The last three weeks have been a blur! As I mentioned in my last post, a close family member was in need of care after surgery. Then we had a wonderful trip to Florida! We searched out many vegan restaurants in the Orlando area and were very impressed with the creativity and variety of offerings! Then, last week, the family member I mentioned earlier ended up back in the hospital with an extremely serious condition, unrelated to the previous surgery. Needless to say, my last week has been a blur of doctors, nurses, parking garages, hospital cafeterias, and much more coffee than I am used to! Things are on the mend and we hope that the end of this week will see life getting back to our normal.
As I just mentioned, the last couple weeks I have been eating out a lot. In the past I have written about how we strive not to let vacations be an excuse to over indulge and completely derail our normal eating and exercise routines. The resort we were at offered a different activity everyday to keep guests moving. I did water aerobics, took a hike interspersed with exercise band movements, did a class for stretching and I also worked out in the gym and took a few runs. While we enjoyed eating out, we tried to be reasonable about our choices. To many people this might sound like too much work for vacation, but we also soaked up the sun, explored new neighborhoods, enjoyed the pools and water slides, went for many walks and generally relaxed. One of the instructors at the resort kept reminding us that we were using only 10% of our day and the rest of the day could be devoted to vacationing!
This past week has been a little tougher because the hospital isn't equipped with the same amenities as a resort, obviously, so I have really tried to be diligent about my eating. Many people might hit the cafeteria and pick the first thing they see and gobble it down. On closer examination I found a salad bar, a deli that made sandwiches to order on whole grain bread, a refrigerator full of fruits and fresh juices and healthy cereals were available in a pinch. I have snuck in some yoga and short walks, but I need to get moving again which should be easier now that the weather is more spring-like.
Because of all my eating out, a recent article in the paper caught my eye. The title was "Diners show little mind to warnings" and it was about a new law in New York City that requires restaurants to mark any menu items that exceed the recommended daily allowance for sodium with a salt shaker. This has not stopped people from ordering those items. I am all for getting information so I can make an informed choice, but as I read the article I got upset at the comments people made for justifying why they chose not to heed the warnings.
"I haven't had health problems, other than I'm a little overweight, so I feel I should eat what I want until I have a problem."
"For someone that's young, it really doesn't matter, because they're still healthy."
"I'll eat anything, whatever I want. That's just how I am."
Can you hear me slapping my head? Once again, I will repeat my favorite saying: if you aren't planning to be healthy, what are you planning? After all the time I have spent at the hospital recently, there is no doubt that taking steps that will help you stay well is much preferable to staying in a loud, semi-private room with people coming in on a regular basis to poke you, prod you, wake you up and keep you uncomfortable the whole time they are saying they want you to be comfortable! No matter how nice the staff is, a nurse coming at you with a needle is not pleasant! Why not devote 10% of your day to help make the other 90% the best possible!
I have to hold off on a recipe for one more week. The few dinners I have had at home recently have consisted of opening cans of beans, roasting some veggies and boiling rice or another grain. A couple frozen pizzas and vegetarian Italian sausages have been thrown in as well. I hope by next week I will have something yummy to share!