Tacos and Tequila, A Mexican Christmas!

This year my family and I escaped the cold and commercialism of Christmas and fled to Playa Del Carmen for 2017. My mother was thrilled to avoid spending hours waiting in line-ups and traffic for Christmas presents, ingredients for indulgent meals and unpacking boxes of Christmas decorations.

Playa Del Carmen

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We stayed at a beautiful Airbnb just a few blocks walking to the beach and right behind the Mexican version of Walmart, Mega, which my father adored since his favorite tequila was a third of the price there! My favorite restaurant was Nativo; you can get a liter smoothie for under $2.00, I got one stuffed with celery, parsley, and fresh orange juice. Also, a great place to eat local food for cheap.

 

Tours:
One day was spent on a tour we booked through our Airbnb to take a catamaran trip to Isla Mujeres.

Isla Mujeres

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We planned another small daytrip, for $10, we took a taxi to go to the day club, Grande Coral Beach. The beach was clean and beautiful, and you get a change of scenery from the busy, crowded beach near 5th ave.

Grande Coral Beach Club

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A bit of a further trek, but well worth it,  we took the ADO bus to Tulum, this was a neat jungle-like an oasis. If you are the adventurous type, book a kitesurfing lesson. We stayed for drinks and breakfast at La Zebra, a posh boutique hotel on the beach. It costs $25/per person for food or beverages to park here for the day, but well worth it, as to stay in this boutique hotel is $700/night! There was a mixologist from New York making the drinks.

Tulum

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Getting from -30 C to +30 C was the best present this year. You just can’t get a bow-tie around the sun! Anyone else have any interesting destination for the holidays? I need help planning next years escape!

Veggie Lasanga

This is my second attempt at going sugar-free! Inspired by the current book I’m reading, Year of No Sugar, by Eve O. Schaub, I opted to try a new recipe. A vegetarian lasagna, both sugar-free and gluten-free, as a way to get more veggies and sharpen my culinary skills. I started out with making the veggie base, and it consisted of roasting a few vegetables in the oven, then adding a container of pumpkin puree and turning it into a puree in a Vitamix.

Tons of green veggies, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese were the main staples for this healthy meal! I found the recipe when I signed up for the 8 week, I quit sugar program.

 

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Voila!

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