American diet | Katrina Woznicki - Share Your Story

Am I the only traveling American who doesn’t want to start her day with a plate of eggs, bacon and gluten bombs? While venturing around the Adirondacks and Vermont these last few weekends, I couldn’t help but notice all the pot-bellied families around me at hotel restaurants and diners eating their high-cholesterol breakfasts. I don’t mean to sound snobby, but America, we’re big. Too big. And I think it’s unfortunate that you have to find a vegan cafe or a five-star hotel to get a breakfast on the road that’s anything besides eggs, bacon and gluten bombs. I don’t expect the world to accommodate gluten-free eating, but isn’t variety the spice of life? Couldn’t the Crowne Plaza in Lake Placid–a pretty nice place with a kickin’ view of Mirror Lake–offer more at its breakfast buffet besides what you can find at a roadside diner? Mirror Lake Inn had the usual American breakfast fare, but there was also a plate of smoked salmon every morning, a feature reminiscent of my mornings at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Just one, preferably gluten-free, outside-of-the-box dish in the morning, America. Just one. That’s all I ask.

(What you are served most mornings at most American hotels)

Hotels are run by companies, and companies cater to the lowest common denominator because the lowest common denominator makes them a lot of money. Nothin’ wrong with that. We’re a capitalist society. But what about eggs, bacon, gluten bombs AND a plate of smoked salmon or other fish? Or some gluten-free rice cakes, for I am not the only gluten-free traveler out there? Or what about some freshly sliced avocado, full of monounsaturated fats, which actually help lower cholesterol? You know how many people eat fish and rice for breakfast? Millions. Yes, they probably don’t outnumber those traveling along Interstate 40 or munching on egg McMuffins at Newark airport, but they’re out there, craving something different, something better for breakfast, just like me.

You might argue, “Hey, the Adirondacks isn’t where you go for fish and rice. That’s mountain country where flapjack stacks touch the clouds,” and I would reckon you are absolutely correct. The flapjack is a likely descendant of cornmeal cakes, which were the popular pioneer breakfast back when corn was not the bastardized, pesticide-resistant plant that’s now found in everything from fruit juice to salad dressing. I’m not saying eradicate flapjack stacks. And I’ll admit here on the Internet I occasionally eat a piece of bacon. And I’m not saying eradicate grains. America is the land of corn and wheat. But on either side of those massive fields of corn and wheat lie two oceans, so dangnammit, can’t hotels and establishments serving travelers think beyond the middle? The only gluten-free option shouldn’t be that abandoned bowl of browning bananas and mushy apples.

And you might also argue, “Hey, eggs and meat and dairy are on most people’s plates most mornings all around the world,” and you’d be correct, there, too. Check out how folks start their day. The human race has plenty of disagreements, but when it comes to breakfast, there’s vast common ground: we all seem to need a little caffeine kick every morning, and we like our breads and spreads alongside all kinds of things that come from farms. Those are some global breakfast staples.

When I’m in England, I enjoy the traditional English breakfast of eggs, bacon, beans, mushrooms, and that ubiquitous slice of tomato. Yum. Though I can’t eat that every day. Like the American breakfast, it is too heavy.

In France, I’m now having a tougher time because the French breakfast is coffee and croissants (and usually a cigarette), and gluten-free hasn’t taken off in pâtisserie country. Yet.

In Iceland, I had fabulous breakfasts of smoked salmon, skyr and shots of cod liver oil.

Eating breakfast in Mexico was a treat because I lived off corn tortillas, rice, beans, guacamole and eggs–all gluten free.

Japan offered “Western” breakfasts alongside their traditional breakfasts, and I gotta say, little servings of fish, rice and miso soup ain’t a bad way to start a day. I haven’t been to India yet, but I think the country’s lentil cakes served with rice, chutney and sambar would suit me just fine.

