So the hubs and I spontaneously decided to take a road trip down to Charleston for the long weekend. Normally we enjoy the freedom that comes from not yet having kids and being able to take off at the drop of the hat. The trip, however, ended up somewhat of a bust. One ghetto-chateaus hotel, 6 sad vegetarian meals, and 2 sweaty days later I am happy to be home in my air-conditioned apartment with a refrigerator full of choice food. From this trip I have learned:
1) Always check out a hotel room before checking in, lest it contain a bed spread with cigarette burns, gunk stuck in the carpet, and splashes of God-knows-what on the bathroom walls.
2) Always pack a cooler full of veg snacks to improve roadside options, of which the best is the unfortunate Veggie Burger at Burger King or the boring Bean Burrito at Taco Bell. We did manage to stop at a Souper Salad! on our way down there, where I loaded up on, what else, soup and salad!
On our way back to town, somewhere near the Biltmore Estate, I was encouraged to find a Bruegger's Bagel shop that listed several veg sandwiches on the menu. Pure bliss after a weekend of salads and baked potatoes! Plus, all their coffee is fair trade! I did splurge and purchase a rice crispy treat that the hubs and I split. Definitely not vegan, but, well, better than a Coke.
3) Don't let yourself get hungry. You will be much more likely to consider carnivorous options and make unhealthy choices. Being out of my normal routine and unable to control my food situation, I was tempted with kettle corn, french fries, ice cold cokes, and wonderfully smelling hamburgers. On our drive home I was beginning to feel very deprived and very sorry for my self, a victim of circumstance, as if being a vegetarian was something forced upon me and an unfortunate fate. I had to remind myself why I'm doing this, of the choice I am making to lead a healthier and more full lifestyle. Breaking out The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell helped to beef up (pun intended) my veg convictions.
4) It is important to surround myself with others who are choosing to eat veg for support and camaraderie. As with most things in life, its harder to do things on your own. The hubs has been convinced by the evidence in The China Study and is on his own journey to veg-ism, but currently is still eating chicken. It would have been SO easy to snag a piece of bacon off the plate I was passing around the table at the hub's uncle's house on Saturday morning. It just smelled SO good! Now, if these peeps were all veg, wouldn't it have been easier, and felt better, to make a great, healthy breakfast together?
Feeling deprived, I completely relapsed today with a coke and a reduced-fat-cinnamon-swirl coffee cake from Starbys. Not healthy and not vegan...But! In other news, I have lost 9 pounds! To be honest, I don't know when this weight loss started. It could very well be because I stopped hanging around the vending machine to get myself through grad school. Whatever the reason, I'll take it!
3 comments:
Bummer Kacie, but be encouraged that you'll get more skilled at eating out as a vegetarian and it'll get better.
I'm not vegan, but I think this Taco Bell tip will still help. They'll leave the meat (& cheese, etc) out of anything, so there are more options than just a bean burrito. My favorite these days is the double decker taco with no meat, substitute beans. The 7-layer burrito has no meat as is on the menu.
And not to be a bad influence, but my philosophy is that I eat healthfully at home so that when we do go on vacation or go out to eat I don't have to worry about it as much since the majority of the time I'm being healthy. Just an idea to consider. I'm still a vegetarian all the time, but have more fried food, more dessert, etc. on vacation or out and about. For me, if I feel too deprived for too long then I eventually give up and binge, which I think is worse than moderation all along.
Hope the rest of the Charleston trip was better than the food and the lodging. It's a neat place!
And one other thing -- the South is one of the hardest places in the US to eat out as a vegetarian. If you can master it there it'll be a cinch anywhere else!
Thanks for the Taco Bell tip! That's great news. You're right, I think the south is one of the hardest places to eat healthily in general. and I think it'll be much easier in CA! And you're right about binging. I think when I get to the point of eating primarily vegan, then a spurge once in a while will be ok.
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