There are some people out there who feel as though Okinawa is a place that people come and gain a lot of weight because there is nothing to do but eat. Obviously as you can tell from my over 700 videos and various blog posts there are a few things to do OTHER than eat but I digress. Anyway, even the best of us find ourselves in a position that splurging is not an option and so we need to make a choice whether we want to make a change or not. Don't get me wrong, this is not a "let's be healthy" type of post. There are already enough people out there shoving those types of ideas down your throat on the internet. (How ironic.) My intent is to share some options that I found for myself while trying to eat on the healthier side with those who are looking for what healthy options will be available to them. If you want to splurge. . . do it!
Today we headed to the Ocean Expo Park and since I have been on a strict diet in an attempt to lose a few pounds I was very cautious of what I ate. With today's trip focusing on the aquarium in particular I headed over to see what the food options were there online. Unfortunately there were not too many listed so I made sure to have a healthy breakfast that would hold me over at least until lunch time.
There was only one food option within the aquarium itself. The small cafe style restaurant is located near the large tank. There is limited seating and so depending on the time of day you visit this may not be an option but they had a few different picks to choose from. The menu changes but one of the things that we found consistent were the teas available.
As we arrived at the aquarium early in the morning we were out of the main building and headed towards the dolphin show well before lunch time. There was a slight rumble in our tummies and so we headed over to the Okichan Shop where we found some different food options. The options here were pretty standard: Taco Rice, Pizza Bread, Shrimp Burger, Hamburger, Hotdog and other options. Unfortunately this did not leave us with many options and so we found ourselves making the decision to split something just to hold us over for a short time. For ¥300 we grabbed a Shrimp burger. Of course it was a tough call but based on our other options the lightly breaded and fried burger seemed reasonable to split between the two of us at least until we could walk our way back to the car. (NOTE: Yes I realize the inappropriate nature of eating a shrimp burger outside an aquarium.)
After this it was time to head back to the car and make a choice of what it was that we were going to eat for lunch. Of course it was still early and we were obviously in need of an actual meal so we made the call to jump into the car and head down the road. After a bit of discussion we decided that we were going to stop at a convenience store on our way home. It seemed like the safest option.
Now before you get those images of hot dogs and slush machines in your head it's important to remember that convenience stores here in Japan are just like going to a miniature grocery store. When searching through the merchandise you can use words such as "fresh", "healthy" and "delicious". When was the last time you used those words when at a Cumberland Farms?
Our lunch choice for today included a sandwich and some tea. This is our "go to" meal while on the run during our travels here in Okinawa. There are different types of sandwiches available at each convenience store and although they are all pretty much the same people like my husband could distinctly tell you what sandwich came from where. The tea is something that we also enjoy. Other options at the FamilyMart that we happened to visit were salads with and without toppings.
The best part. . . . This lunch costed us a total of 340 yen. That's it! You can't beat affordable. Although you could argue this is not the best meal when you're trying to be health cautious it's much better than curry rice.
So next time you're looking for a healthy option and find yourself at a tourist attraction coming up short why not try grabbing something from a local convenience store.
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