Meals in a pinch: Choices that certainly are better than a bacon cheeseburger and fries

Finding decent food is often a problem while traveling. We all know how pathetic the choices can be in some airports. In terminals like Minneapolis where you do have good options, time between flights can be your enemy. Plus, not everyone can or wants to spend $15 or $20 for a decent airport meal.

I found myself with a similar problem at a hotel recently. I hit the gym before a meeting and then jumped onto email figuring there would be time to grab a plate of food from the typical pre-meeting Continental breakfast. Budget cutbacks quickly set me straight. No food. My option was coffee or tea. It's at such times that nutrition bars can really save your bacon, so to speak.

The selection shown here range in calories form 170 to 240 with anywhere between 8 and 13 grams of protein. The vitamin complement was pretty good on every one of them. The list of ingredients was a little longer and more complex than one might like. Regardless, I've done worse in a pitch when it comes to a meal. I'll bet you have, too.

I picked up all of these at a Hy-Vee pharmacy near the Des Moines airport for a little over $6. (Yes, it was a heck of a sale.) I usually keep a couple bars in my briefcase when heading out on a trip. Not only are they better than nothing. They're better than so many other things one might eat.

Leave it to the iPhone to improve grocery shopping

Going off track when going to the grocery story is one of the biggest problems most of us have when food shopping. We either forget what we came to buy (that critical ingredient) or become overwhelmed by the enticing (but not always healthy) choices.

Austin food blogger Natanya Anderson found an iPhone App that helps her stay on track when shopping for food. She shares her thoughts on that in this interesting podcast from her equally interesting blog called, Fete & Feast.

Sometimes healthy is going with the flow

Anthony Bourdain came to town a few weeks back. He was funny, coarse, irreverent and pretty darn interesting. If you've seen his No Reservations show on the Travel Channel, you know that healthy eating is not exactly his focus. One thing he said, however, really struck home.

Bourdain was talking about how his mother-in-law often apologized for the simple, unadorned meals she served to the noted chef. He said that such meals sometimes rival anything he eats, because they were authentic and came from the heart. I believed him. 'Tony' went on to talk about the importance of food connecting people. His advice when grandma serves a dried out turkey or mashed potatoes whipped into a starchy paste: Smile, savor the people you are with and ask for seconds.

I was thinking about that recently when taking my mom to lunch. At 89 she clearly prefers cheeseburgers over much other food. (Although, she feigns to eat them rarely.) I asked her what she wanted for lunch--Asian or Mexican. Her response was one I should have anticipated:

"Where do we get those sliders I like?

Since she wants them so often, 'where' is actually one of three places. So, off we went. At her age, within reason, I guess she should be able to heavy up on the cheeseburgers. I snapped the picture shown here and sent it to my kids. Grandma's penchant for burgers in her later years has become something of a family joke. It's also the stuff of a food memory that all of us will have for the rest of our lives.

Jaden Hair's 'Steamy Kitchen' truly a hot spot for great food

Down in Austin a few weeks back, I had the delightfully good fortune to meet Jaden Hair who founded The Steamy Kitchen. Jaden was speaking at an event called TECHmunch, which was a workshop for food bloggers.

She is upbeat, energetic and exudes energy. No wonder her many endeavors in the food world are so successful. She clearly gives the impression that she will accept nothing less!

As some of you know, Garrett Weber-Gale was in Florida giving clinics and training a few weeks back. He also has the opportunity to visit Jaden and to cook with her. He was, as Garrett often is, absolutely cranked about the experience.

I haven't had the opportunity to eat what Jaden cooks. Her food photography is painfully delicious, though. (Just look at the spicy shrimp and mango salsa she and Garrett cooked up.)

In case you didn't see it, Jaden did a piece about the experience on her blog at TLC online. Enjoy but be forewarned. You are going to be hungry afterward.

Into the vegan thing? Check out the "Queen" according to The Daily Beast

If you're not familiar with The Daily Beast, you should check it out. This is not the typical news source, although the topics of the day are often covered. I've been clicking over to its Hungry Beast section every so often. Yes, you get Easter hams and spring salads but also stories like the one on "Vegan Queen" Nava Atlas. It's interesting stuff that is well worth putting in your favorites.

The world of food is fascinating and diverse. The Daily Beast adds to that with stories that often go beyond the typical.

Baby how you have changed

It really wasn't so long ago that Americans just assumed kids should eat baby food from the grocery store. The commercial below is from 1960s and is pretty much standard fare for that era.




My how times have changed. A Google search for "baby food" yields some 77,800,000 results. All the major manufacturers are represented, of course. A quick look at sites from stalwarts like Gerber and Beech-Nut yields a lot of nutrition information. Technology and changing mindsets have also brought interesting alternatives into the fray such as wholesomebabyfood.com and organic option Earth's Best.

While only you can decide what's best for your baby when it's time to go beyond mom, it's great to see so many great choices. After all, there is no doubt that the best way to get kids to eat well is to start them doing that from the very beginning.

Sometimes, too many things are bigger in Texas

Brisket, ribs, corn bread, cobbler. All of it is good tasting stuff that definitely is not good for you if you have too much. Garrett wrote about the challenges of balancing Lone Star State tradition with moderation for this month's online edition of Texas Monthly.