's motd Tue Jan 12, 2010

[Guest guest]

TRAPPED!

Tuesday, 12 January 2010

I'm still here in New York City wearing that warm robe provided by my hotel! Yesterday, when I did press, I actually wore this robe on each of the shows I appeared on. Hey, Hugh Hefner used to wear his pajamas all over the place so I can wear my robe! LOL.

This morning, I'll be doing the Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. They're a couple of really fun ladies. I've know Kathie Lee forever and Hoda was once a newscaster in my hometown of New Orleans so I've met her many times, too.After appearing on Today, I have a little free-time before my flight home so I'll do my quick New York City tour. Ya' know, looking at this city, it's just hard to believe they were able to pack so many tall buildings on this one little island of Manhattan. And the streets are always so crowded, you can hardly walk down the sidewalks. You sorta just have to move with the flow of the crowd!

One thing I've noticed here in New York is that they have more restaurants than I've ever seen in any other city. There are delis, fast food places, little mom and pop restaurants and adorable little French bistros. In just one block, you may see as many as ten restaurants! And when you're not at home cooking your own food, you're sorta trapped and have to eat from the room service menu at your hotel or visit a nearby restaurant to get yourself something to eat.The hotel where I stay here in NYC has had the same room service menu for 28 years! I (And that's how long I've been staying at this hotel when I visit New York.) So I know their menu by heart. And I have eaten at just a few restaurants here in New York City over the years, too. Now the thing is, when you're eating hotel or restaurant food, you don't really know what's in the foods you're eating. I mean, there's a lot of salt and high fat content in those foods. And you wouldn't believe the sugar that's put in some of them to perk up the flavor.

So there is a danger in eating out so much. That's because you'll end up gaining weight with all of the calories contained in the foods you're eating in those restaurants.And, oh! In New York City, there must be about 15,000 pizza parlors! Now I've only eaten in about, oh...900 of them so I can't speak for them all. But, my goodness, there's enough cheese in this town to choke you! LOL. And you know there's lots of salt in that sauce and in the sausage and pepperoni. Hey, you've just gotta be really careful with that pizza!

New York City also probably has about 22,000 Chinese restaurants. Many of them offer all-you-can-eat buffets. And I'm telling you, whatever you want is probably on that buffet! Let's see...there're egg rolls, dumplings, shrimp toast, fried rice and chicken that's also been fried then covered in a "mystery sauce." And then there are the noodles, Mu Shu pork and oh, oh...there's the sweet and sour sauce! Oh sure, there's no salt in any of those dishes, uh, right? And of course, none of these dishes were fried, either.I hope one of your New Year's resolutions is to stay home and cook more in your own kitchen. That way, you'll know exactly what you're eating and the contents of the dishes you've prepared.This morning in my hotel room, I had some oatmeal, an apple, my vitamins and my glass of cold water. After I've done the Today Show and completed my little tour of the city, I'll head home to Los Angeles. There, I'll finish up all of the work I have waiting for me. And I can't wait to get into my kitchen tonight and cook a nice, healthy dinner for myself.Love,