Fit Momma Question: Eating Well Away From Home?

A quick Fit Momma question from Alisa before we all take off in a million directions:

How do you survive the holidays away from home- especially at the in-laws. I don't want to hurt feelings and its really hard to say no. Its just hard to eat well at the in-laws, but I am trying... Any suggestions?

A San Antonio Christmas with Shamu.
Notice the shorts and sandals?
Yeah, we're really bundling up down here.

I am going to broaden this question out to all family or friends -- how do we eat well when out of our environment?  The thing is, we're totally out of our domain and with that goes the control factor (AHHH!).  We aren't 100% in charge of the food that is available or the food that is in front of our faces when we aren't in our own homes.  In my opinion, though, being with those people I adore is totally worth the trade off.

A few ways I cut a few corners and give myself back a little of the control:

Shelve the weight loss.
I am much happier when I put my weight loss goals on hold for a few days when I'm visiting family. This doesn't mean I go nuts and eat the entire 2 lb. box of See's Candies, but I eat as well as I can in the given circumstances.  Maintenance and just feeling good becomes my goal during that short time.  I can always slash the calories when I get home again.

Bring my own food.
I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be.  Years ago when I first started eating right, I visited my sister-in- law and walked in with my own, personal cooler.  I brought my own yogurt, bread, fruit, vegetables, and salads for the entire trip.  I ate entirely out of my cooler that weekend and I'm sure highly offended my sister-in-law (although being the queen she is she never mentioned it).

Although I'm not lugging in a huge cooler anymore, I still do bring a stash of my own food in my luggage.  I'll always bring protein bars, nuts, and protein powder.  Some trips I don't touch them, others trips they are out by the time I head back home.  It mostly is just security for me:  I know I'll always have something to eat at any given time while I'm there.

Do the grocery shopping.
Either before I arrive or after I get there (whichever is less awkward), I definitely make a trip to the grocery store.  Since I'm usually traveling with my crew, I just use the excuse that I have to go get some food for the kids, which is 100% true.  I grab some fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, salad fixings or ready-made salads, turkey slices and tuck them away in their fridge.  I am totally fine with anyone else eating that food -- when it's gone I'll just go get more.  Again, I'm reassuring myself that there is food I can actually eat while I'm there and I'm helping reduce my host's grocery bill.

Drink Water
This is a biggie.  It seems like once I get out of my own bubble, I forget to down the water.  I stake out a big cup while I'm there, and really make it a focus to drink my gallon every day.  This helps reduce mindless eating, which seems to go hand in hand with staying with friends or family.

Stay Busy
When I stay in someone else's home, sometimes I don't know what to do with myself.  My laundry is gone, my kitchen is gone, my errands are gone, my computer is gone, my dog is gone.  What the heck do I do with my time?  And, when I'm a bit bored, guess where I find myself?  Back in the kitchen with my face glowing in the yellow light of the fridge -- AGAIN.  It helps me, and my 3 kids, to get up and go somewhere everyday.  Whether it be visits with cousins, a hike, a trip to the park, a play -- at least it is getting me out and away from the kitchen.

Offer to Cook
I adore time in the kitchen (especially when there are people around to amuse my kids), so I will offer to cook a meal for everyone or at least help with the preparations for family meals.  I typically can pull off something that I'm excited to eat and something that the rest of the family can  enjoy.  If this isn't an option, I offer to throw together a salad or to cut up fruit for the meal.  Do you see the pattern here?  Any sliver of healthiness I can grab, I take it and run with it.

Just Eat It
When my family gets together (especially this time of year), there are tables and counters packed with goodies.  There are homemade peppermint patties to twenty-seven types of cookies with most of them masterfully involving chocolate of some sort.  This is brutal for sweetaholics like myself-- it is my Mt. Everest of self-discipline.   I find if I'm loaded up on nutrient dense foods and my water, this is a million times more manageable.  I will eat a few goodies, some things I just want a taste, not an entire slice or cookie. Sometimes I do better than others.

