I did something very silly this past Saturday. A girlfriend called and invited me to a concert. I was tired, I'd worked all day, but I just can't say no to an opportunity to dance the night away to some good, live music. I raced home from work, quickly showered, applied a bit of concealer and lipstick, and off we went.
That's not so silly. The band was great, great place, great crowd. I had an awesome time. The silly part was that in my haste to get ready, I forgot to eat dinner. Now you might be wondering how on earth does anyone forget to eat? Trust me, it happens. I don't intentionally skip meals, I just get so busy with work and all my little projects that I don't even think about food sometimes. To be perfectly honest, I had every intention of eating; I simply didn't have time. My girlfriend was pounding at my front door and it was time to go.
The last meal I'd eaten was lunch around noon (it was now 10PM) so I limited myself to just a couple of beers at the show. Honest. Anything more than that on an empty stomach would have spelled disaster. I danced, I sang, I mingled and when we finally we left the bar around 3AM, I was starving. There was only one choice- Burger King- open 24 hours. JACKPOT! I ordered french fries and scarfed them down in seconds flat. Two hours later, I was as sick as a dog.
I never eat fast food. NEVER. I can't remember the last time I had french fries and as God is my witness, I will never eat them again unless I make them myself. What on earth was in those fries?
Well, aside from the fact they are immersed and fried in big vats of oil, Burger King fries also contain chicken flavoring. HELLO! I am a Vegan. I don't eat anything from a chicken, cow, pig, or fish. My body is no longer able to digest foods cooked or flavored with anything from animals. If I do happen to eat anything with animal fat, animal flavoring, or any kind of animal by-product, forgive me for being so blunt, my head is in the toilet. For hours.
I learned two big lessons:
1. Never, ever skip a meal
2. Before I eat anything, I need to know what's in it.
In my quest to discover exactly what was in those Burger King fries, I stumbled upon the most invaluable source of information known to mankind: A guide to healthy eating at any restaurant. It's really geared toward vegetarians and vegans but anyone interested in making wise meal choices will find this very handy. Included in this guide are all the fast food joints and other eating establishments you know and love. Hopefully, you don't actually love them and don't often frequent any of those types of places, but hey, stuff happens. Who would've thought I'd be eating fast food fries in the wee hours of the morning?
In a perfect world, you would always cook at home, from scratch, and know exactly what's in your food. Unfortunately, this not a perfect world and every once in awhile you have no choice but to dine in places like Burger King, McDonald's, and Olive Garden. You work hard, you don't feel like cooking, you've been on the road for hours and there's nothing else around for miles, or you do something silly like skipping dinner and find yourself shoving handfuls of greasy fries down your throat at 3 o'clock in the morning. My advice? Print this guide and memorize it.
Here's the Guide:
Healthy Eating in any Restaurant
