January 24, 2011 (Updated December 6, 2022)

A Food & Exercise Tour of Chapel Hill, NC

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

36 comments

What a fun weekend! Is it seriously Monday already?! This weekend absolutely FLEW by.

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As you guys know, my best friend Turner from college was here visiting — I had a blast showing her around Chapel Hill, UNC’s campus, and more!

We started with campus on Saturday afternoon:

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We spent Saturday night having dinner and drinks with a bunch of my girlfriends here, and then got up early yesterday morning to take advantage of the warmer, sunny weather with a hike!

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We headed over to Eno River State Park and spent a lovely 2+ hours hiking in the sunshine and chatting away 🙂

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You can always expect to get a good workout when you come visit me! 😉

And you can also expect good food! After our hike, we were on a mission to get BBQ for lunch. Turner lives in Philadelphia so I decided southern BBQ just HAD to happen while she was here. We were all excited about it and headed straight from the trails to my favorite BBQ place in the area, Allen & Son:

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Only to find they are closed on Sundays (and Mondays)! FAIL!

Thanks to phones with internet, our fail quickly turned into a win and we headed off to Jim’s Famous BBQ instead. 🙂

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It was delicious — we both had pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, and I had a side of baked beans, too — my fave.

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BBQ is one of those “totally worth it” indulgences for me. I don’t have it all that often but when I do, it’s so worth it. YUM!

The other place I wanted to make sure Turner saw while she was here was the absolutely adorable Maple View Farm.

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It’s a country store in Hillsborough that sells their farm’s homemade ice cream, fresh milk, eggs, etc. They have a HUGE front porch with dozens of rocking chairs looking out over the rolling hills — so peaceful 🙂

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(I came here once before in the fall with all the girls — remember?)

Even though it was only like 45 degrees… we decided ice cream was in order 🙂 Theirs is the best! 031 033

I got one scoop of coffee ice cream — my favorite 🙂

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Being healthy involves not ALWAYS being healthy, in my opinion 🙂 I love eating healthy food because it makes me feel fabulous, but every once in awhile it’s completely okay to splurge! The key for me is just making sure my food indulgences are worth it (delicious homemade ice cream? worth it. store bought cookies or cake? not worth it) — and paired with a healthy dose of exercise 🙂

I’m off to class — hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

What have you indulged in recently that was totally worth it?

