I would have to say that today was the best of all the days. I made the smartest choices and ate the least. I think it might be because it was the only day I was traveling alone. The other days I didn’t want to push my weird food views onto others, or embarrass anyone with a really complicated order.
Breakfast was at the hotel: oatmeal with one table spoon of brown sugar, a banana and a cup of coffee with 2% milk. I swear no one but Starbucks as whole milk! I flew to Houston and did my work there and grabbed lunch when I got back to the airport.
The airport was, just as I expected, a mecca of fast food. I walked up and down the terminal trying to find something good. I didn’t want to eat French fries because I knew they would be fried in veg oil, but then I found a place, Papa’s Burgers (apparently the best burger in TEXAS, that is according to their sign) that would substitute a salad for the fries. I said Okay. I didn’t want to eat the white flour bun, so I ordered, one hamburger topped with avocado and tomato, no bun, with a side salad. For my dressing I ordered oil and vinegar. You should always safely assume that all commercial restaurant salad dressing is made with soybean oil or some other polyunsaturated oil. I definitely got the “health nut” look from my waitress and she was very confused by all the requests. And you should have seen the oil and vinegar shakers! Almost nothing came out. Apparently anyone who orders oil and vinegar does not actually want to have any on their salad.
On the plane I chose just water and cashews. I was really thrilled. I did have a little refined sugar with my oatmeal that morning but other than that, no overeating and no white flour. I fortunately returned home in time for dinner. Whew! What a trip!
Conclusions:
· I noticed that food was either super high fat and processed (like sausage, hamburgers or fast food) or low-fat or fat free foods like 0% yogurt. I eat a diet that is filled with healthy fats, but I also don’t go overboard. It was actually hard to find food that I considered to be minimally processed that also had healthy fats in moderate amounts. Does everyone eat this way? Is everyone either sick to their stomach or starving?
· Americans do not drink whole milk. I am convinced of it. What a shame. I literally could not get access to any milk with a fat content greater than 2% milk. I have switched the whole family over to whole milk because I truly believe it is better for me. Whole milk tends to be less processed because the dairy doesn’t have to do anything much to it.
· If you ask for something, like real milk vs non-dairy creamer, people are happy to give it to you as long as they have it. So don’t be afraid to speak up.
· I definitely made choices because I was afraid that my colleagues and friends would judge me or that they would feel judged because I was doing something different than they were. Many of the “off plan” foods I chose on this trip I did so because of who was with me. Jeez. That’s a whole blog post unto itself! We have to get over this, I am just not sure where to start.
· I really overate because I had so many restaurant meals. Most of my meals were 50%larger than I normally would have had. Shucks. I find it hard to say no, I am a plate cleaner. Next time I travel I will try to eat better and cleaner, so that I can clean my plate rather than having to stop or waste food. I think I would be happier that way.
I am soooooooo glad to be home!
Hmmm...I'm not so sure whole milk is less processed than 2%, unless you are buying it directly from the farmer. The reason is that the word 'whole' as it pertains to milk is regulated to mean 3.5% fat content...whether or not the cow produces milk that actually contains that much milk fat. So, all milk after it is pumped out of the cow and pastuerized is then de-fatted, and then reconstituted to the desired consistency, whether it is 1%, 2%, or whole.
ReplyDeleteAt least, that is my understanding of it. I admit to not having researched it.
Well, I went and looked it up, and I'm thinking I was wrong. Because I couldn't find any information that would indicate that what I thought happened was true. The only thing I found was that whole milk has to have at least 3.5% milk fat, but often contained more.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can feel silly for posting that, but at least I learned something.
Don't feel silly at all! I love when people question. I get stuff wrong sometimes too. I do know that different breeds of cows make milk with varying levels of milkfat, and i think the breed most often used is one that produces milk of 3.5-4% milkfat. But that is what our fat concious population wants. I LOVE that you looked this up and came back to comment. I wish i could turn all my readers into skeptics!
ReplyDelete