All-American Breakfast

During my stay in Florida, the breakfast buffet always had the typical all-American breakfast. This breakfast included cereal, milk, fresh fruits, muffins, donuts, toast, hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, grits, and oatmeal. Going through this buffet line, there were healthier food choices to eat like oatmeal and fruit.

Being a health professional, my food choices differed from my friend that I traveled with. I consciously picked the grapefruit and orange slices, bananas, toast (with no butter), light cream cream, and hard boiled eggs. Sure I would alternate with oatmeal and some scrambled eggs with two sausages, but not everyday while I was there. My friend, first and far most loves bacon. And she had at least six or more strips of bacon everyday. She also had some scrambled eggs and one or two pieces of sausages depending on how she felt in the morning. But, it was the amount of bacon she ate was what had bothered me.

I'm wanted to say, "stop eating all that bacon!"

Bacon is high in saturated fat and sodium (salt). On top of that, she mentioned to me in a previous conversation that her mother was diagnosed with high cholestrol. If her mom has high levels of cholesterol and my friend enjoys eating bacon, she might have high levels of cholesterol too. My mind began to prepare a speech about the health risks related to high cholesterol and heart disease.

But, we were on vacation and I did not want to lecture her about how the plaque (waxy fat) can get stuck in her artery walls and may stop the flow of blood to her heart because she eats large amounts of animal fat. Perhaps in her mind, because she was on 'vacation,' she ate bacon everyday to satifsy her taste buds.

Because I know she doesn't literally eat bacon everyday while back in California, I convinced myself she was on "vacation" and wanted to enjoy her strips of bacon.

So, I'm writing about my all-american breakfast experience because I want readers to think about the foods they choose to put on their plate and eat. I feel that being on vacation should not act as an excuse for vacationers to splurge on foods high in fats, sodium, and sugar. Whether on vacation or not, making healthy choices should be part of daily routine. This does not mean, while on vacation or at home ice cream, cakes, and six or more strips of bacon should not be eaten. Just have it in moderation, not everyday. Or make a plate with a smaller portion of the foods you want to splurge on.

And lastly, exercise for at least 60 minutes on most days. Making and eating healthier foods is only one part of good health practices.