Vegas Detoxing

We’re home from Vegas! We took the red eye out on Friday night at 10:30 PM and got back into Richmond at 10:30 AM this morning. We slept most of the time on the flights so it wasn’t so bad, but I’m still a little jet-lagged.

The trip went well, but I’m certainly ready to be home. Isaac and I decided that a week in Vegas (over a week for him) calls for a detox. We’re already setting up some parameters, like:

• no adult beverages before 10AM
• trying to get in bed before 2AM
• limited use of glow sticks

I’m really making it sound worse than it was. Our time in Vegas was probably significantly less crazy than most people’s experiences but we’re still very ready to be back to our normal routines. For me this means much less alcohol, limited sweets, more veggies and a regular workout schedule. I did manage to get all three of my BFL strength training sessions in at the hotel gym, however I’m definitely excited to workout with my gym buddy again this coming week.

Most of the time we were in Vegas I was busy with work related stuff: manning our booth, attending meetings, and going to parties with showgirls and Elvis impersonators.

Do you see my “deer in the headlights” look? Yeah, that’s because this guy was a total creeper and was telling me that if he had beautiful hair like mine he wouldn’t have it pulled back. He was also squeezing Natalie and I quite tightly. Soooo sketch.

When I wasn’t doing conference related things, Isaac and I did some exploring.

And shopping.

FYI – Vegas is great for shopping!

We also did a little swimming AKA laying in water.

And a lot of eating out.

One of my favorite places besides Mesa Grill was TAO, an Asian fusion restaurant in the Venetian that we ate at two nights in a row. The menu features a variety of items from across Asia. During our two visits I tried the temple salad, tofu lettuce wraps (better than PF Changs!!), vegetable dumplings, pad thai and the sea bass. The restaurant lighting was really dark but I did snap a photo of the miso glazed sea bass, which is what I ordered as my entree the first time we ate there.

It was heavenly! The flavors were robust and the fish was cooked to perfection. To be honest, everything we consumed at TAO was amazing, including the drinks. Isaac loves lychee so his drink of choice was the Lychee Martini (Belvedere vodka, triple sec and fresh lychee puree) and in lieu of dessert we split the Orient Express, a martini with vanilla vodka, kahlua and chilled espresso. Both were delicious!

The entrance way into TAO is lined with flower filled bath tubs. And within the TAO night club the tubs are not only filled with flowers but also with women. Don’t ask me how I know. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Given all the decadent dinners we had, I was so happy to find out that the Canyon Ranch Cafe and the Canyon Ranch Grill were right on the same floor as our room. The cafe is a smaller version of the grill and serves breakfast items, smoothies and sandwiches, whereas, the grill has a full breakfast, lunch and drink menu and is open til 4:00PM. Both restaurants are connected to the fitness center and spa in the Venetian/Palazzo and serve variations of fresh, healthy cuisine that Canyon Ranch is famous for.

I had smoothies from the cafe for breakfast twice. This one in particular was recommended by my server and wasn’t on the menu. It included beet juice, spinach, banana, pineapple, coconut milk and brown rice protein powder.

It was a little on the thin side for a smoothie but the taste was great!

For lunch on our last day (Friday) we went to the grill. I ordered the southwest veggie burger with avocado and pico de gallo. It was pretty good, although could have used a bit more flavor- nothing a little ketchup couldn’t handle.

I loved that the portions weren’t over the top like most restaurants and the nutritional information for each item was posted on the menu! Overall, I was just ecstatic to find a healthy spot to eat in Vegas considering Sin City hasn’t really caught on to the healthy living movement yet.

Now it’s officially time to go pick up Ms. Olive. She always has a blast at Isaac’s parents’ house when we are out of town but I miss her so much. One week is way too long to be away from that little bug.

Questions -

Would you go on a health related vacation where they offer physical activities, healthy food and spa services? I would absolutely LOVE to! Places like the Canyon Ranch Resort and Spa offer this type of vacay and I think it would be so much fun. I’m pretty sure I could convince Isaac to come along as well.

Do you do a detox of sorts after indulging while traveling? I typically just go back to my normal routine and feel much better after a couple days but Isaac is thinking he might want to do something a little more – like a juice detox or cleanse.

Tagged as: Canyon Ranch, TAO, Vegas