The Emerald City has no Broccoli!
Let’s go to Las Vegas and eat some broccoli, says no one, ever!
Recently my husband and I decided to make a quick trip out west to see the Wizard of Oz, and before we get to the food, I will start out with a Big ‘ole WOW. Dorothy at the Sphere is something everyone should go see, it blew away all of my expectations, literally.
Now, back to the food!
Since everything is over the top in Las Vegas, I carefully researched restaurants and studied the menus in advance so that we could have a food “game plan”. Years of food safety classes and food service training have me eternally paranoid about restaurant cleanliness, food handling and quality. Despite said plan, within two hours of landing, I found myself holding a margarita on the top story of a Whataburger overlooking the strip which was not on plan! The lettuce buried under the cheese in my salad, not very green!
Our resort was of course, a resort, with a ridiculously over stocked and overpriced mini bar that we did not dare touch. Thankfully we had a batch of custom M&M’s, with my FoodSciencebyKC logo printed on them, so we were covered for snacks.
Reach out if you want a bag!
Our search for something green to eat continued that night at one of the most amazing (and worth it!) foodie experiences ever at the Eiffel Tower restaurant. This place was on plan, we had a reservation, so I knew they served fish and had vegan options. The large open kitchen was glimmering, bright with a buzz of white coats and shiny stainless steel. I stood in front of it in amazement, looking for the tiniest flaw.
I was searching for something to criticize, food preparation mistakes, dirt in the corner of the floor, an errant towel, a messy uniform, but nope, nothing, clean as can be! For an RD, this was my Emerald City! Cutting to the chase, the fish was cooked in parchment and came with roasted vegetables. The glaze on the Ceaser salad left the purple romaine intact and whoa the souffle steamed perfectly when cut open with a bonus drizzle of chocolate on top.
Day 2 got off to a reasonable start – we found the gym, so my pal Dennis Morton dragged me through a great Peloton ride. After that though, we started to once again feel the pull of Las Vegas fun-ness! Somehow, I decided that it was important for me to investigate the famous Heart Attack Grill, professional research, of course. Not to be disappointed, it fully delivered all of the obscene food rituals you have heard about! The burger was actually cooked fresh and other than being giant portion sizes (10 pieces of bacon on one burger!), and lacking anything green, it was better than I expected. No, I did not finish my meal, and those of you who have been there know what happens if leave food on your plate. Yup, it happened and there will be no pictures or videos shared from that part of our day.
Desperate on Day 3 – we found our way to a resort restaurant for breakfast. Very little green, other than the paint on the walls. At that point I had completely thrown in the towel on the plan and had the lox, cream cheese and bagel. There were some green cucumbers and capers involved but they don’t really count for much. We did find broccoli that day, but sadly it was on a buffet, squeezed between a tray of mac & cheese, some brownies, and the bar. I’m certain that kind of broccoli does not count for much.
Clearly, not the food plan I imagined. Instead, yup, all the things, too much sugar, sodium, fat, buried in the red meat, white carbs and other fun things that came our way. Do we eat like this every day? No and neither should you. Do we feel a little gross after we returned home? Yes. Queue the vitamins and Tylenol.
I stand by my war against saturated fat and dream for 25 grams of fiber for everyone, every day. So maybe the best part of the plan was to only be there for two nights. We had fun, lived a little wild, but we did get back home before we did too much damage, or adopted some bad habits! Probably the biggest lesson was to just let it go but plan a good amount of time before our next visit!
No one eats perfect but Las Vegas eating is not normal! What are some of your coping strategies as we go into the last 2 weeks of the year? Is it better to avoid the food, eat smaller portions or just throw in the towel? Whatever it is, I hope the best for your health and even if your eating routine is disrupted, I hope you find a way back to a more balanced and gracious way to navigate food!
Best, Karen Casey