I try to observe how I'm spending my time:  am I being a goodie helicopter, spending the majority of my time hovering over the cheesecakes or am I spending most of my time with the people?  I try to focus on the the people.  They don't taste very good and are a lot less calories than fudge with walnuts:)  Oh, and that's why I'm there in the first place!

Sometimes you are faced with some dishes that you are just going to have to eat.  Not everyone has your nutrition habits, and occasionally you just might be faced with soggy scrambled eggs and bacon made in 2 inches of vegetable oil or some Kentucky Fried Chicken.  All I can say here is:  DO YOUR BEST.  You can try to weasel your way out of situations like that ("Thanks for the breakfast, but I got up early and already ate some oatmeal.  Sorry about that!"). Or you can just politely have a small plate of it, chug down some serious water and get busy washing dishes as a diversion tactic.

In the end, it's the people that matter most.  If you have highly sensitive in-laws or friends you are staying with, food fights are officially NOT WORTH IT.  Of course, we all wish they'd see the light and let you eat your vegetables and hummus in peace, but that's totally out of our control.  Just keep your portions small, down your water, and be relieved to get back to your routine once you get home.

Happy Holidays!

Related Posts:
Traveling Like a Fit Momma
Don't Leave Home Without...
Fixin' to Make a Salad
More Fit Momma Question Posts

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Eat With Me: Traveling

Calorie Budget:

1,742 calories

- 500 weight loss calories

+ 0 workout calories 

---------------------

1,242

**I did not count calories on this trip.  Too much to juggle on this crazy day.  Sorry guys!

Workout:

NOTHING!  

2:00 AM bedtime + 7:00 AM flight time = no workout :(

6:00 AM

Breakfast:

Night Before Oatmeal

(find recipe here)

This is filling breakfast and perfect if you know you have a crazy morning ahead of you.  It beats spending your life savings on a greasy breakfast at the airport.

I am a freak.

This is a peek into my carry-on.

I am so paranoid that I will not have good food to eat, that I bring a bagful of my own.

I ended up eating this throughout the weekend.

On the flight:

1 banana
USA Today

1 Pure Protein Bar

tons of water (I always sit on an aisle seat because of this :)
More reading in the wonderful world of Sarah Prine.

Yep, I avoid the packaged snacks that the airlines offer.  The pretzels, Ritz crackers and 100-calories Chips Ahoy do nothing for me.  If anything, once in a while I may have a package of the peanuts.  

Three hour layover:

grapes
lots of people watching
prepping for this week's EWM posts

Late lunch:

Hallelujah I found a "build-your-own" salad shop!

Spinach salad 

chicken

cucumbers

tomatoes

red onions

parmesan cheese

mandarin orange (one I brought from home)

Balsamic vinaigrette 

All for the meager price of $10.00!  That's with NO DRINK.  

All in the name of healthy eating, right?  

I would spend that kind of $$$ again if it meant a killer salad.

In the hotel afternoon snack:

peach

beef jerky

Let's hit the town!

Pre-show dinner:

1 vegetarian wrap 

(chick peas, spinach, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, whole wheat wrap)

water

Times Square, baby.

They were filming some Justin Timberlake movie.  

He grabbed me, planted a juicy one on me, then while breathing heavily begged me to be his leading lady in the film.

I declined.  

I told him I'm taken.

I told him in time he'd get over me.  

:)

Post show:

I went to one of the many cupcake shops toying with the idea of getting a NY treat for myself. 

  I discovered very fast, however, that it is a city law to post the calorie count on all food items.  

After seeing the whopping calorie amounts on all these cupcakes, I went home empty handed.

I just couldn't get myself to do it.

Instead, I ate an apple and 2 handfuls of my homemade snack mix:

Shredded Oats cereal

cranberries

walnuts

almonds

Well, it was around 1 AM and I finally went to sleep.  It seems I do that every time I'm in the Big Apple.

