories, and take you a few hours! Thanks, Kym, for being my museum buddy while the guys were at work!

At the Freer Museum Gallery of Art