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To read more about our Punta Cana getaway, you can start by reading the following:
You knew I had to mention the food, right?
Usually I’m a little bit neurotic when it comes to going away for a week and not knowing what I will be able to eat. I am always afraid there won’t be enough for me to eat, I’ll constantly be hungry, or I will have to survive off of raisins and almonds I brought from home. I still did pack a lot of snacks (nuts, bars, oats, Barney Butter packets), but decided before I even left that I would try not to worry about there being gluten free (mainly) vegan options. It’s one thing to be a dairy free vegetarian, and it’s one thing to be gluten free — it’s an entirely different thing to be both.
So off I went, knowing my stomach would probably be a little “off” for a week or so — in the long run, does it really matter much?
Let me in order show you how much my food intolerances bother me:
gluten > corn > dairy
Basically, I went to Punta Cana thinking “as long as I don’t have any gluten, it’ll be fine by me".
I was pleasantly surprised about the amount of options that Secrets Sanctuary had to offer someone who is utterly and completely hard to please in the food department. Believe you me — I never left a meal hungry.
Breakfasts
I brought oatmeal and almond butter packets for a “just in case” back up plan. I never once pulled out the oats, but I used the almond butter packets every day. Breakfast was buffet style, and there was always fresh fruit and some sort of potato dish I could eat.
I usually had a banana with almond butter, a lot of tropical fruit, and some of the potato dish.
However, on the first day, I fell in love with a local dish called mangu. Mangu is made of cooked mashed plantains (which are in the banana family) and take on the consistency of mashed potatoes since they are a starchy, low sugar fruit. They had mangu the first day we were there in the buffet, but sadly it never returned. Luckily, the Husband worked his magic the last day (my birthday) and got the chefs to make me some in the back.
Like oatmeal, by itself mangu is pretty bland. Luckily, I knew just what to do to flavor it up! I topped it with coconut, raisins, and almond butter. I’m still dreaming about this.
Lunches
Lunch was also spent at a buffet for the most part. There was a salad bar station, fresh fruit, and a variety of hot dishes to choose from. In the hot dish section, there was always a vegetarian option — rice and beans, grilled vegetables, baked potatoes — just to name a few.
I always loaded my plate up with everything and anything I could eat — just to get a little taste of everything.
Everything was so fresh at every single meal — the vegetables were bursting with color and flavor, and I could tell it had not been sitting out long.
One day when we were on an excursion (which I will talk about in a later post), I got nervous I might not be able to eat anything and brought some fruit and a variety of granola bars. I was pleasantly surprised that the lunch which was provided (set up family style) — I was able to eat a cucumber and tomato salad along with rice and beans.
Which I politely let others take their first portions and then dominated the rest. So really, this was my first portion.. and then had three more.
Dinners
At the resort, they had 5 restaurants. Casa Bella, which was the buffet style, was only option for breakfast and lunch. They also had:
- Blue Marlin (a seafood restaurant we never went to)
- WOK (a Japanese Hibachi restaurant)
- The Steakhouse
- Capriccio (an Italian restaurant)
At WOK, we were pleasantly surprised with the service and how they accommodated me.
Knowing my most recent reaction after eating soy sauce, I knew I had to avoid that at all costs. By telling the wait staff I could not have any soy sauce in my food, the hibachi chef went out of his way to prepare my food before cooking the rest of the group’s meal. It left me worry free and highly satisfied.
They also went out of their way when I requested vegetable sushi — even though it came out with cream cheese in it. To say that I did not care was an understatement — my “meh” attitude was in full force. Did it bother me? Yes. Did it kill me? No.
My favorite of all of the restaurants was The Steakhouse — which seems weird, right? However, they had an amazing Grilled Vegetable Salad which was topped with some sort of a balsamic glaze. Every time we went there for dinner (3 times!), I ordered two of them for part of my meal.
This was actually a double portion, so you can see why I had to order two! I am also a happy girl when I go out to eat if you just give me a baked potato. All is well in the world if I get to eat a potato.
Was it the most exciting meal? No — not so much, but it did the job and kept me full for a few hours, which is fine by me!
The best part about The Steakhouse was their menu code — it told you what was vegetarian and/or vegan!
The Italian restaurant, Capriccio, we did not like that much. Okay, let me rephrase that — I wanted to like it so bad, and the Husband didn’t like it.
Let me explain. When we got there, I was excited to see a risotto dish on the menu that was mushroom based, which meant it was cooked in mushroom stock and not chicken/beef stock. When I ordered it, I asked the waiter if there was cheese in the dish, and he told me no. It didn’t have cheese, but it was definitely cooked in heavy cream. I took a few bites, then I decided it wasn’t worth me getting sick over — so instead we went back to The Steakhouse to order a different meal.
Drinks
Did I forget to mention that it was an all inclusive resort? That only meant one thing — copious amounts of fruity beverages. I knew going into this experience that I was going to be drinking some fruity sugar laden beverages, which is definitely not the norm for me. However, when in paradise….
I did show some self control and limited myself to two fruity drinks a day — my body is definitely not used to all that sugar and told me “no more!!!” after that point. Thankfully, I listened.
All in all, the food there was excellent, and I am happy to say I did not go hungry (obviously). While I am happy to get back to my normal eating habits, that week off was a fabulous indulgence (the drinks, not the vegetables)!
Question: Do you pack snacks/back up food when you travel or do you go with the flow? What is your favorite fruity drink?
PS — I just realized how beastly of a post this is. If you made it all the way down here, I’m seriously impressed.
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