Good night (yes, I brought ear plugs since this city truly never does sleep).


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My Basic, Bare-Bones Grocery List

Tonight's the LAST NIGHT to sign up for the 

$50 Target Gift Card Giveaway! 

 Hurry, click here to enter!

So, I made it home to my husband and kiddos safely.  Along with the mountain of laundry that so patiently awaited my return, I also came home to a refridgerator that looked like this:

I had a few things in the pantry (beans, sauces, some brown rice and pasta).   I had some things in the freezer (chicken, lean ground beef, salmon).  However, I had no time for meal planning so I just needed to get a jump start on the week.  Basically, I just needed the basics to keep us alive.

**My Basic Bare Bones Grocery List**

Fruits

apples

peaches

bananas

pears

grapes

cantaloupe

spinach
berries

Vegetables

head of romaine lettuce

broccoli

sweet potato

green pepper

red pepper

green onions

red onion

sweet onion

bag of baby carrots

avocado

Dairy

skim milk

vanilla soy milk 

18 eggs

low-fat cottage cheese

fat-free Greek yogurt

small yogurts for the kids

reduced fat cheddar cheese

string cheese

goat cheese crumbles

reduced fat feta cheese 

Whole Grains

100% whole wheat bread

100% whole wheat tortillas

corn tortillas

whole grain cereals for the kids 

Favorite Extras

walnuts

hummus so my husband will love me more

all natural peanut butter

low sugar preserves
applesauce, unsweetened

Click here for a printable version of this list.

Now my refridgerator looks something like this:

Ahhhh, much better.  I know with these basics I can cook some favorite meals, make some killer salads, throw together a decent soup, and keep us alive for yet another week.

That's all I'm going for.

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NYC --What Is It About You?

I'm here for the next few days for BlogHer 2010.  It is a huge blogging conference with about 3,000 bloggers milling around Manhattan for the next several days.  Watch out!  We are the ones who can't get our noses off our phones or faces out from behind the camera long enough to cross the street legally.

I love the nonstop people, sounds, sights, and energy.  

I also really like a purse for sale down the street.  I believe it is calling my name and I have no choice but to return and take a second look at the beauty.

This is what I really come for -- THE SHOWS.  

I caught "Promises, Promises" tonight with Kristen and Sean (we go waaaaay back :)  

Really, it was excellent.

However, it is now midnight and although I'm in the city that never sleeps -- I at least must make a decent attempt.  

I've got a run in the morning that I am not missing!

BTW -- did you enter the Target Gift Card giveaway yet?  Click here to enter, my friend...

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Eat With Me: On Vacation!

Have you signed up for the

Trainer Momma

Amazon Gift Card 

GIVEAWAY?

Click here to enter!

Back to business--

Calorie Budget:

1700-ish.  I left my heart rate monitor and Lose It back in the states (on purpose!).  I was on a definite vacation!  However, after eating this way day after day, I have a pretty darn good idea how much food I should be eating to hit around 1700 calories.  Yep, even on vacation I still try to keep things in check.  I just feel better that way.

Workout:

1 hour fast walk on the beach

20 minutes stretching

5:00 AM

Pre-workout snack:

1 banana

7:30 AM

Desayuno:

Rolled oats (they are hiding underneath)

All-Bran Plus 

Walnuts, chopped

Boxed skim milk (this is brilliant!)

I eat this perfect cereal every year down in Mexico.  The All-Bran has their wonderful "twigs" and then these other little honeycomb-shaped-fiber-things.  I have no idea what they are and I cannot find them in the states.  There is something more delicious about only getting them once a year.  They definitely are sabor mejorado (improved flavor)!

11:00 AM

Mid-morning snack:

1 Pure Protein Bar

Imported by la Mamá Entrenador (the Trainer Momma).

