I just got back from a business trip to San Diego, the ASLA 2011 Annual Meeting and Expo. The San Diego Convention Center is a beautiful space to move through if you haven't been. It is the second convention I have attended there, the first one was in 2004 for the ESRI Convention for GIS. Back then, I didn't mind eating meat on a stick at every social function. This year, food wasn't offered for free often so it wasn't as much of a problem as I was anticipating. There was one late afternoon offering of veggies, hummus type stuff and bread and crackers. Wine, beer, soft drinks and bottled water were also available at the vendor sponsored event. I loaded up on veggies and mentioned how I was a starving sort-of vegan and a couple of people around me started talking about the "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Diet" and how they were putting off starting until after the trip or pushing it out into the unknown future.
How do you spell wuss? Back to describing my trip in terms of food choices from the beginning...
First, by the time I was moving through the Seattle Airport to get my connecting flight, I was hungry. Uht-oh, the trip had only just begun. I found this Waji's Asian Veggie Wrap. (It really was the only offering without meat and cheese). It was good, I just had to pick off the onions and peppers--not because of the plant-based diet but food allergies.
By the time I checked into the hotel it was bedtime so no dinner, good thing I ate the veggie wrap earlier.
The next morning I had an oatmeal made with soy milk at Starbucks. I know their soy milk has fat in it but it seemed to be the lesser evil (I wanted more sustenance than just having it made with water). San Diego really surprised me with how poor the food choices are at the convention center and within walking distance for someone on a time budget in between classes. I guess I just think of California as a healthier environment.
Sunday lunch was a veggie 6" sub sandwich from Subway's made with loads of veggies, no cheese or condiments except vinegar and black pepper on a 9 grain whole wheat bun. For dinner I walked up to Ralph's Grocery Store and bought a package of vegetables prepared much like sushi, only no meat or rice and wrapped in rice cellophane. Expensive for deli groceries, but delicious.
I also bought rice milk and cereal for the next couple of day's breakfasts. I also bought a bag of organic carrot pieces which turned out to be a smart idea and fed me when I wasn't able to make it to a restaurant later in the trip. Good thing the hotel room had a little refrigerator.
One day for lunch I went looking for a place where I could order a pizza made with loads of vegetables and no cheese. There doesn't seem to be such a place close to the convention center. Everywhere there was pizza offered it was pre-made with cheese and meat and frankly, looked like it had been sitting there forever. That day I was getting hungry for a hot meal and so I ordered the mushroom spaghetti at The Spaghetti Factory but asked for the sauce to be brought on the side (onions) and I ordered a side of brocolli but asked them to leave off the oil sauce they bragged about on the menu.
The waiter walked by and said he had noticed how I dumped everything together and that he thought it looked pretty good. Smart boy.
I wonder if other people who like to cook and can't find what they want do this sort of thing. I hope so.
One of the vendors at the convention paid for everyone to have a $10.00 voucher for lunch at the convention center.
How do you spell wuss? Back to describing my trip in terms of food choices from the beginning...
By the time I checked into the hotel it was bedtime so no dinner, good thing I ate the veggie wrap earlier.
The next morning I had an oatmeal made with soy milk at Starbucks. I know their soy milk has fat in it but it seemed to be the lesser evil (I wanted more sustenance than just having it made with water). San Diego really surprised me with how poor the food choices are at the convention center and within walking distance for someone on a time budget in between classes. I guess I just think of California as a healthier environment.
Sunday lunch was a veggie 6" sub sandwich from Subway's made with loads of veggies, no cheese or condiments except vinegar and black pepper on a 9 grain whole wheat bun. For dinner I walked up to Ralph's Grocery Store and bought a package of vegetables prepared much like sushi, only no meat or rice and wrapped in rice cellophane. Expensive for deli groceries, but delicious.
I also bought rice milk and cereal for the next couple of day's breakfasts. I also bought a bag of organic carrot pieces which turned out to be a smart idea and fed me when I wasn't able to make it to a restaurant later in the trip. Good thing the hotel room had a little refrigerator.
One day for lunch I went looking for a place where I could order a pizza made with loads of vegetables and no cheese. There doesn't seem to be such a place close to the convention center. Everywhere there was pizza offered it was pre-made with cheese and meat and frankly, looked like it had been sitting there forever. That day I was getting hungry for a hot meal and so I ordered the mushroom spaghetti at The Spaghetti Factory but asked for the sauce to be brought on the side (onions) and I ordered a side of brocolli but asked them to leave off the oil sauce they bragged about on the menu.
The waiter walked by and said he had noticed how I dumped everything together and that he thought it looked pretty good. Smart boy.
I wonder if other people who like to cook and can't find what they want do this sort of thing. I hope so.
One of the vendors at the convention paid for everyone to have a $10.00 voucher for lunch at the convention center.
This was the best I could do since most of the food choices were hotdogs, hamburgers, pizza, french fries or meat sandwiches. I picked off the cheese from the salad and added the packet you see on the left of lettuce and tomato to my veg burger. (The pears on the salad were extremely mushy so I picked those off too.) I was blown away that this lunch cost $20.00 (minus the voucher).
There were no good food offerings where I was in the San Diego airport on the way home. There was no time in the San Francisco airport to look for a bite and I barely made my flight connection but that is another story.
Regarding junk food, I opt for Baked Lay's Potato Chips or pretzels when I can find them instead of nuts and licorice instead of chocolate, Coke Zero or bottled water and Orchard Bars or any vegan protein bar as low fat as possible such as Cliff Bars which are good to pack along in your suitcase. Dried fruit and bite sized shredded wheat make a safe trail mix. I have a weakness for Kameda Crisps rice snacks too. See, I'm not perfect. These are just for those times you find yourself in situations surrounded by bad food choices, no time and starving. Or weak. Have a bag of Baked Lay's, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.
It is so good to be home. I can't wait to make a great dinner tonight of brown rice, Anne Esselstyn's recipe for steamed kale with walnut sauce and my recipe for enchilada's.
Happiness is eating well.
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