Vacation Eats: La Quinta

My husband and I just returned from La Quinta, CA where we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. We stayed in PGA West, right on the Greg Norman golf course. It was just a 4 day getaway, but it was the perfect amount of time. We swam, golfed 18 holes, shopped, and ran each day. Most people like to have time off from cooking while they are vacationing. I actually love it. I prefer having a kitchen and using fresh ingredients. I hate coming home feeling like I gained 15 pounds. Plus, as a mother of two I rarely get to ENJOY cooking. There was a Trader Joes just 5 minutes away. I LOVE TJ's! I first fell in love with it when my husband and I lived in New York. Please oh please come to Utah someday!

Here is our TJ's goodness!

We were greeted with fruit and cheese platters. My husband may or may not have consumed 99.9% of that block of cream cheese.

Dinner at home #1: Fiji, sparking pomegranate juice, chicken fajitas on wheat tortillas

The Black Swan Breakfast: Poached egg, 1/2 grapefruit, and chocolate milk (which I added)

Lunch: Turkey, cranberry, nut, and apple salad

Out to dinner: Fresh guac...

Wedge salad, which we split

Grass-fed steak, broccolini, and baked potato (I ate 1/3, he ate 2/3)

I usually try to keep my red meat intake to once a week. Most of the time it's less. I enjoy a good steak when we eat out, especially if the restaurant boasts that the cows were humanely raised. Anyone know why Ruth's Chris points out that their beef comes from corn-fed cows? That's not really something to brag about.

This was dinner in #2. Pretty much what we had left in the fridge: Turkey salad with avocado, broccolini, and tomatoes. Pico and baked tortillas.

We did go to Golden Spoon on the last day. After all, what is a vacation without a little indulgence?

How do you view food on vacation?

What do you indulge in?

Do you like to cook when you are on vacation?