Happy new year, curious readers! You may have noticed if you follow me on social media I’ve been in the states, and of course hopping way through Los Angeles, Seattle and now San Francisco. This “staying healthy in the food industry” is a topic I’ve long wanted to go into depth about and what better a time then when we’re all touting our resolutions and intentions, some of which health driven.

Americans are spending billions more on going out to eat than they are on groceries, and (according to the article I linked ^) millennials are the largest generation in history with an appetite for eating out- on average going out to eat nearly 4 times a week! There are additional factors which contribute to a staggeringly well-oiled restaurant industry, like a nearly double fold increase in women in the workplace since the 1950’s (grazie to sorta kinda gender equality- nothing is mentioned about equal pay). There are websites that report solely about restaurants and I get paid to write for some of them- dining out culture is a huge thing- but at what cost to our health?

While traveling, it is inevitable that you’ll eat out more. I admittedly fall into that statistic of at least 4 times a week, if not 5 from a combination of work, convenience & as part of my social life. Eating out nearly every day is not only expensive, wasteful of resources & unsustainable on so many levels- it simply is not healthy. Oil (and not the scrupulous high quality kind we select for home use) and copious amounts of salt are just 2 of the sneaky rascals after our diet.

Travel is jarring healthwise since you aren’t in your kitchen nor in your routine, you’re around transport which emit either gas fumes or small levels of radiation, and are more likely to eat out more. This post will provide some useful tips and personal experience for how I as a food writer stay (or try to stay) healthy.

Continue Reading →