It's good to be back...

Jenny and I had a blast on our UK/Ireland trip, but we're happy to be home. Our vacation was long enough that we just hit the right point at the end where we were eager to come home and sleep in our own bed and eat normal food.

We both gained weight over the vacation, which I guess is to be expected. I have a very hard time feeling bad about it, because every ounce gained was well spent. I mean, we didn't eat tons of junky food. We enjoyed the local food and drink, and had a good time going out.

Still, two weeks of restaurant eating really takes a toll on our bodies. We just feel lazy and tired, and we just feel loaded down. We generally have a really good diet, nutritionally, so we definitely notice the difference. S0 as soon as we got home, we entered "detox mode" and got right back on the program.

Don't think for a second that it's all iceberg lettuce and celery sticks for us. Getting tons of fresh fruits and vegetables is a big part of it, but mostly detox mode consists of filling, but light meals loaded with flavor, but light on fat and portion size. I'm talking about good chicken salads, pasta with turkey meatballs, egg sandwiches and other light staples we have around the house.

Another example is the beef stew I made two days ago in my crock pot. I didn't serve up a huge bowl of it, just enough to make a hearty dinner. Inspired by my new Irish cookbook, I baked up a small loaf of wheat soda bread to go with it.

Our trip was indeed fun, but now that we're home it's time to get back to work. Armed with a kitchen stuffed with produce and a few good menu ideas, I think we'll be back to form in no time.