By AUDREY WILSON
By AUDREY WILSON
Stephens Media
Many of you are planning a vacation this summer. We tend to also let our principles of healthy eating, which we practice daily, go on vacation, too.
Most of us are guilty of this, and I have to admit, I have eaten meals that I don’t usually eat at home.
We often allow ourselves to “pig out” in the morning with the “free” breakfast buffet. Eggs and bacon — which we don’t ordinarily eat daily — become our hearty start of our vacation day.
Eating hot oatmeal or cold cereal is often “boring” because of all the other wonderful foods offered that we do not eat often. Yogurt and fruit are good alternatives. Sometimes the only fresh fruits are apples and oranges. Of course, there were no papayas, which we eat daily at home.
During a recent trip, Belgium waffles, bread, bagels, muffins, breakfast sandwiches with sausage and eggs were the daily choices at our breakfast buffet in Healdsburg, Calif. Cold, sweet cereal with milk was available. Although we need carbohydrates for energy, you can only eat so much before it starts showing up on your body.
Most breakfasts do not take into consideration those with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, so our friend, Lorna, had to bring her own gluten-free breads for breakfast. She probably ate the healthiest, making a breakfast sandwich with gluten-free bread, smoked salmon and a slice of tomato.
When selecting a healthy breakfast, choose a hard-cooked or poached egg over a fried one, limit the amount of bacon and sausage, and whole wheat toast is a better choice than a large bagel or muffin.
At a lunch or dinner buffet, which are sometimes “all-you-can-eat,” we think we must eat the most expensive items, like the meats and seafood, and forget about the vegetables and fruit. That mindset that we need to get our money’s worth usually gets us in trouble. The other problem is portion control. Remember that one serving of carbohydrate is only one-third to one-half cup. A portion of meat is only the size of a deck of cards, or 3 ounces. You should start at the salad section and fill your plates up with at least half vegetables. The other two sections can be for a carbohydrate and meat. Never mind about calculating the costs.
Here are some tricks to help you control what you eat and not come back from vacation with 5-10 pounds more than the start of your vacation. Start with a lightly dressed salad. Try to always remember to eat five fruits and vegetables daily, even when on a trip. If you ate a fruit at breakfast, then the vegetables in the salad would be your second of five.
Check out the appetizer section on a menu and order these smaller portioned dishes as your entrée. I had a wonderful meal with a salad and an appetizer. It is filling, and I am able to try different dishes, sometimes sharing a second appetizer.
When your choices for cooking are broiling or sautéed with butter, we are tempted to say, “oh, well, we are on vacation,” so the choice may be the second. Choose the broiled or baked method of cooking, if possible.
Dessert buffets always look so delicious, with whipped cream, and are the one thing that could break one’s willpower down. All that wonderful chocolate, cream and butter may satisfy that sweet tooth, but they only add calories. I love to take two or three of the best looking ones and just take a sliver just to taste, and not eat the whole piece. If you never eat processed foods or meats such as hot dogs or processed hams, beware of them in a buffet line. They are always high in fat and salt, both great preservatives. It is tempting to have just one because it is a treat, as you might not eat them regularly. Our big problem when on vacation is drinking wine, and if we were told to drink water instead, it would not fly with our group. It would be like my mother would say, “Whistling Dixie!”
If you can drink water or tea and limit your alcoholic drinks to one drink for women and two for men, accompanying that with equal amounts of water, it would help with the weight gain problem.
Always ask yourself, did I eat enough dietary fiber, at least 20-30 grams a day? This helps for the regulation of our bowels, often a problem while on vacation. Did I eat at least five fruits and vegetables? Did I eat a rainbow or varied-colored items, which are usually in fruits and vegetables? Did I exercise at least 30 minutes a day, whether it is swimming or walking? If you can say yes to most of these questions, you did not take your body on vacation!
Foodie Bites
Congratulations to Jason Morton of Hilo Yacht Club who has been promoted from kitchen manager to executive chef. Chef Jason’s passion to constantly learn his trade is one of his greatest assets.