Eating with the meek one, the food snob and the meat and potato girl

By Annette Herrick

Once a month I will be dining out with three of my West Seattle personal training clients. We're on a mission to eat out without blowing it. We're going to go to all kinds of restaurants from low-end diners, quintessential West Seattle regulars, places you go to grub down, and decadent festive places.

The goal is not to be perfect, pious, or anorexic. The goal is to find ways to eat out that work for everyone and will help them reach their fitness goals.

The women range from their 20's to 40's and each show strong characteristics when they eat.

Jen, the food snob, is in her 30's and has lost 18 pounds and wants to lose 12 more. Over the years she has developed a taste for high-end food but not high quality as far as healthy eating goes. One of the biggest reasons she has had success is because she eats vegetables with everything. I'm sure she will be on the lookout for them but if they don't taste right she will let all who read the Herald know.

Liz, the meat and potato girl, is a thin woman in her 40's who could be considered as having opposite tastes than Jen, likes tater tot and green been casserole. She has said that she would rather be on blood pressure medication than not be able to eat a steak. She is only signing up for one dinner. If we screw up, she's out.

Katie, the meek one, is in her 20's and wants to lose 5-8 pounds before she starts having babies. Katie can quote all of the benefits of eating a whole food diet with no cheese or processed grains. When she's out with a group of people she hates to make a scene. When the group is ordering slammers (mini burgers), and hot wings she does the same. Her job is to alter the menu to her liking. Three to five times won't be too many. She must gather up the courage and say, "No bacon, instead give me mushrooms." Think Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, "I'd like the sandwich with the mayo on the side..." kind of thing.

Our first venture out was at the Matador restaurant. Here's how the evening played out. It all happened as if on cue. The meek one took a stand and altered the menu to her satisfaction. The food snob and the meat and potato girl actually shared a plate.

The meat and potato girl also tried three new things. The waitress was amazing. She graciously accommodated our every need with a smile and made no mistakes. Though, much of the food was very satisfying, the veggies were a little bland for my trainees. I would have eaten every one of them because I believe the more veggies that go in leaves less room for the bad food.

Here's what the women had to say.

Food snob Jen

"Before we started eating we were talking a lot about our eating issues, my major one being self-control, and incorporating veggies, even when they don't live up to my snobbish taste standards. I absolutely love carbs. I would eat at Bakery Nouveau morning, noon, and night.

"Of course first thing they do is put tortilla chips down and I want to eat the entire basket but Annette gave the example and put six chips on her bread plate. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"Liz and I split the matador salad first and then the carne asada surf and turf, which consisted of meat marinated in pineapple juice, soy sauce, and garlic. It was delicious. I am glad we split it. It also came with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a corn and leek medley. We ordered it without the potatoes and with black beans and "broccolini"(which is usually called Chinese broccoli in the snob section of the higher end grocery stores) I usually love it but it was obviously grilled with no marinade at all. I ate one bite and set it down. All I need is some garlic and olive oil.

"When our main course came they forgot to take off the mashers and I immediately gave them back to our kind server because I knew I would eat them (nice self control, huh?)

"Then, in a flash, I was done. I felt embarrassed that I was so unaware of how fast I was eating, I didn't even notice that my dinner buds were not even halfway through their meal. That is my problem in a nutshell; lack of veggies because of my food snobbery and lack of awareness when either my hunger, or my emotional state takes the helm of the ship. Tonight it was hunger."

Meat and potatoes girl Liz

"First thing, I should explain a little about myself. I'm on the front side of forty, a smoker, and have had high blood pressure since I was 25, which is well controlled with medication.

"I'm a meat and potatoes eater all the way. Of course, as we sat down for dinner you know what I was searching for. I made up my mind years ago that I don't like certain things and I don't try anything new. I tried the Carne Asada, a marinated steak that normally I wouldn't have had even though it's meat because I'm not fond of marinades. I also had a salad. Until a few years ago I never ate salads, now I have one almost every day. That's a big change for me. (Now, if Annette could only get me to eat fruit.)

"The amazing thing is I tried new things. I tried black beans, an avocado, and broccolini, which I've never heard of before. (Which seems to have had no flavor whatsoever.)

By splitting my meal with Jen we both cut our portions in half. All and all, it was a fun night and I actually tried a few new things and lived to tell you about it."

Meek one Katie

"This was our first dinner out with the girls, so there was a period of just getting over the initial uneasiness of 'what should I order in front of my trainer?' I've never lied to Annette about my eating habits, I've always admitted to my gorging on a bag of cookies or cake (often using stress from my job as an excuse). But somehow eating my meal right smack in front of her made me feel much more exposed.

"Nevertheless, I ordered my dinner. I've been venturing into new dietary territory recently because of an insightful and hilarious book called Skinny Bitch, which has opened my eyes to the various health issues associated with consuming too much coffee, and dairy and meat that is farmed the traditional American Way.

"I ordered a vegetarian soft taco plate with black beans and rice. Of course, there was dairy involved, so I sucked it up and asked for no dairy. Much to my surprise and relief, the waitress was extremely accommodating, and she even came back to tell me there was some dairy involved in a sauce not mentioned on the menu. Phew, I made it through.

"My meal was very tasty, even without the cheese, because they used spices and avocado to jazz it up. I would definitely eat at the Matador again, especially since they made my first venture into special menu ordering so easy."

Stay tuned for more fabulous dining adventures with the girls. I expect some hilarious and insightful moments to come; dining experiences that will help all of us in the group and also you readers.

Annette Herrick may be reached at annette@fitnessforvitality.com