Michele Celentano: Eating on the Road-

Staying on track with a clean diet is work- it takes time, planning and a big commitment. It's pretty easy to do while I am home but traveling makes clean eating extremely difficult. Some airports offer fairly clean options (Denver is great) but they are not alway easy to find. Other airports are a eating disaster. (Memphis)

This trip was really interesting for me.

I did pack snacks and things to eat in case of emergency- (seen in earlier post) Problem is that only goes so far.

On my layover in Memphis I was looking for a good clean lunch.... Wow- that was a task- 1. I was in the land a BBQ and Elvis.

2. I'm not a fan of BBQ.

So, I finally find a burger place that has a few salads sitting on ice and grilled chicken upon request. I'm pretty sure that chicken had taken a 24 hour salt bath. (When you get used to no salt in you food- any salt at all seems like a lot) Then I asked for a light dressing and she handed me a balsamic vinegar pre-packaged dressing. The label read 170 calories for the one serving with 150 of those calories coming from fat. Needless to say I ate my salty dried out chicken over a bunch of iceberg lettuce dry.

The food situation for me continued to decline upon arrival at the hotel. Being without a car, at a resort and facing the computer problems the only real option for me was the restaurants at the resort. The resort/convention center is a indoor/outdoor water park for kids and families.

Needless to say the food choices were no where near clean.

Let me tell you about my first night dinner.

I head to the restaurant for a table for one- there was a buffet available but from my experience I know finding something clean at a buffet is unlikely so I decide on ordering from the menu.

The only thing that looks remotely clean is the “pan seared” Walleye fish. The description reads: Lightly seasoned pan seared Walleye served with lemon, assorted veggies and jasmine rice.

So, I ask my server do you have brown rice or sweet potatoes? No I’m sorry we don’t. “Okay then, how the veggies are prepared? Are they prepared in butter?” She replies “yes they are”. I say “can I have them prepared without butter?” - No, other wise they will just burn in the pan without butter.” Now, I’m thinking are you serious? Then I say, “how about steamed, can they be steamed?” Well, I’ll have to check with the kitchen-

I’m already irritated. Next my pan seared Walleye comes out battered and fried. Yes, I am serious- battered and fried. I had steamed veggies but deep fried fish. Completely, irritated I pick off the batter and eat the fish.

It’s not easy going out to eat and having special requests for my order - but I can’t be shy about asking for what I need. I definitely learned to do this training for the first show. Actually, I prefer cooking at home. I know what I’m getting and how everything is prepared - eating out is getting to be a bit of a stressor for me know unless I know the restaurant and that they will cater to my “special food needs”

A great by product of training for a show is developing a clear food voice. I don’t have to eat only what is presented me, I can ask for special requests and not feel bad about it.