1:00 

Almuerzo:

Lean ground turkey meat seasoned with taco seasoning 

Fresh pico de gallo

Fresh guacamole

Variety of peppers

Yes, I brought the meat and seasoning down with me.  However, the pico, guac (a.k.a. MANNA) and peppers were purchased down there with muy felicidad :)

4:00 PM

Mid-afternoon snack:

1 Silk Soymilk

Yep, that also was brought down by yours truly.  I really could not locate soymilk in the mercado.  Go figure.

6:30 PM

Cena:

Taco Soup

Fresh Guacamole

Plato de frutas

That's it and buenas noches :)

Click here to see more Eat With Me posts...

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Working In the Workout While Traveling

Yet another installment of how to "Travel Fit Momma Style":

5:00 AM: “Good morning, Mom!” Thanks to the two hour time difference, being in the anti-daylight savings state (Arizona), and excuses for blackout curtains my kids were up bright and early.

5:01 AM: Decision made: I had to workout. I had sat in one place for fourteen hours the day before driving half way across the country. I had been up all night with a sick kiddo. I am a notoriously horrible sleeper in hotels. I had another eight hour road trip ahead of me. A workout was calling my name. However, desperation had already started to set in. The night before my plan had been to head to the hotel’s small gym downstairs. The kids were up so blasted early my scheme was foiled. I had no husband along for the trip, and just didn’t feel good about leaving the kids for that long (yes, occasionally I do have a conscience).

5:10 AM: Put on the workout clothes. Just having the clothes on was motivating for me. Even if the how and what of workout was still murky, I still knew that I would find a way.

5:11 AM: Find Saturday morning cartoons. Hallelujah for the hotel TV on a Saturday morning. That’s all I can say.

5:15 AM: The warm up. I warmed up by jogging in place, doing jumping jacks, and knee raises for a minute each. I was also concocting my workout plan. It was another creative, “Plan A,B,C didn’t work so now I’m on about Plan Q” workout. Moms are pros at pulling another idea out of the hat.

5:18 AM: The stretching. I did ballistic stretches and static stretches for about 2 minutes. I also gave my kids the lowdown about how mom was going to leave, but be right outside of the room for a little while. We came up with a plan, made sure the cartoons were on, put the oldest in charge, and I was ready get my heart pumping.

5:20 AM: The workout. I just started running in the hallway on my floor of the hotel. The hotel I stayed in was fairly small, and I could run by our room at regular intervals every minute or so to check on the kiddos. All was quiet minus the buzz of the television. I started to throw in some sprint and recovery runs here and there.

5:25 AM: The stairwells. Ah, my gym away from my gym. At each end of the hallway there matching 3-story stairwells. I ran to one end of the hallway, went down then up the three flights of stairs, ran to the opposite end of the hallway, and ran down then up those flights of stairs. During the run/sprint down the hallway I could check in on my kids. All were still hypnotized by the blare of the cartoons. And I was breaking a sweat.

5:35 AM: Ran by the room. The three-year-old was crying and trying make a break for it (see why I didn’t want to head to the gym?). I knocked on the door, gave my kids our ultra-top-secret family password so they knew I wasn’t the Boogie Man, and grabbed the crying kiddo. I now had a new workout partner clad in camo PJs.

5:35 - 5:45 AM: Continued to run staircases and hallways with the three-year-old in tow. He was laughing his head off. So was I. My stress, lack of sleep, anxiety of the drive ahead was melting away.

5:45 AM: My other kids and their cousins could hear the fun that my little one and I were having in the hallway. Running! Stairs! Races! Yippee! For the last five minutes, we were wildly running and chasing each other up and down the hallways.

5:50 AM: I suddenly realized that it was not even 6:00 AM and my children were waking up the entire hotel. Yes, we were THAT family. As I herded them back into our room I smiled with relief. I had miraculously snuck in a 30 minute workout full of intervals and lots of sweat. SWEET! Plus, I had some fun with my kids during a high stress weekend. And woke up our entire floor, but we won’t talk about that.

