July 16th 2009 - HOUSE FIRE

[Michele Dochat]

Back on July 16th we had a fire in our kitchen. My 17 year old daughter was home alone and decided to cook french fries in a frying pan with oil at 9:30 in the morning. She put the oil on the stove, turned the burner on and walked away to use the bathroom.

When she smelled smoke she came out and to her horror found the pan was on fire. She wrongly thought to move the pan to the sink and douse it with water. The flames got out of control and she dropped the pan onto the counter right next to the sink as it flamed up higher. She got a small amount of splatter on her foot and ankle, and called 911. She was able to get out and our local fire chief arrives in minutes to get it under control with a fire extinguisher. The counter top was melted and charred, as was the dish drainer, the acrylic sink, the side of our cabinets were blistered, the ceiling...

Do you know what kind of mess soot makes? Not to mention the mess left over by the dry chemicals that are in those fire extinguishers. It goes EVERYWHERE.

Why am I sharing this you ask? Well, we've been living in a hotel for almost two weeks now (three of us), and having to eat all meals out since it happened.

I feel FAT. I feel UGLY. I feel BAD. I'm working out, but tired...HELP. How do I do this smarter? Do you know how many restaurants consider a friend potato to be an adequate side dish????!!!

I need suggestions, ideas, help me gang. How can I survive the next couple of weeks without gaining 10 pounds???

[Leah Danyell]

Michele..I'm so glad you guys are ok! I usually opt for salads...but I buy my own salad dressings because the ones they have are usually high in calories.. cafeteria-style restaurants usually carry light plates...you can get a baked meat and sides like broccoli and carrots, etc..I bought some ready to go tuna made by starkist..it just came out...I put it in my locker at work and keep a stick of multigrain crackers with it..It's shelf stable and you can chill it pretty easily (between a couple of cold drinks perhaps). I remember back in my college days we would buy those cup of ramen type noodles and pour hot water on them to cook..(from a coffeepot). We had lots of crazy tricks to cook things...

[Jessica]

ok, I've been out of the loop for a while! I'm sooooo very glad everyone is okay. The Firefighter in me knows how quickly a situation like that can escalate. And those extinguishers make a horrendous mess! ( okay, back to your more recent postings...)

[Robyn]

OMG..how scarey! I'm so glad you're all OK though! Like Tanie suggested...Subway...McDonalds salads are AWESOME! You may even have better luck by going to a grocery store deli counter?

[Arlene]

I'm sorry to hear that. I wondered why I hadn't seen you online lately. The other suggestions sound good to me — I'm not sure I have any words of wisdom to add. If you have access to the Internet, maybe you could research restaurants in your hotel's area and scope out a few healthier choices ...

[Ashley]

I'm so glad that no one was seriously injured, but I'm so sorry this has happened. It's so tough to be out of your our space and trying to survive elsewhere. Some suggestions - most restaurants will switch sides for free. Ask for steamed veggies instead of the potatoes. Avoid fast food places and opt for sit-down places if you can. If you have a fridge in your room, try to eat at least one meal (probably breakfast or lunch) there. I think the main thing to keep in mind is that restaurants are going to serve you food that makes you want to come back. That means addictive fats and sugars. That also means that you have to be proactive in asking them to make changes that make your meal the best it can be. Good luck! Keep us updated and take care!

[Tanie]

Try Chipotle, Subway...........do you have a fridge in your hotel? You could go to the store to buy some snacks to stock up on?