(Breakfast in Paris)

(Ending our trip to Iceland with a morning shot of cod liver oil)

Hotels mirror the culture, and one of the biggest elements of culture is food. Every time a Best Western or Holiday Inn or an InterContinental unveils another plate of eggs, bacon and toast to a guest, it says something about America. To me, it says we lack self-discipline and can’t think creatively. The United States is a melting pot, where Hispanics and Asians are two of the fastest-growing ethnic groups. Why can’t our breakfasts reflect that? Why can’t our hotels be better examples of who we are and what we eat? I challenge Starwood and InterContinental and all the other hotels chains out there as well as the independently-owned bed-and-breakfasts from the tip of Maine to the Hawaiian islands to get imaginative with breakfast. Ok, it doesn’t have to be low-fat, low-carb healthy. Like I said, I’m guilty of occasionally enjoying a slice of bacon. But can’t hotels and what they put on our breakfast plates reflect the diversity America loves to brag about? Can’t we be more than the same-old, same-old? Can we not be the Denny’s Grand Slam?

Last week, newspapers reported that the National Park Service wasn’t doing away with summer staples such as hot dogs and ice cream, but was adding healthier options, such as lentil soup and fish tacos, apparently because Americans love having multiple choices to satisfy their individuality. The news sounded doused with corn syrup and wrapped in bacon, as if Americans wouldn’t visit their national treasures without a carrot, um, hot dog, dangling at the end of a walking stick.

This news comes after I ate a disgusting falafel sandwich a week ago at a state park. As someone who tries to eat healthy and avoid gluten and red meat, this was my only option on the menu that wasn’t fried or soaked in mayonnaise or grease. The American diet sucks, and as much as I try to pack our own food for road trips and airport delays, I still get stuck having to order what’s around. I wanted to feel relieved by NPS’s news, that it was a small, hesitant step in the right direction, but it reminded me of my former employer’s smoking policy; there was a big announcement that the organization had gone tobacco-free, yet plenty of employees continued to smoke on benches branded with no-smoking signs, often right in front of the executive offices. It really wasn’t a smoking ban. It was an announcement about a smoking ban that would never be enforced. What’s the point of a smoking ban that’s not enforced? What’s the point of offering lentil soup if you can get a pink sludge dog?

Maybe I need to not be so pessimistic, but I’ve been writing about health for 15 years, and during that time, America’s waistline got bigger. A third of us are clinically obese. There are fat kids huffing and puffing down the street holding 32-ounce sodas. In 1980, seven percent of kids ages six to 11 were fat; by 2010 that number had jumped to 18 percent. You don’t need the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to tell you that; just walk into any grocery store.

NPS serves more than 23 million people each year from its 250 food and beverage facilities located in 75 parks. That’s a lot of ice cream to scoop and pink sludge to grill. I’m encouraged that many of the parks will begin offering vegetarian options, but it doesn’t look like the hot dogs and junk will get phased out. I’m not anti-ice cream (but I am anti-pink sludge; we don’t eat red meat at home). However, travel is an opportunity to educate, and food is a big part of any travel experience. Our national parks educate tourists both from within the US and from abroad about the diverse North American landscape; we could send a similar message about food. What we serve makes an impression. Handing a foreign tourist a 16-ounce gulp because that’s the smallest beverage size available makes an impression.

I’m reading Michael Lanza’s “Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks.” The book is an interesting personal odyssey mixed with sobering facts about climate change and how the warming world is eroding our national parks. At the same time, a corrosive American diet is reducing the gains we’ve made in life expectancy. My daughter’s generation may not enjoy a longer lifespan due to the burden of obesity. Being fat is a serious public health problem. It’s not about not looking good or squeezing into a bathing suit. Obesity is about taxing your body’s biological and cellular processes to the maximum. Obesity is about hauling around what you don’t need. Obesity contributes to excessive healthcare costs.

I applaud NPS’s efforts, but wish the park service would adopt a more leadership role in this issue since enjoying the outdoors is linked with physical fitness. NPS can distinguish itself more from what’s being served at the typical American mall. NPS could stand to represent what’s worth preserving in America: the health of our land as well as ourselves.

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