8:00 AM: Breakfast. I overheard someone saying at the complimentary breakfast buffet, “Did you hear all those people running up and down the hallways so early this morning?” I felt guilty, OK, no I didn't.   More than anything, I felt calm and ready to hit this last big travel day.

I’d worked in the workout.

Hey, Fit Mommas, how what have you done on the road to sneak in your workouts?  Comment below to share WHAT WORKS!  


For more "Traveling Fit Momma Style" posts, check them out here:
Traveling Fit Momma Style
Don't Leave Home Without...
Eating on the Road Trip
Eat With Me:  Road Trip!
Travel Snacks for the Rascals

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Travel Snacks for the Rascals

After posting last week about my Vegas-style-all-you-can-eat-buffet in the front seat of my car during our latest road trip, I received several requests to show what snacks I provided for my kiddos.

 I will openly admit what I bought for the passengers in my car was not 100% Trainer Momma approved.  I had a lot of factors to weigh:

2 day drive

22 hours in the car

1 night in a hotel

5 kids in the car (I had my two teenage nieces with me)

1 day travel through a foreign country

1 week stay in a foreign country

My "Snacks for the Road Trip Theory" is derived from the same vein as the "Movies in the Car Theory".  We do not have a television at our house, movie time is limited to Saturdays or when a babysitter comes over, and our car does not have a built-in DVD player.  Movies are a treat at our house.  BUT, when we travel long distances I do have a portable DVD player for the car that I strap onto the back of the seats.  I demand that they watch videos.  The more the better.  When one goes off, I am barking to throw another one in ASAP.  Why?  Survival.  

Same with the car snacks.  There are many snacks that come in a box that my kids love. The longer I've been a trainer, nutritionist, and mother, the less of that stuff I buy.   They just don't have enough real ingredients for me to classify them as food.  However, when a long road trip rolls around, I go back to Wal-Mart and load up on the crackers and snack-ish foods they miss.  The kids are thrilled, I turn my head, and again -- we survive.

When I road trip I don't like to stop for McDonald's or Subway.  I have tried it enough to know that it takes at least 30 minutes, the kids only want the toy from their Happy Meal, don't eat a bite of what is called a "chicken nugget", they only eat the fries and drink too much soda.  Then we are stopping for a potty break an hour later.  This brings on the the Crazy Momma mode, so I've learned to pack it and they snack on it.  They are like cows grazing all day back there. And I don't care.  My car is trashed, I practically need to pick up the car and shake it out by the end of the trip.  But you know what I care about -- survival.

Here's a look at our latest stash of travel food for the kids:

 Graham Crackers

Cheese-Its

Wheat Thins

Granola Bars (reduced sugar)

Fiber One Pop Tarts

Fruit Leather

Peanut Butter Puffins

Chocolate Flavored Rice Cakes

Ginger Snaps

Newman-O's (healthier version of the Oreo)

Natural Mellow-Oats (healthier version of Lucky Charms)

Annie's Bunnies (healthier version of Teddy Grahams)

Jolly Ranchers

Smarties

Dum-Dums

(I am the keeper of the candy and pass a piece out every hour or so)

All these snacks are typically banned from the Reading kitchen (Minus the Smarties and Dum Dums.  Those are staples for us.  Sometimes a little Smartie is the only way to get through church :). They really think they are getting away with something when they eat this stuff.

Fruit!  There's always a high demand for this after eating so many crackers.  We went through tons of apples and oranges.  

Homemade whole wheat bread

Healthy cookies

On the road or at home, these are our favs.

String cheese

Turkey slices

The kids just roll turkey around string cheese and eat these for lunch.  And dinner.  We call them Turkey Roll-Ups.

Luckily, my kids are young (9 and under) and are easy to please!

