Traveling Calories

Casts, crutches, canes, leg braces. Swinging through, hopping, gimping, hobbling. The past two months of traveling bouts moved us no farther than from this chair to that, and to the doctor and back—again. All the while, get-well "things” (delicious, fattening, tempting things) continued to arrive on our doorstep, ultimately adding to the amount of "baggage" we had to hop, gimp and hobble around. Yes, through the wonders of kind-hearted friends, the Internet and speedy delivery, traveling calories swiftly surrounded our Control Central Lounge-cum-Convalescent Chairs and away we . . . sat.

Today I shall share (although not literally, since they’re gone—every last crumb of them) a few of my faves. To share them all would be a daunting task. I receive no kick-back or free product for doing this; I just want to offer up a few tried-and-true solutions for those of you out there on the go-go-go. Should you be on the road when a friend becomes ill, or an anniversary or birthday arrives, or you need to apologize for your snarky behavior, or you just want to have something waiting for yourself when you get home, here ya go. Bookmark the links in your laptop, just in case.

Fairytale Brownies. These things are so rich and sweet, gooey and ooooo-laden that your tongue will curl in a fit of rapture. I received a dozen Fairytale Sprites® from my agent. Each sprite is a different flavor, one as fabulicious as the next. (Interjection: my Spellchecker wants to correct fabulicious to ferulaceous, but I fought it off since let me assure you, these chocolately brownies have nothing to do with the parsley family or “strong-smelling resinous gums,” as the Encarta Dictionary would have you believe.)

The great thing about the spite size is that they’re Just Enough. It’s fun to pick through the variety, each time deciding which creation you’ll savor during your next bout of intake, which sometimes immediately follows your immediate bout of intake. But let me give you my best hint: if you’re saving that which you’re sure will be your FAVORITE for last, do not offer visitors their pick. Remove it immediately and imbibe in a remorseless bout of intaking. Why do I recommend this? Because I watched my good friend swipe it right out of my box-offering hand. I didn’t have the heart to tell her to PUT IT BACK! After all, she’d brought us dinner.

Fairytale Brownies are made with and around nuts, so if you’re allergic, steer clear. But they’re Kosher. I just noticed they also sell sugar free brownies. I have no idea how they compare in flavor and texture. If anyone out there has tried them, please let me know so I can keep them in mind for my diabetic and/or dieting friends. Or me when I find I can no longer remove myself from my Control Central chair.

Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge chocolates. I can’t personally vouch for the rest of the selections, but Ethel’s collection delivered on all levels! The pictures on the website do not do them justice. They are MAGNIFICENT to behold and wondrous to taste. Truly, just staring inside the box was like studying an object of art. But I dare you to stare for longer than two minutes. You simply HAVE to find out if something that beautiful can really be tasty.

Edible Arrangements. If you’re in the market for something healthier than chocolate (although you can get them chocolate dipped, if you so choose), these fruit arrangements are another treat for the eye and the palette. The surprising thing was how good the fruit tasted. Our arrangement was so artistic I was sure the fruit would be bland, or soft or. . . . But it was delicious.

In order to prolong the beauty of it, we stored the whole arrangement in our fridge (tucked in its original plastic bag) completely assembled, withdrawing only the picks of our choice during any given fruit attack.

Best hint: If you’re coveting the stars, EAT THEM. Otherwise your friend’s kids will. Guess how I know? (I cannot believe how immature I can be. Thank goodness I didn't yell out loud. Just in my head. Promise.)

In conclusion, now that I’m nearly done traveling via cast, crutch and leg-brace, I shall begin rolling my way to the airport. But I bet that’s obvious by now.