Today I faced a challenge I failed at earlier this month.  Back to the hotel I went, with its exclusive concierge level and multiple snacks free for the taking.  A few weeks ago I was able to pass up the chocolate-covered espresso beans and roasted cashews. Today I scarfed down the cajun mix of tiny rice crackers, sesame sticks, and peanuts.  Today I arrived at lunchtime without having had my first meal of the day (working on intermittent fasting). That canister of cajun mix looked pretty tempting, but I went to the decaf coffee machine and mixed my smoothie powders with the coffee.  Okay, it was a coffee latte, so I had a little dairy, but I think I was a pretty good girl, considering I passed up the munchies.

BREAKFAST:  Noon

Smoothie:  coffee latte with green powder, spirulina, chlorella, turmeric, bone broth collagen, prebiotic fiber, moringa.

DINNER:  5:15

I had prepared a meal of spinach, cucumbers, and chicken with Sally’s Favorite Dressing and put it in a plastic container to eat before the evening’s black-tie event, a charity gala held on the opening night of the auto show. It was called a “strolling dinner” which I was sure meant foods that were convenient to eat while walking amongst the cars. The offerings didn’t sound like healthy food to me, so I made plans to eat early. But best-laid plans often go awry; I never ate the salad.  Instead, I worked on writing assignments until it was time to get ready, and dreaded what I might find as I walked to the auto show

I was right to dread. You’d think with all the Aston Martins and Lamborghinis and Ferraris on display the food would also be upscale. Wrong. The first food table I found featured french fries with beer cheese and bacon bits for topping. I moved on. The car show was immense, held in a convention center. The event planners had the food stations spread from one end to the other to get people mingling amongst the car displays. It took me a while to find the next food offering: mac and cheese with assorted toppings of sour cream and bacon bits. I moved on. The third food station I discovered featured sliders of hamburger and chicken. I got prematurely excited to see some veggies nearby until I found out the lettuce leaves and tomato slices were meant to accompany the sliders.

I finally found a sushi table. It took me a while to find the purely vegetable sushi offerings. I ate only two to quiet my grumbling stomach. The sushi sticky rice, made with sugar and rice stripped of its bran was not part of my plan. My husband, never a fan of junk food and definitely not a sushi aficionado said it was time to leave and get a real dinner. I found a wonderful salad with avocado and a light delicious dressing at a fine restaurant atop a landmark hotel. It was from the small plates tapas menu, so I didn’t have to worry about gorging myself on a huge salad!

I did order a lovely bourbon drink they called the Mark Twain.  Two sips were all I needed to enjoy the flavor, and I relinquished it to hubby.  He appreciated the thoughtfulness; I appreciated his drinking the sugar and calories for me.  So, all in all, I made it through the landmines of poor food choices pretty well today.  Yay me.

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