Boiled eggs

Since my kids typically only eat the egg white, I let them eat these with abandon.  At 17 calories and 3.5 grams of protein per egg white, they can knock themselves out.

What's on the beverage menu during our road trip?

Water.  

That's it.  

No juice, soda, sugar water, etc.  And, to make me seem even more of a meany mom, I limit their water throughout the day.  My goal is to get there, not stop on the side of the road for endless potty breaks.  So, I throw a diaper on the three-year-old, restrict the older kids' water drinking, share my ice with them and we drive.  And drive.  And drive.

Other things I brought but did not snap a pic of:

Peanut Butter

Low-fat Yogurt (don't forget the spoons!)

Stoneyfield Low-Fat Yogurt  tubes (healthier version of Go-gurts)

They surprisingly don't eat a lot of this food.  We had plenty to last us throughout the week in Mexico.  I think they are so thrilled to have unlimited movie time, they forget to eat.
Whatever works, man.  

We survived.

Hey Fit Mommas, what do you pack for your kids on long road trips?  What do they love?  What has bombed?  I'm always looking for more and better ideas.  Comment below!

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Eat With Me: Road Trip!

It's finally time for the road trip EWM post.  Just a few notes before we jump into my crazy, long car trip:

-  I did not workout this particular morning.  I just woke up and got on the road.
-  I did not count my calories. I have no doubt I went over.  But my goal was not weight loss.  It was sheer survival.

I prepared well the night before with a smorgasbord of healthy food and was determined not to reach the crazy woman stage.  I am happy to report I did not eat the ground up graham crackers off the floor of the car, did not break down and buy a huge bag of Cherry Sours, and did not threaten to leave any of my children at a gas station.  I'm telling you, that is a HUGE improvement.

6:30 

Breakfast

1/2 cup oatmeal made with water

cinnamon

vanilla

2 Tb walnuts

5 sliced strawberries

I wanted to start off the trip the right way.  This kept me full for a long time.

Around 10:00 AM

Pure Protein Bar

Never leave home without them!

12:30 PM

Lunch:

BBQ Wrap (find recipe here)

Man, I was looking forward to this lady BIG TIME.  It was soooo much better than a Subway sandwich or McD's salad.  

I ate the entire bag.  Why not?

After lunch, I kind of lost track of time.  Let's just say I ate this somewhere on the flat plains of Texas.  I have no idea how much I ate.  Crunch was what I needed.  I did just crunch on one little piece of cereal at a time.  It kept the mouth busy.

I promised the kids that they could get a treat at the second rest stop.  They were thrilled.  Why is everything so huge?  Everything was jumbo size.  Oh well. They were happy.  They were quiet for a few extra minutes.  I got over it.

#1 Road Trip Trip:

Ice, ice, ice.

OK, you already know that on a daily basis I drink a gallon of water.  Obviously, this becomes a major issue (at least in my head) while on a road trip.  I just can't stop to run to the ladies room every hour.  So, I've resorted to chewing ice during the long drive.  I either bring a bag with me or at every stop get a huge cup of ice.  It keeps me hydrated, keeps my mouth busy, and keeps me awake.  

Yep, I ate this entire bag of watermelon.  No problemo.

3-4 Healthy Cookies (find recipe here)

This hit the ole' sweet tooth when I was getting tired.

Hallelujah!

We made it!  

Fourteen hours down -- only 8 more the following day!

I finished off the night with some Greek Yogurt and honey.

I also cut one slice of my whole wheat bread, slathered some peanut butter on it and some low sugar jam (not pictured).

Oh, and I drank a little carton of Vanilla Soy Milk (not pictured).

And that point, I stopped stuffing my face, came up for air, and tried to sleep.

Good night.

(Well, it was actually a terrible night.  Child #2 on the left was up all night puking.  You know what that means, no sleep for me.  When it comes to hotels and my kids we are batting somewhere around 0 for 10.

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