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Friday, April 9, 2010

The Advantages of a "Vacation" Home Cooked Meal

A Vacation Home-Cooked Meal


The economic recession has hit a lot of people and businesses hard, and vacationing has become a much more financially cautions affair for a lot of us. If you are thinking about taking a vacation this year, but are afraid of over-spending, not to worry; there are a lot of things you can do to make your next vacation affordable and inexpensive. One of these is booking a hotel room or vacation rental that includes a kitchen for cooking your own meals, rather than eating out at restaurants every day. This trick not only saves you money, but it lets you experience the local culinary culture. Eating home cooked vacation meals makes it a lot easier to continue regulating your eating habits if you’re on a diet. Here’s a brief outline of just some of the benefits of vacation home cooked meals

1. Makes it Easy to Set up a Food Budget


Home-cooked vacation meals work only if you set up a food budget for each day of your vacation. Having a budget for your food items is a great advantage if your goal is to save money. When eating out at restaurants, people have a tendency to spend a lot more than they originally intended to. Having a documented food budget lets you keep track of your expenditures and avoid excessive or impulse food purchases.

2. Don’t Pay for Expensive Restaurant/Hotel Meals

If you are staying in a place with high tourist density, restaurant prices in destinations tend to be overpriced, and hotel restaurants are not much better. If you order food via room service, it’s even worse. By cooking your meals yourself, you can eat in the comfort of your room without having to pay extra. Have breakfast in bed whenever you want, and save some money while you’re at it.

3.Makes Sticking with Your Diet Easier

If you’re trying to stick to a strict diet, cooking your own meals while on vacation is a great way to do so. When you eat out at a restaurant, it can be much easier to stray. By shopping for ingredients on your own and cooking at your hotel or vacation home accommodations, you get to be fully in control of what you eat and what you don’t.

4.Experience the Local Market

Local Farmer's Market every Sunday in Loreto

Part of truly getting to know a place involves simply walking around town and seeing the shops that local residents visit every day. Shopping for groceries at the local market gives you the perfect opportunity to do just that. Be a little adventurous and try out some of the native ingredients. If you’re in a foreign country, you’ll get a chance to non-traditional foods. Shopping for your own food in a foreign place can actually be a really fun and enriching experience.


Take Advantage of Vacation Home Savings

Vacation home rentals are the best places for home-cooked meals. They come with full kitchens, tend to be cheaper, if you’re staying for several days and with a group of people. Professionally managed rentals provide guests with full kitchens, stocked clean pots, pans, plates, cups, eating utensils, refrigerators, cabinets and storage spaces. In other words, the perfect set up to plan out your home made vacation meals.




So next time you go on vacation, skip the restaurants and go for the savings. You’ll be surprised at what a huge difference budgeting your food expenditures makes. Cooking your vacation meals at home lets you keep track of your food costs and avoid overly pricey hotel room service as well as expensive restaurant meals. Planning out your home-cooked meals will let you experience more of the local culture and keep a closer track of your diet. Opting for home-cooked vacation meals is just one of the many ways you can save money and avoid breaking your back on your upcoming vacation, because even in tough times, it’s nice to take a few days off and enjoy a relaxing vacation.

Safe Travels,
Loretanamama ...Live it at Casa de Playita

LORETO FEST 2010 - Cooking Competition "Flavors of the Sea" April 30-May 2

Loreto Fest 2010 "By the Sea" April 30 - May 2nd




The Loreto Bay National Park is hosting a cooking competition, "Flavors of the Sea" as part of the April 17th Festival "Loretanos, for a Sea Full of Life!" Join us in celebrating the richness of the marine products available in our park, and the importance of using them sustainably.





DETAILS OF THE COMPETITION:

1. PARTICIPATION: anyone residing within the municipality of Loreto is invited to participate. Professional chefs are welcome to participate and promote their best recipes, however they will not be eligible to participate in the competition.

2. REGISTRATION: pre-registration is required in the central park office on Calle Victoriano Arnes between Pedro de Ugarte and Julian de Mallorga, or by calling Perla Lozano at the same office at 135-0477. (For assistance in English, call or email Cynthia Mayoral cmayoral@rareconservation.org, 613-111-0510 613-111-0510.)

3. THEME: Celebrate the richness of the marine products available in our park. Each entry should include, in some way, chocolata clam, either as the principal, or a secondary ingredient. All marine products used must be legally obtained.

4. PRESENTATION: The food will be presented at the "Loretanos por un mar lleno de vida" Festival at the dock/marina on the malecón, Saturday, April 17th, from 10am – 2pm. Each dish should serve small portions for a minimum of 10 people to sample.

5. PRIZES: First prize is $1000 pesos plus a surprise gift, second prize is $750 pesos plus a surprise gift, third and fourth prizes are surprise kitchen appliances. And, of course, everyone wins by celebrating the importance of enjoying and caring for our marine resources.

6. JUDGES: The panel of judges is comprised of local chefs

7. CRITERIA FOR JUDGING: dishes will be judged based on flavor, presentation and originality

8. AWARDS: awards will be announced and prizes given at the closing ceremony at 2:00pm

9. LOGISTICS: Loreto Bay National Park is responsible for all of the logistics of the event (tables, chairs, napkins, etc.) If anyone wants to add their own touch to the presentation, they are more than welcome.

Submitted by: Cynthia Mayoral

Safe Travels,
Loretanamama ...Live it at Casa de Playita

Monday, April 5, 2010

Loreto Fishing Report - 04-05-10

Loreto Baja, your best choice for your fishing adventures.


Good weather, good fishing.

Sunrise: 6:14 AM

Sunset: 6:43 PM

Barometer: 29.8" Hg

Feels like: 81°

Humidity: 26%

Wind: WSW 11 mph today



Yellowtail throughout the week. The best fishing sites are Alfonso and Choya reef at about16 to 18 miles east of Loreto.

San Bruno reef is another very good fishing site, 15 miles north of Loreto.

Punta Lobos Carmen Island is also a good fishing spot this week, 22 miles east Loreto.

We had full moon this week and this affects the good fishing, but catches were nevertheless good. Average per fishing boat were 5 pieces of Yellowtail with a weight between 20 to 38 pounds

The yellowtails are eating in San Bruno reef small squid, in the other fishing spots sardines

Here is picture with Francisco Susarrey and his cousin with a good Yellowtail from Alfonso reef .




Still good Dog Snappers fishing is being captured in Lobos Point Carmen Island you can trolling with live bait close of the beach.

Mackerels and Spanish Mackerels, out side of the Coronado light house
Or you can buy on the bait boat, 10 pieces for 15.00, 15 for 20.00 and 20 for 25 US dollars.

Truthful Fishing Report in Loreto Baja Mexico
Arturo’s Sport Fishing Fleet
http://www.arturosport.com/
arturossport@prodigy.net.mx
Phone 011-52-613 - 135 - 07 – 66
Cell +521 613 104 35 26

Safe Travels,
Loretanamama  - Live it at CasadePlayita.com

Heard of You-Touch-It-You-Bought-It Minibars? Those and Other Extra Fees Worsen the Lives of Tourists on Arthur Frommer Online

Another Reason to consider vacation rentals Those and Other Extra Fees Hidden Fees from Hotels you should be aware of on Arthur Frommer Online

Safe Travels,
Loretanamama



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