My time in the “welcome to corporate life” academy was the highlight of my post-college life, and the people I met there have forever changed the course of my life.  This Thanksgiving, I will be sitting next to several of these beloved people and thanking each of them for their presence in my life.  I am so grateful to have my friends from Boston and London visiting Dallas this weekend.

For those academy darlings who are not in Dallas to feast at Dave’s, I miss you and am thankful to have you in my life too; especially you, Tommy McD.

As for my primary family, I will be missing you all and hope we are all together soon (preferably during a warmer time of year up north).  Make sure to have a few of the following for me: my mother’s Iowa corn, Aunt Margie’s cream puffs, Aunt Gail’s pumpkin cookies, Aunt Jo’s potatoes, Uncle Gordie’s blue pop (wink), Uncle Richard’s pear wine (careful though…), Aunt Arlene’s turkey and Aunt Tina’s amazing salads.  Brett and Derek, you can have my dessert.  I actually miss you all…not just the food…I swear!

To my hometown loves, I feel a pang of sadness in my heart when I think of the festivities going on at Sportsman’s this week.  Please have a few beers for me, and tip the bartender if she is sporting her Thanksgiving shorts…oh, you know which ones.

Cooking and grocery shopping for one is a challenge.  I find myself making the same boring chicken and throwing out veggies that have sat for too long (nothing smells worse).  Last December my life radically changed after a Christmas miracle of sorts.  I received the gift that never quits giving: a stockpot with steamer and strainer inserts (yes, I’m a foodie).  The dynamics of my single girl’s kitchen have completely changed. 

Perhaps all those bitterly cold winters in Iowa got to me, because nothing pleases me more than a simmering pot of soup.  Soup geniuses like Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi and Rachael Ray have inspired me to slave for my soup.  The beauty of soup is that you can throw things into a pot, and it usually turns out pretty tasty.  I tend to use a lot of the same ingredients but change it a little each time.  Usually, I cook up a little olive oil, ground turkey (ground chicken is great but harder to find), onion and garlic.  Then I add in some beer (don’t use the whole bottle so you can drink it) and chicken stock (both are very important to have in your fridge).  I follow that with several kinds of beans, tomatoes, cumin, oregano and chili powder (add a palm full of each and test – watch the chili powder…too much is not good).  Stir it all up and simmer.  Feel free to get creative with it; there is an endless variety of soups (Google away).  I’m also a big fan of white chicken chili and chicken noodle.

The best part is that you have food for a week.  After a very stressful day, you will be thrilled that dinner only needs to be heated up.  You could invite a few friends, a cute boy or an intelligent, witty blonde over to help you eat it and wow them with your cooking skills.  If you get completely sick of it, you can freeze it until you want soup again.

I could write even more about soup, but I will spare you.  I will also skip my plans for the steamer insert once farmer’s market season begins…  The point is that a stockpot will make a wonderful addition to your kitchen, and you will have many delicious pots of soup.  I highly recommend making the investment.

In college, free food was like gold.  The promise of free pizza caused college students to sign up for credit cards, attend meetings for organizations they didn’t care about and show up to sorority functions (this one I know about personally).  Even though I have had a steady paycheck for over a year now, I still get excited at the promise of free food.

For traveling I was told that I had approximately $40 per day (or whatever was within reason) to spend on food which caused feelings of extreme joy.  I thought I could eat like a king and drink Starbucks every day with that amount of money.  I found myself saying things like, “Make that a grande instead of tall…of course I’ll have dessert…I’ll take the one with sprinkles and glaze…I can’t take that home so I’d better eat it.” The early mornings in the airports and late nights at the client sites also led me to make poor decisions.  I was going out to eat every night, having a few drinks with dinner, not exercising and running on little sleep.  Like a fool I was hoping my metabolism would ramp up and my hips would be immune to airport fast food.  Not too surprisingly, I was wrong.

If someone had sat me down and given the following advice, I wouldn’t still be trying to get rid of the remaining “traveling weight”.  A quick disclaimer: I am not a trainer, nutritionist, dietician, aesthetician or any other professional related to health or fitness.  I am just a busy girl with an average metabolism and a passion for food. 

My first piece of advice is: remember that being exhausted doesn’t mean it is ok to order whatever you want.  Making healthy choices and knowing your body’s limits are essential all of the time, even if you are at the airport at 5:00am on a Monday morning.  Depending on your airport, client site and hotel location, you may not have a lot to choose from.  Most fast food restaurants have their nutritional information posted on the walls or available in a pamphlet.  Look at it and choose something that is low in calories, high in protein and has some sustenance.  Another great source for nutritional information: the internet. 

Secondly, keep your favorite fuel on your person.   I keep a bag of almonds and several luna bars in my laptop case and munch on them when I’m starving.  If you love a certain kind of protein bar, keep some handy.  There is nothing worse than rushing around and missing meals.  When I am starving, I get cranky and am much more likely to make bad decisions.  Another hunger-fighting tip is to find a grocery or convenience store near your hotel or client site and pick up some healthy snacks and lunches.  A girl can only eat salad bar for so many lunches before you break down and get something sinfully wonderful.  Ironically, I work in hospitals and find it hard to make healthy choices in the cafeterias…

A third suggestion is to take advantage of what the hotel has to offer.  If your hotel has a fridge and microwave, grab some of the healthier frozen dinners.  I’m sure my client is happy if this prevents me from eating room service once in a while.  Also, check out the hotel gym or pool and use them.  It is incredibly important to make this a priority for a traveling associate.  Leave your mobile in your room, go to the gym, work it out and clear your mind.  Remember, it is ok to miss a meal out for a good workout.  If you are morning exerciser like me, go for a jog and enjoy the sunrise in a new city (as long as it’s safe!).  When talking about hotel perks, I have to mention the free breakfasts.  The same rules apply to free breakfast as they do to fast food on the corporate card: it will go to your hips just don’t get carried away. 

A little hiccup (literally) I encountered with traveling on a team is that many associates love that “on-the-road” lifestyle, meaning long working days, dinners out and lots of drinks.  My advice is to know your team and know your limits.  I was following the “when in Rome” rule, but many people drink more than I care to on a Tuesday night.  It is always acceptable to say no thanks and head to your room.  It’s better to retire early than drink too much and embarrass yourself.

My next bit of advice is to keep in a positive mindset.  It is easy to let work consume you, but make it a top priority to do things that make YOU happy.  When you are clear-headed and content, you are more likely to treat your body with respect and be a better worker bee.   Whether you jog, read or watch episodes of The Office on Hulu, keep time on your calendar for it.

Lastly, always call your friends and family.  My mother and grandmother worry about me being in such big cities and traveling alone, whereas my father wants to know what wonderful food I ate at dinner.  Regardless of your situation, family and friends help keep you grounded when you are gone over half of your week. 

Have fun in the different cities you visit and enjoy the food.  Just remember to do so in moderation.