Airport Food

     It was a grueling assignment to cover the Chili Quest event in Galveston over the weekend.  But even more challenging was finding something nutritious to eat in between flights down and back.  The temptation is to succumb to one of the many fast food corporations that are good at serving processed "convenience" foods loaded with sodium and empty calories.  I have tried to adhere to one simple rule of thumb, namely to avoid those food venues that fail to disclose what is in the food they serve.  

     But there are some healthy food options if you are hungry while you wait at the terminal.  Starbucks has something they bill as "Perfect Oatmeal" that contains only 150 calories and no sodium.  And for a mere 100 additional calories you can perk it up with some dried fruit or chopped nuts.  Au Bon Pain serves up a very healthy Garden Vegetable Soup that is a mere 80 calorie meal with 50% of the daily requirement of Vitamin A.  Even Dunkin' Donuts has a healthy option on their menu, an Egg White Veggie Flatbread that provides 280 calories with 16 grams of protein.  But beware!  It also adds 690 ml of sodium to the meal.  And if you avoid the additional chicken strips McDonald's serves up a Premium Bacon Ranch Salad that is only 230 calories, without the dressing of course.

     The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has posted their list of healthiest airports.  And here are the top ten:

1.  Baltimore/Washington International
2.  Seattle-Tacoma International
3.  Los Angeles International
4.  Ronald Reagan Washington National
5.  Newark (NJ) Liberty International
6.  Tie: LaGuardia (NYC) & Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
7.  Denver International
8.  San Francisco International
9.  Washington Dulles International
10. Logan International (Boston)

And while Philly International didn't make the top ten, it was in a 3 way tie for 11th place along with JFK in New York and Chicago's O'Hare.

So I guess that oatmeal I had for breakfast at Chickie's & Pete's along Concourse E  was a good choice!