a moment to refocusonlife ~ confessions of a foodie

This past weekend was my birthday. I know, happy birthday to me! Trust me, it was a full weekend celebration. I have the best children, husband, family, and friends a young whipper-snapper could ask for! A big shout out to all of those that helped make my birthday special.

But, I digress. It was my birthday weekend. I celebrated. With food. Ugh. On Friday night, we ate at Louisiana Purchase in Banner Elk. Wow. Probably one of the top 10 meals I've had in my life. I cannot say enough good things about the food, but the after dinner bitterness came in the form of a check that knocked my socks off.

My Dessert on Friday night! (Cheese, Fruit, Nuts)
1/31/2014

I believe I've made this confession before on this blog, but it warrants repeating, I'm a hopeless foodie. Last week, I read an article in Prevention Magazine. Prevention is a fabulous little source of information and inspiration. There was an article by Dr. Pam Peeke, a healthy living coach, in the "Answers" section of the magazine. The question at hand was, "My friends socialize over trendy but fattening meals. How can I stay slim?" It's a great article in the December 2013 issue of the magazine. (Check it out by clicking here.) 

I wanted to offer my two cents on staying slim in light of socializing over food because it is a fact of life. People want to gather over food and/or drinks. To me, there's nothing better than gathering with friends and family over a nice meal. The fact that I'm a foodie heightens the experience for me. But, I'm here to tell you, even the most trendy, stylish, and snotty restaurants want to make their diners happy. They are, after all, in the service business. Trust me, from a guy with an MBA with a marketing emphasis, negative word of mouth advertising can destroy even the best of businesses. Restaurants face a tough marketplace climate in light of sites like Yelp, Tripadvisor, Urbanspoon, and others.

Asking a restaurant to modify a dish is no longer a question of "if" for me, but a question of "how". They will modify the dishes on the menu. In fact, I find that the nicer the restaurants, the more focused on fresher, healthier ingredients they have become. It's more difficult for me to have a chain establishment to modify a dish to include more veggies and less starch than it is for a restaurant like Root & Vine in Morganton. I always modify my dishes. You should too! Ask for fewer french fries and potatoes and more fresh veggies and fruit! It'll make a world of difference in your overall health.

Salmon with Veggies
1/31/2014

If you had told me 4 years ago that I would choose Salmon in a beurre blanc sauce with zucchini and white asparagus over a New York strip with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, I would have called you crazy. What's even more impressive is that I would gladly choose the Salmon with veggies over deep-fried chicken strips and fries from Zaxby's (<--My Favorite pre-weightloss meal.)

My point here is this--just because your friends socialize over food doesn't mean that you have to indulge. Make smart choices at dinner, stay away from the buffet and the alcohol, and focus on the socialization more and the food less.

Enjoy the rest of your week! Until next time, remember to take a moment to refocusonlife!