down to the core: it's about lime [I eat some good food]!

So.. I'm back from camp now, and one of the only two things that I've been enjoying since Sunday is the food (the other one is my family). You see, every summer when I get back from camp I get into this "post-camp depression" phase, where all I want to do is stalk my own album of camp pictures of Facebook, call/text/hang out with my camp friends, and talk about camp to just about anyone I see. (Here's a hint: I'm still in that mood).

Camp this summer was amazing as always; it was my first time being a counselor, and I was lucky enough to get assigned to a great group of 12 year old girls. My bunk had so much fun all the time, and it was a great experience being able to give to these girls everything I love about camp and I already miss them all so much.

And of course I miss my best friends too. Having periods off during the day and nights off at night were the greatest times because we all got to spend them together. All of the counselors this year became really close, and we were all devastated to be leaving each other after only 6 weeks together. (No worries though because since Sunday I've already seen a whole lot of my friends three times).

But we spent a lot of our free time doing on nights off eating, and to add to the camp menu that doesn't exactly follow the eating style that I keep at home, I didn't eat as many fruits and vegetables as I would have liked. I even admit to trying a Big Mac at McDonald's on one of my nights off. I agreed to try whatever my friend was getting, thinking I'd take a bite and that'd be that just to entertain him. Instead, it turned into a whole scene with every one of my friends surrounding me videotaping or taking pictures. They were all in shock to be watching me eat anything from McDonald's, let alone a Big Mac. But I took a bite of the greasy burger to entertain everyone. One bite won't kill me, I know, I just don't enjoy so much grease and meat all put together.

Tada!! My Big Mac experience

I don't regret any of the ice cream or Big Mac bites from the summer, though. I kept my portion control pretty on target all summer and I tried my best to have as much of each nutrient a day as I could. My bunk always knew that if I was spooning out a little cup of peanut butter at a meal I wanted my protein, and I must have eaten more peaches and plums than anyone else in camp. Additionally, I woke up most mornings (at least I tried) and went for a run around camp or down the long camp road with my friend Ari, and I taught aerobics with my co counselor Alex as well (thank you Nike Training Club App for getting us through that one!!). Plus I went to all the activities with my bunk and was moving nonstop all summer.

Nonetheless, I was excited to be able to open the fridge at home and just eat an apple... or some strawberries.. or string beans.. anything! Yesterday come lunchtime, I was looking through my Pinterest and found a good quinoa fruit salad and I made it for lunch for myself. It was perfect; loads of delicious fruit and quinoa for protein and carbs (and I just found out that it has 20% DV of iron!). This honey- lime quinoa salad was so easy to make, and you can really use whatever fruit you want in it.

Here's what you'll need:
yields 1 big serving or 2 small servings
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2-3/4 cup blueberries
1/2-3/4 cup raspberries
1/2-3/4 cup strawberries
1 kiwi

1. Rinse the quinoa under cold water. Add quinoa and water to a pan and bring to boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then turn heat to low and simmer until all the water is absorbed.