Staying skinny in Vietnam: it’s a constant struggle
The 80/20 rule that I apply to travel budgeting is also how I approach healthful eating. The vast majority of the time I eat whole, natural foods: raw fruits and veggies (yes, much too much pineapple to the chagrin of the barefoot doctor), cottage cheese or plain yogurt, free-range eggs, spoonfuls of sugar-free peanut butter, a sprinkle of flax seed. I eat this way because a) it’s cheap and b) it lets me splurge on butter-drenched main courses and unbelievably rich chocolate-based desserts.
The only problem with this set-up comes into play when I’m traveling: the more exotic the destination, the harder it gets. I want to try every new thing I see (or smell), but my body just can’t handle that much good stuff. Plus, like most girls, I worry about being able to squeeze into my favorite skinny jeans when I get home. Usually the cost of eating out is enough to keep an apple and a yogurt in my bag at all times, but in Southeast Asia, price was a non-issue. Eating out–particularly at the street carts that dot every corner–is cheap, convenient and fresh–and not to mention, unbelievably delicious. Here’s a look into the mental debate that was raging between my taste buds and my waist line all day:
7:35 a.m.: Right! Today I’m going to be healthy! I’m flying home in XX number of days, and that is TOTALLY enough time to get back into shape. No sugar, no unnecessary carbs. Maybe I’ll even go for a run.
8:45 a.m.: Hmmm…an omelette would be a good choice. Protein-rich with some veg. And it’s probably delicious. I always like omelettes at home. EXACTLY. At home! When I’m in a rush and have nothing in the fridge but free-range eggs. And they have mango pancakes here, or pineapple pancakes, or banana pancakes. I totally can’t get those at home. And I only have XX breakfasts left to enjoy tropical fruit pancakes.
[I order and enjoy a mango pancake with a side order of guilt.]
10:15 a.m.: Buying a banana for a mid-morning snack was SUCH a good choice. Hearty dose of potassium and super filling. Though, it would taste a lot better after a coffee. And it’s way too humid and smoggy here to go for a run. I can run when I get home. I won’t be able to get a Vietnamese coffee when I get home.
10:25 a.m.: Black or white coffee? Mmm I do love the sticky sweet last sip of a white coffee. When I get home, I won’t be able to find condensed milk to put in my coffee. How do they even make the coffee here? It’s so much thicker and BETTER than drip coffee.
[Find a cafe, sip a white coffee, ignore the fact that I know exactly where they sell condensed milk in my local grocery store.]
12:30p p.m.: What sort of SE Asian specialty shall I indulge in today? Banh mi, me thinks. With enough chili sauce to make me sweat out all sorts of toxins. That must be why people in Asia are so skinny! I read about that somewhere, that people in hot countries eat spicy food so that it reminds them to drink enough water. I can buy into that sort of hydration myth.
[Eat an incredible banh mi from a street vendor. Drink some water. Happiness.]
2 p.m.: Well, I totally deserve an afternoon sweet. I’ve walked everywhere today. Ready to sit down for a bit and read my Kindle. My banh mi was in a baguette, so I guess I can’t really justify a carb-heavy pastry. Maybe ice cream? I know I can get ice cream at home, but not in these crazy tropical flavors! If I don’t get them right here, right now, I may never be able to try durian ice cream again! Or taro! Or mango! Wait…they do sell mango sorbet at the grocery store. So that argument is a bit of a fallacy. Oh well.
[Eat a scoop of lemongrass ice cream while overlooking the river in Hoi An. Utter deliciousness.]
3:15 p.m.: Curse the lack of potable water here. I would totally just fill up my Klean Kanteen if I were anywhere else, but I don’t want to give in to the environmental travesty of bottled water. Ooooh maybe a bottled green tea instead. I know that the only reason it can taste so good is that it must be chock full of sugar, but green tea is supposed to have all sorts of antioxidants in it. Hydration AND vitamins. Winner.
7 p.m.: Let’s see…in Saigon, it was pho. In Hoi An, the local specialty is cao lau. And it’s REALLY a local specialty because the noodles can only be made with special water from the city’s wells. I don’t care if that is a massive urban legend, it’s a soup of noodles, pork and greens and it smells delicious. Sold. And anything with greens is healthful…right? Nevermind the fried crackling sitting on top.
9:30 p.m.: It’s late. My hotel has candy in my room. That’s just not fair. So I’m eating a Toblerone from the hotel mini-bar as I write this. Because it only cost $1.50. A dollar fifty! So cheap! So delicious!
