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As the calendar inches closer to Summer it has me so motivated to keep working out and eating healthy so that I can feel good about going into beach season here on the Outer Banks. I feel so lucky to live here because running around outside with the kids is a part of my daily routine. Between chasing kiddos, long beach walks and morning Mommy & Me workouts, staying active seems to be an easy thing for me. But one thing that I have always struggled with is feeding myself!
That’s actually something that I’m pretty embarrassed to admit because as a mom, I work hard to make sure that my kids have healthy meals and snacks so the idea of eating when they are eating seems pretty simple. Yet daily, I am failing myself in the nutrition department. Typically by 8:30am I have 2 kids in school and my youngest and I are back at home and I’m prepping her breakfast. I start with fruit and then add an egg or turkey and almond milk. Eloise is ready to take on the day. I’m usually reheating my coffee for the 2nd time by this point, wrestling my girl into her clothes, and dealing with work calls and emails. This time of year gets so busy for me as work begins to pick back up and before I know it, I am making Eloise lunch and feeding the dog. If I'm lucky, I'm hopping on the treadmill or switching the laundry before rushing to my afternoon carpool routine. It’s usually at this point that I realize that I am starving. So I grab prepackaged peanut butter crackers or a turkey rollup as my first morsel of food for the day, around 2:00pm.
One thing I have always felt our little beach town was lacking was a healthy grab and go restaurant. I’m not talking about an $15 fruit bowl or a juice cleanse, I’m talking about a call-in style restaurant that allows me to pick up lunch without getting kids out of the car so that I can eat it in the 20 minutes that I wait for Penny in the school pick up line! Enter Southern Shores Pizza salads. YES. A pizza place is saving my nutrition. Their Mediterranean Salad has been my go-to for weeks, but I just tried the Veggie Salad and now Eloise is asking me for “Ehhhg Plant” as her treat while she patiently waits in her carseat in the high school pick up line while Penny frolics in the front seat and steals every other bite.
Honestly though, the salads at Southern Shores Pizza have been fueling me for an extra workout lately and they’ve also been keeping me from my afternoon crash expecially when I want to feel my best while I’m helping kids with homework.
I love that I can call in my order and for the same price as a combo meal at a fast-food restaurant I am able to get a protein packed salad. I’m able to grab my salad in a minute or less and be back in the car and on my way. This truly makes my life so much easier and it makes me feel so much better. I’m completely avoiding the 5pm crash and it's seriously as easy as grabbing a Wendy's drive-thru meal.
Ordinarily I’d file Southern Shores Pizza under the Outer Banks Mom Approved category, but this is also adding to my self care!
Of course, our kiddos are always expecting Southern Shores Pizza on dance class nights so I might just have to make today my “cheat day!”
This weekend is looking beautiful here on the beach! I can’t wait to enjoy it with my family!