Summer vacation often means a time to let loose with no particular goal except to read the latest popular page-turner. But I chose an escape from the ordinary that required hiking shoes, workout clothes, and swim suits actually designed for swimming. As a gift to myself in advance of a really big number arriving on my birthday in July, I spent a week at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico.
The menu is vegetarian, except for seafood options at dinner, and there’s no alcohol served with meals. But this was not about deprivation. Dinner is a perfectly portioned four-course affair with soup, salad, entrée and dessert. One night the menu included spinach soup with toasted almonds and balsamic reduction, a roasted vegetable salad with walnuts, goat cheese and tomato oregano vinaigrette, Florentine lasagna with black lentil and yellow pepper sauce and lemon tiramisu with macerated berries.
“Great flavors allow us to enjoy food more while actually eating less, “ said executive chef Denise Roa. All of the meals feature a bounty of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs fresh picked from the property’s organic farm.
The week’s guest chef at the resort’s La Cocina que Canta cooking school was Atlanta-based Virginia Willis, author of “Lighten Up Y’all!” She led a group of eager guests through the garden to pluck cucumbers and edible flowers and assigned us to re-create her recipes in the Mexican tiled kitchen. Makeover Broccoli Mac n Cheese called for a calorie-cutting one-to-one ratio of broccoli florets to whole-wheat pasta. The lump crab remoulade lightens up the dressing. “It’s OK to keep some of the ingredients you crave. I like to substitute half of the mayonnaise with low-fat Greek yogurt and add some mustard and horseradish so there’s plenty of flavor,” advised Willis.
My fitness-focused days at the ranch began with morning mountain hikes and continued with an entertaining mix of activities from Pilates and weight training to water aerobics and tennis lessons.
“Health is within everybody’s reach,” said petite and peppy 93-year-old Deborah Szekley, founder of Rancho La Puerta. “You just have to reach out.”
They say it takes at least a week to establish new habits. I made an effort to drink more water, which wasn’t difficult in the desert heat. Each afternoon there was a tasting of fresh fruit smoothies at the poolside juice bar.
Did I lose weight? Maybe a little. But I did gain a renewed spirit to prioritize my health for many more birthdays ahead.
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