Meat
- anne

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36 comments
  • Megan @ The Oatmeal Diaries
    I get so excited when you post UNC pics! Haha I went to Eno River State park recently as well. And my boyfriend LOVES Allen and Son BBQ... he hasn't dragged me there quite yet! Maple View ice cream is always a must. I haven't been to the farm, just the store in Carrboro!
    Reply
  • Paige @ The Gravy Boat
    Mac & cheese is a favorite indulgence (although I go through phases where it seems to go from indulgence to suddenly becoming it's own food group). Definitely a comfort food for me, too!
    Reply
  • Colleen @ The Lunchbox Diaries
    Fries and homemade brownies (not at the same time ;) ) are my "totally worth it" indulgences. I know it's not healthy, but man, I love them! Thanks for supporting the idea that healthy living certainly involves splurges! :)
    Reply
  • Kristen @ That Hoosier Girl
    We went out to eat with my parents this weekend and my entree was a total splurge: shrimp en fuego. Definitely not something you'd want to eat everyday, but like you said...all part of a balance of being healthy
    Reply
  • Maria
    That BBQ sandwich looks divine! Gosh I want one right now :D
    Reply
  • Renie
    I have been trying to ween my family away from fries, fried foods, etc. But Saturday, we were all craving my homemade Italian (mother's recipe) spaghetti sauce and it was wonderful. Smelled the whole house up with garlic.OMG it was heaven.I figured after loosing over 40 pounds in 6 months, I deserved it. That waffle cone you have there, Anne, is my favorite.
    Reply
  • Elizabeth Jarrard
    That looks fantastic! I would love to visit Chapel Hill NC someday!
    Reply
  • betht
    I miss chapel hill!
    Reply
  • Red Head, Yellow Dog
    yay love eno river state park! and I have YET to go to maple view farms! I still need to do that. and get a locopop.
    Reply
  • Courtney @ The Granola Chronicles
    What a fun day! I've been into a hiking a lot lately - it's such good exercise and you get to explore nature. Also, I LOVE baked beans & BBQ - a great indulgence!
    Reply
  • kristin
    where did you get that cute brown purse?? looks like a fun weekend!
    Reply
      • kristin
        thanks! ive been looking for one like that to hold my huge camera!
        Reply
  • Mandy
    While out shopping with my husband Saturday, we went to Freddy's Frozen Custard and I got a peanut butter malt-probably the BEST pb malt I've ever had! Soooooo worth it;)
    Reply
  • Katy (The Singing Runner)
    Love that you said "Being healthy involves not ALWAYS being healthy, in my opinion." So true!!! UNC looks so pretty! I can't wait to make a campus visit soon!!! :D Graduate school prep, here I come!
    Reply
  • Katelyn @ Chef Katelyn
    Giiiirl I indulged in PIZZA and it was soooo good:) Chapel Hill is gorgeous, I may be applying there for nutrition and public health!
    Reply
  • Kris S
    Yay! Glad you guys had a great time! I see you are both following my trend with the cross-strap bag: so great to be hands/shoulder free, right?? Mine is dead from 2 years of intense use (rememeber I even had it in Europe last year Anne and it was beat to death on that trip!) and I need to be shopping for a new one, where did you find yours? PS i love ice cream, but not the movie PS i love you. ;)
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Lol worst movie ever!!!!! Haha. And the bag is from Aldo :) I thought of you when I bought it, it's so you!
      Reply
  • Rose
    My major indulgence is Diet Coke. I know I shouldn't be drinking it, but I could have worse habits, so I continue to let it slide.
    Reply
  • Kris S
    Oh, and I indulged in PANCAKES on Sunday morning :) Worth every bite ;)
    Reply
  • Jen Robinson
    that looks like two scoops of ice cream- mmm... coffee ice cream is my favourite flavour too!
    Reply
  • megan @ blackberries for jam
    I totally agree you need indulge every now and then. Being healthy means achieving a balance in which you neither deny yourself foods that aren't strictly "healthy" that you really enjoy, nor overindulge and make yourself feel terrible. If I were to cut out pizza, beer and ice cream from my diet, I would be a very cranky person.
    Reply
  • Adventurer
    Beef! A great indulgence, periodically... What a fun day you had. Very nice. You always combine the great elements of fitness, food, and fun! Well done -
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  • Tina
    It looks cold there. It better warm up!!! :)
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    • Anne P
      Hehe don't worry, it will be sunny and fabulous when you are here, I'll make sure ;)
      Reply
  • Theodora
    I also had a BBQ sandwich this weekend, with garlic fries. It was fabulous.
    Reply
  • Vanessa
    What a beautiful campus!! I totally agree with being healthy means to eat not healthy at times. I eat ice cream every single night. Well, that's after eating healthy foods all day and running at least 10miles. I hardly feel any regrets when I eat it. Ice cream is the best!!
    Reply
  • Nicole
    i have 1 indulgence each day (sometimes two)! last night was ice cream and the night before, cheesecake!!
    Reply
  • Michelle
    My favorite indulgence is steak fries! And Pizza Hut thin crust pizza. I had fries three times last week. (I think that may qualify as OVERindulging, not just indulging.) I am trying to remove all guilt from food, and viewing some indulgences as part of a good life... which I am all about. :)
    Reply
  • DHP
    I'm with you: being healthy means being unhealthy, at times, for the right reason -- followed by a healthy does of exercise to compensate! That's good logic by which to live, I think! Thanks!
    Reply
  • Kelly
    I actually never ventured out for barbecue when I was at Chapel Hill. Probably because everything in that area is "Eastern NC" barbecue and I'm totally a "Western NC" barbecue kinda girl. My second helping of lemon bars on Saturday night was totally worth it because it was just that good.
    Reply
  • Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel
    what have i indulged in.. CHEESE!! hehe. totally worth it-yup! these photos are fantastic! ahh i can just breathe in the fresh air and feel the crispness of the season, topped with that gorgeous sun shining. looks so lovely! xoxo
    Reply
  • sarah (the SHU box)
    i've bought the maple view (our whole foods sells it!) but have never been to the store! i am definitely going to do that now that i see how cute it is (although i will probably wait until the summer :) )
    Reply
  • Lu
    I wish I could teleport you guys to New Zealand! Ahhh looks like fun! Especially the homemade ice cream bit! I think you should get an ice cream maker! Maybe if I come to visit when I get back, I could bring my ice cream maker and we could experiment with some recipes! Diva North Carolina trip? Fall time?
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Aw, I would love that!! Miss you!
      Reply