Check out my family’s stay at Tawas State Point Park located in mid-Michigan and how I prepped healthy food including a delicious Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad. And if you’re wondering, passports, is referring to the recreation passports we use in Michigan.
This is my second post as a recreation passport blogger. I was chosen as one of three Michigan bloggers to promote the amazing outdoors that Michigan has to offer using our recreation passport. For Michiganders, it only costs $11 to have access to some amazing parks like Tawas Point State Park. If you’d like to jump to the recipe just head to the bottom of this post.
We visited Tawas Point State Park in August with three other families and let me tell you we had a BLAST!
I’m not going to lie, camping with 3 kids under 5 is a LOT of work and can be so exhausting, but having another family with similar age kids helped a TON.
They entertained themselves quite a bit so us parents actually had some time to socialize and relax (a bit).
Tawas Point State Park, referred to as the “Cape Cod of the Midwest,” is located on Lake Huron. It’s perfect for swimming, relaxing and even kiteboarding (there were quite a few while we were there!). And yes, even a dog beach for our golden retriever Bailey to enjoy!
Although camping is a “vacation” for us, I still try to eat healthy while on the road. We did bring some camping foods for dinner like hot dogs (turkey) and a chicken/veggies/Italian dressing meal wrapped in foil and cooked over the campfire. I also packed a ton of snacks as you can see below and did a little prep work.
Dietitian’s Dish
It doesn’t take much time to prep healthy food for camping or any road trip. All you need is a cooler, some ice and time to do a little cooking ahead of time. Raw vegetables and fresh fruit and excellent snacks for camping. You can easily keep them in zip lock bags or plastic food containers in a cooler. The mini muffins you see pictured above are my family’s favorite Healthy Banana Nut Bread Mini Muffins. And you’ll find the simple pasta salad below.
Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 package 19 ounce 3 cheese tortellini
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 medium red onion 1 cup, chopped
- 1 cup grape tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 cucumber sliced
- 1 can 2 1/4 ounce sliced black olives
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to package directions.
- Rinse tortellini in cold water.
- Combine tortellini, feta cheese, red onion, tomatoes, cucumbers and black olives.
- Whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Add dressing to tortellini and vegetables.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow dressing to absorb.
Notes
Disclaimer: I am not compensated for these posts as a recreation passport blogger. As a nutrition and health blog, I plan to document my adventures of various places we explore in Michigan, while including how we eat healthy on the road, how we stay active while traveling or a little bit of both. I hope you enjoy learning a little more about what our great state of Michigan has to offer along with helpful healthy tips along the way.
This Passports and Tortellini Salad Post first appeared on Chocolate Slopes.
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Erica
Saturday 19th of September 2015
This looks really good! But I'm not used to buying tortellini. Where would I find the type you used in this recipe -- in the freezer section, refrigerated, or dried? Thanks!
Kristy Hegner
Sunday 20th of September 2015
Thanks Erica! I found it in the refrigerated section of my grocery store (near the other pasta).
rachel @ Athletic Avocado
Friday 18th of September 2015
this tortellini salad takes pasta salad to a new level! yum!