Eat A Steak!

Once upon a time, not really that long ago, I had a little party.  My good friend Lisa brought a little box of cards with questions printed on them for people to answer and this would be a sort of ice breaker.  The idea was that each person would tell a story to explain their answer to the question which would in effect get conversation going at the party.  The first card pulled asked "If you could write a book what would it be?"  Well, remember I was a vegetarian.

When nobody responded, I decided as the hostess I would start the conversation.  I went on about a book I would write explaining how vegetarians could get protein.  Now, understand, I totally went on and on about this as I though it would be a great book.  And, quite honestly, if I would have wrote that book, it probably could have easily taken up three to four hundred pages.  I know this because I have read some long books that claim the same thing.  And, this book may have actually sold quite a few copies.  But, it wouldn't have been effective for any of the readers.

Now, I dream about writing that same book.  It would have one page and three words, EAT A STEAK! I realize that this book would not sell.  But, it would do a world of good and save your life!

Paleo Eating While Traveling

Eating a healthy balanced diet while traveling is challenging enough and applying a Paleo diet on top of that can be next to impossible.  From time to time I have to travel for work.  This equates to eating out for every meal and at times with clients.  Finding something on the menu at each restaurant without grains, wheat, or dairy is not a common occurrence.  Somehow, last week, I did it!  Surprisingly, with a little creativity and cooperation from servers, I was able to either order something that fit the description of Paleo or have it altered a bit to remove the wheat or dairy.

Here’s how it went.

Thursday:  I arrived in Denver and met up with a colleague for dinner.  We went to Outback Steakhouse.  You would think hmmm…chain restaurant?  How did that work?  Well, Coconut Shrimp for an appetizer and Grilled Mahi Tuna with a topping of artichokes and sundried tomatoes.  Fantastic!  Order it the next time you are there you won’t be disappointed.  It is delicious!

Friday:  Breakfast was an omelet with veggies and a small bowl of fruit. For lunch the client ordered out from Jimmy Johns.  I know, you’re thinking bread.  Jimmy John’s has this great thing called the Unwich.  It’s a sandwich wrapped in lettuce instead of using bread. You can also hold the cheese.  I decided to stay in Denver for the weekend and get in some time hiking in nature.  So, for dinner, I stopped off at California Pizza Kitchen and got a chopped salad without cheese. 

Saturday:  I had enough Marriott points to stay at the JW in Denver Friday and Saturday night so Saturday morning I thought I’d have a big breakfast at their highly acclaimed restaurant to fuel my day of hiking.  Their brunch menu did not have anything on it without wheat or dairy.  So, I ordered the crab cake eggs Benedict without the English muffin.  The server asked if I would like tomatoes substituted for the English muffin.  I said “That sounds great”.  And, it was great!  Probably one of the best breakfasts I have ever had.  Slices of roma tomatoes topped with a crab cake and a poached egg.  The dish came with a side of grilled asparagus.  I have to conquer this recipe!  Then it was off to the spa for a much needed deep tissue massage.  Have to give a call out to their spa.  It is one of the best hotel spas I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing and I have tried out quite a few fantastic hotel spas.  In fact, some travel magazine recently ranked it as one of the top five hotel spas in the country and I believe it!  Ventured off for my afternoon of hiking in Colorado Springs.  On the way, I stopped at a grocery store and picked up some water and nuts to snack on.  My afternoon was so zen after my massage.  Hiking in Seven Falls was so beautiful and majestic.  Also wandered around the Garden of the Gods and stopped off at the Pueblo Dwellings in a cliff.  You can bet the inhabitants of these dwellings ate meat and vegetables, nuts and fruit.  I definitely thought about that while I was touring their ancient homes.  By the time I started getting hungry it was around 6 O’Clock.  So, I hopped back in the car to drive back to Denver.  Many tourist brochures and magazines I had picked up and read mention this pub called The Cherry Cricket that had the best burgers in Denver.  Lo and behold, it was right behind the hotel I was staying at.  Score!  Ordered take out of a burger with avocado, tomato, onion and lettuce.  Took my burger back to the hotel and took the bun off and ate it.  It may sound a bit dry but if you have a great burger, you don’t need all that sauce and junk to make it taste good.  It will taste good all on its own.

Sunday:  Funny thing when you have nourished yourself for a few days so completely, you’re satisfied and not so hungry.  I grabbed a few nuts left over from the previous day, checked out of the hotel, and went off to enjoy the Botanical Gardens.  Now, I do think that the Chicago Botanical Gardens has a leg up on Denver’s but, it was very beautiful none the less.  Took a break from viewing the gardens and stopped at their restaurant to have a salad.  (with meat of course)  After I made another lap around to my favorite places in the garden it was time to depart off to the airport and reluctantly make my way back to reality. 

Here is what I really learnt.  You can eat at chain restaurants or highly ranked exclusive restaurants or take out from a pub for that matter and still eat healthy and Paleo.  It’s really your choice.  They want your money.  They will accommodate.

In hindsight, when I was a vegetarian, I never had any issue requesting a vegetarian dish at a restaurant that didn’t have one on the menu.  They always accommodated.  Why did it take me this time to realize that I could also request a Paleo dish?  After all, they are just removing ingredients; they don’t even have to create a new menu item.  Perhaps the moral superiority one feels for ‘saving’ the animals makes one feel the right to request that dietary request.  The irony of that thinking was explained to me in a book I also read throughout this weekend titled The Vegetarian Myth  written by a woman who was a Vegan for 20 years. I plan on explaining this in more detail in another blog entry but the bottom line is, a cow can feed you with a lot less loss of life in the same amount of time and with a lot less damage to the environment than the amount of grain it would take to feed you in that same amount of time.  Again, I will write more about this later and this is probably another statement that will garner me some unpopularity.  Oh well, sometimes the truth is hard but it is necessary. 

Come on, you knew I couldn’t stop at the beautiful scenery and great food and not resist relating this to my vegetarian days!