Speaking and Schmoozing with the Florida Dietitians

by Michelle Dudash, Chef and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

July 19, 2011 • 3 comments

I set my alarm clock to go off at 8:30 a.m. this morning, since last night I was up late developing recipe concepts for a chapter I’m writing in a book. It’s not my book, but it’s for a major magazine brand. I’m not sure if I can disclose any details yet. You will be among the first to know once I can, I promise!

At 9:20 a.m. I realized I had no idea where my breakfast would be coming from. My first appointment was at 10 a.m. Shoot. No time for room service. The window of opportunity for the conference breakfast had passed.

Airtight sealed snack packs. Don’t leave home without them. This pack of granola remained in my carry-on from a few trips ago. I didn’t get around to eating the raisins, because this morning was non-stop prepping for my cooking demo. Upon checking in at the conference, I longingly stared down a container of yogurt  sitting behind the registration desk, and coyly asked the check-in attendant, “Oh, is Chobani here already?” She asked me if I wanted it. Score. I ate it standing up in a back-of-house hotel corridor, with the catering staff on looking and wondering who I was and why was I standing in the middle of the hallway eating a container of yogurt. A girl’s got to eat.

After prepping, I sprinted through the expo hall and grabbed two small samples of a new frozen entrée line. Then I checked in with the very nice AV guys and set up the props for my cooking demo. It was 1:15 p.m. and I whispered under my breath, “I need to get lunch.” The AV guy heard me and asked, “Is that why you’re being so intense?” Ah, yeah.

I grabbed an apple from the lobby to munch on, and then ran up to my room to warm up for my talk and call in room service.

The mahi-mahi club and a Diet Pepsi sounded good. As much as I wanted to order the French fries as the side, I opted for the other choice, cucumber tomato salad. I devoured three-quarters of the sandwich, which tasted fine, but it would have been much better with some avocado layered in. I missed the fries. The scrumptious crunchy bacon on the sandwich made me miss the fries slightly less.

Here is a shot of me before my cooking demo.

After my demo, which was a hit among attendees, a client treated me to dinner with my dietitian pal, Tara Gidus, and new friend, Dr. James Painter. We started out with the chicken quesadilla and tuna tataki. I didn’t want to reach across the table to take a photo, though I did eat one quesadilla wedge and 2 bites of the tuna. And the wine, it was a flowing, with bottles of Napa Cellars Merlot. I think I drank at least one glass, but the waiter kept refilling my glass before it was empty. Only time and the way my head feels the next morning will tell.

I ate 90% of the chicken tortilla soup with avocado.

And more than half of the salad with carrots, beets, raspberries, strawberries, candied pecans, and vinaigrette.

The host suggested dessert. I rarely, if ever, turn down sweets (especially good ones) and enjoyed one-fourth of the chocolate caramel pecan tart with sea salt, two bites of ice cream, and one-fourth of the banana panna cotta.

It was a very productive and successful day.

Estimated calories: 2062 (275 Breakfast, 462 Lunch, 1035 Dinner, 140 Snacks, 150 Wine)

Disclosure: The Sun-Maid Raisins were sent to me as a free sample. Chobani Yogurt sponsored my cooking demo. I was not compensated by either to include them in this blog post.

You might also like:

Michelle’s L.A. Weekend Wrap-Up

Sin City: What Happens in Vegas Stays on My Blog

Chocolate: A Few of My Favorite Things