Real Raw

I am going to a Photoshop seminar in San Francisco today and need to leave early (it’s about a 2-hour drive). For breakfast, I make oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, and almond milk, warmed in a pan. The weather has really turned cold, for this part of the world, the last few days, and this is a great winter breakfast.

At lunchtime, I feel virtuous — I’ve brought my lunch, instead of relying on the nearby restaurants — I’m eating leftover apple fennel arugula salad (yummy), flaxseed crackers, cheese, and fresh pineapple. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Then, the conference ends, and it’s time to drive home. Uh oh … I didn’t plan for the incredibly, horribly slow traffic, making it an even longer drive home. And I’m suddenly really hungry. I’m so hungry, I stop at a Starbucks. Normally, they have salads, veggie plates, and other semi-healthy foods. But it’s late in the day. They don’t have anything except a few leftover slices of sweet bread.

I stand there, indecisive, and finally buy a piece of pumpkin bread. I don’t really want coffee. They have a protein drink in the refrigerated cabinet, so I grab one of those. Back in the car, I open the drink and taste it — it’s unbearably sweet. So is the bread. Yuck.

The problem is that I’m hungry for “real food,” something with substance. What can I do? I’m at the last exit before the bridge, and I know I’m not going to want to stop anywhere along 880, and I’m hungry NOW.

Then, I spy the golden arches. Yeah, I know … may fire and brimstone rain down on my head if I ever go there again for anything but water. Anyway, I’m famished. So what do I do? I stop at the McDonald’s. I look at their menu, desperate. I can’t eat a salad while I drive and, besides, their salads are sorry excuses for the name. I consider a fish sandwich, until I remember the last one I ordered (that was in another life), smothered in some sort of mayonnaise sauce and deep fried until it was mush.

I see the picture of a grilled chicken sandwich. Well, I do eat chicken occasionally, and it’s grilled, so it has to be better than the fish. I won’t get any fries, and I’ll drink the water I have in the car. It won’t be that bad.

I know … those of you who’ve eaten at McDonalds anytime in the last five years (I haven’t) are probably on the floor laughing hysterically right now. Yes, I think I’m actually going to get a piece of chicken. Instead, when I get the sandwich, I realize it’s some sort of chicken product. A large chicken nugget without the crispy crust. I honestly cannot imagine anything worse.

And yes, I ate every bit of it. I was that hungry.

Lesson learned. Plan for the WHOLE day when venturing out into the world.