Avoiding Packing on the Pounds as an Innkeeper

Although I’m not a big partaker in the new years resolution tradition, I do always find myself counting calories and hitting the gym more frequently around this time of year. For me, it’s not the holiday parties and temptations that do it, but the sudden slower pace at the inn and therefore less physical activity. Being an innkeeper is like celebrating the holidays year round. The kitchen always smells like chocolate chip cookies or bacon and there is a constant stream of coffee cakes, cookies, tea sandwiches, egg casseroles, blueberry pancakes and French toast leaving the kitchen on beautifully decorated plates and leftovers going to waste if the staff doesn’t eat it. So, for all aspiring innkeepers who fear the relentless lure of baked goods resulting in reliving the “freshman 15”, and in light of the new year resolution season, here is a brief list of tricks that have helped me over the years and that I still try to fall back on when I see a big plate of royal toffee chocolate bars…my arch nemesis.

1. Try to think of the food at the inn as work. Metaphorically speaking, a jeweler can’t bring home all the diamonds in the store, right? So don’t eat all the cookies at the inn.

2. It is important to taste the food that gets served for quality control. But don’t use this as an excuse to eat an entire stack of flapjacks. Take one bite and judge. And remember – the next bite is going to taste exactly the same as the first.

3. Recreate dishes with low fat ingredients. For example, Kevin makes a mean breakfast burrito which is great for a treat when you’re on vacation, but for the innkeeper who sees it pop up in the rotation every couple weeks, it’s best to trick your taste buds. For this particular dish, I take a low carb burrito and stuff it with egg beaters mixed with low fat cheese, diced jalapeños, peppers, onions, and center cut bacon, then wrap it and top with spicy salsa.

4. If you’re an innkeeper like myself who is lucky enough to have a fitness center on site, use it. Hate is a strong word, but I am using it to describe my feelings about going to the gym. Still, I hate when my jeans start feeling snug even more, so I bite the bullet and go….sometimes.

5. Eat breakfast before you start serving your guests. You may not be starving first thing in the morning, but you certainly will be after an hour or two of breakfast service and at that point, leftover sausage links and Belgium waffles will somehow sneak into your mouth.