vinduhl’s foggy mess

For lunch today, I decided to go to one of the all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants in town called Golden Corral. It was one of my favorite buffet places because of the variety it offers. I know what you’re thinking right now–how the heck do I go to a buffet restaurant for a healthy meal? Great question! Did I say that Golden Corral has a good variety?  Good variety means OPTIONS!

I believe that it’s not the place that keeps you from sticking to a healthy diet. Okay, that’s true to a certain extent; you cannot expect healthy options at any restaurant. However, buffet restaurants do have healthier options. You just have to know what to look for.

The following account is based on today’s experience at this particular restaurant. I just want to show you how I tried to stick to a sensible meal without having to deprive myself.

I have to warn you that I do eat A LOT.  So the portions that you’ll see here are probably larger than the average Joe’s. I do go to the gym regularly, so my appetite has quadrupled and my calorie requirement has increased.

By the way, I don’t claim to be a nutrition guru. I’m not an authority on diet. This is based on my experience and opinion. Now that the disclaimer is done, let’s get on with the chow!

THE BEVERAGE

I could have opted for just water with a slice of lemon, but I splurged a little bit without having to resort to drinking soda. I asked for unsweetened iced tea.  However, when I first took a sip, I realized that they gave me the sweetened version. And oh–how delicious it was! I was going to cheat a bit and continue drinking the rest of the tea, but I stopped and asked for another glass of the unsweetened kind.  Self control prevailed!

THE SALAD

Yes, you can start your meal with a disaster even with a salad if you are not careful. The trick is to make your plate as colorful or attractive as possible. The wider the variety, the better. I’m talking about nuts, greens, seeds, protein (yes, protein!), etc…  Who wants to start with a boring salad, anyway?  We’re not talking about bulk over quality, although the idea of having a bulky salad to begin with is to help limit what you’re going to have later but in a healthy way.

My salad was comprised of mixed greens, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cauliflowers, baby corn, carrots, sunflower seeds, crushed peanuts, cucumber, raisins, mushrooms, and… few small slices of cold steak! For dressing, I used oil and vinegar. None of the other prepared salad dressings were low- or non-fat versions. Besides, I like to taste my salad without drowning it in dressing.

What I skipped: croutons, cheese (because I’m lactose-intolerant), and heavy dressing.  If you can handle cheese, go for them! However, I wouldn’t recommend covering every square inch of your salad with cheese because that would be defeating the purpose.

THE MAIN PLATE

And now we get to the meat of the matter–your main plate! TADA! This is where it gets a bit tricky. Golden Corral has tons of choices, from mashed potatoes and green beans to fried chicken and meatloaf.  Going through the buffet line, my eyes and nose were caught by a smorgasbord of yummy options.  Did I say I have a weakness for fried chicken? Yes! I was in a dilemma when I passed by the fried chicken next to other healthier choices. I had to snap out of the trance.

Luckily, I didn’t get any fried chicken or mashed potatoes. Instead, I got these:

My main plate had rotisserie chicken leg quarter, a 5-6 oz of steak, steamed broccoli, steamed cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and turnip greens (or maybe they’re collard greens?). The steak was quite lean, actually. The chicken was moist.  I should have opted for chicken breast instead of the leg quarter.  Also, I should have gotten some carbs like quinoa or brown rice, but I couldn’t find those.

What I skipped: white rice, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls (although they looked yummy), sausages and juicy pot roast (very tempting).

Finally…

THE DESSERT

I wasn’t going to skip dessert. Are you kidding me? Golden Corral has a dessert station (more like a dessert compound) that has almost all imaginable sweet treats.  There are pies, different cobblers, cakes, fudge, ice cream, cookies, brownies, pudding… But what did I settle for?

I opted for sugar-free cherry gelatin and three strawberries. What??? No cookies or cake?  Yeah, yeah, yeah… but hey, by dessert time I was almost at my fullness threshold.  The gelatin was surprisingly delicious and the strawberries were ripe and sweet. They were enough to put a happy ending to my Golden Corral challenge. Sure, I craved for cookies and brownies, and the cobblers were screaming “Pick me!” but I immediately narrowed down to my dessert of choice and ran away from the temptation.  The brownies SMELLED great, though.

THE LESSON

What did I learn from my dining experience at Golden Corral today?  I realized that it’s so easy to give in to the attention-grabbing display of delicious food and fill the plate blindly. Of course who wouldn’t want to sink their teeth into some pie or fill your plate with juicy sausages or starchy grubs?  I think about that every day.  But in places like Golden Corral, if you comb through stuff carefully, you can find nutritious options that will keep you full and healthy.  So the next time you go to an eat-until-you-burst kind of place, remember that you don’t have to go with the flow. You DO have options.  Use your POWER of CHOICE.