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I recently spent a couple of days out of town at a work conference. In preparation for this, I started thinking about possible keto-approved choices a couple of days before I left home. In looking at the itinerary I knew there was a working lunch, buffet dinner, and boxed to-go lunch for the meals I would have there. I decided to stay ahead of the game and make sure I had a couple of keto snacks if the choices didn’t fit my plan. As any experienced work conference attendee can attest, “working lunch” means hamburger steak with gravy, salad, mashed potatoes, and strawberry shortcake; “Buffet dinner” is chicken or roast beef, green beans, some sort of fancy potato, a roll, and boxed cheesecake; and of course, “Boxed to-go lunch” equates to a sandwich, chips, and a cookie.

Well, not at this conference. The “working lunch” was the worst possible keto scenario: pizza, pasta, lasagna, bread sticks, and a small salad. Needless to say, I had to drop back and punt to make things work within my plan. Here’s what I did: I loaded my plate with the iceberg lettuce and ranch, then scraped the toppings only off the meat pizza that was offered. It was doable and other than the grit in the salad, I was able to feel somewhat satisfied with that. At break time, I ate the roasted/salted pecans I had brought with me.

At the buffet dinner, I fared pretty well. The offerings were as follows:
>APPS–candied bacon; pita chips and spinach/artichoke dip; and slug burgers;
>DINNER–roast beef; breading stuffed chicken breast; new potatoes; green beans; roll; and apple cobbler for dessert.
Here is how this all played out for me with the choices I was able to make: I chose a small piece of roast and added the dip on top for some flavor; scraped the stuffing out of the chicken breast; loaded up on green beans; and skipped the potatoes, roll, and dessert. I had plenty to eat and that hot dip on top of that meat was a winner!

Now is where it gets interesting…the “boxed to-go lunch” for the drive home was a curve ball. I’m expecting to at least eat the meat off the sandwich to tide me over until I can get home. WRONG. Here’s what was inside the box: small container of cold fruit (no berries), small container of cold pasta salad, one cold pimento cheese sandwich on white bread, one large heavily-breaded cold chicken strip, one bag of chips, and two cookies. Not a SINGLE ITEM that I could salvage. (insert loud sigh and eye roll) Now, lest you are all worrying about me…I did not go hungry on the way home. Before leaving the hotel I ate a hard-boiled egg and some bacon for breakfast, so I was good for a couple of hours. But I was more shocked than anything about those items.

Here’s what I want to say about this situation:
1. I didn’t fall off the keto wagon. I was able to make it work and come out without feeling deprived or hungry at any meal. Before arriving at the conference, I was committed to remaining on plan and facing whatever was going to happen. I chose to think/plan ahead, so I was able to handle it all without getting overly put-out or frustrated. I knew it was going to be difficult and I knew I would have to THINK before I put something on my plate. I’m truly happy and healthy eating the keto way, and I don’t want to go back to my old work conference habits. There have been times when I would have said, “Calories eaten out of town don’t count.” or “It’s just for today, it won’t be that big of a deal.” Y’all…for me…it is. I was really into excuses at one point in my life.
2. What are we, the collective, feeding people? These were the worst choices! For anyone! Not just keto people, I mean anyone. What about those with health issues like diabetes or high blood pressure? What about those with allergies like gluten or dairy? What about the vegetarians or vegans in the group? These different groups of people, as well as others, were totally ignored in favor of the majority. I understand that budget is a factor and everyone’s needs can’t be catered to at a large event, but there are simple choices that could have been presented. I’m worried that we, the collective, are missing our opportunity to show that health is important.
3. I will always be prepared. In looking back, I’m very glad I brought the few snacks that I did. Moving forward, I will make sure that no matter where I go, I will have some, meaning several, keto-approved, healthy options available on my person at all times. It’s not worth the hassle and frustration to leave myself unprepared for occasions like this.

#KetoOnFriends