Happy Friday, and welcome to your Whole30 check-in. We'll be hitting CrossFit LIC this weekend, helping Tucker at another gymnastics cert and participating in the Operation Pull for Hope event taking place on Saturday night. The cert is sold out, but if you're local to NYC, make a donation to Hope for the Warriors and come meet tons of CrossFitters, do a muscle-up, or just cheer Gillian on.
Before I hit the road, I'm making a stop at the local Whole Foods-style store to load up on portable Good Food for the weekend. I always bring a ton of food to these certs - eating out for three meals a day gets expensive, and you can't always make the best food choices. I'd much rather bring snacks with me and be as prepared as possible in case I get stuck.
Today's Whole30 topic is travel food. What do you do when you hit the road? What kinds of foods do you bring, how do you keep things fresh, and how do you avoid eating nothing but jerky, fruit and nuts while traveling? Post your best tips, tricks, travel-friendly recipes and other Good Food guidelines to comments today.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
23 people drop some props (leave a comment here):
Paleokits;>)
Sometimes I have to do one and two-night trips for work, usually to areas that I'm familiar with and hotels I have stayed at before. My plans change depending on if I drive or fly to the location.
Regardless of my method of travel I look for a hotel that can give me a fridge and microwave in my room. If the rooms don't come with that by default call and ask if you can have them added. Often it's as low as an extra $10/night. If I can get a fridge and/or microwave and I'm driving to the loaction then I pre-portion and pack some suppers in tupperware, then pack my tupperwares up in a small camping/beer cooler.
If I fly I still look for a hotel with a fridge/stove, but I pack food prep materials instead of actual food. Think knives, plates, cutlery, cutting board, empty tupperware. I've made everything from salads to smoothies in my hotel rooms. When I arrive I look for a grocery store and pick up meats, veg, and fruit. Again, this is mostly for 'supper' meals.
For breakfast I try to find a hotel with a complimentary continental breakfast. Sometimes I luck out and they serve eggs and fresh fruit. If there's nothing like that around I either buy some eggs and nuke them in my room (ick) or I try to find a diner that serves eggs - skip the toast and hash, and order extra OJ.
I always pack enough homemade paleo kits for two snacks during the day.
Lunches when you're on the road are not usually a private affair. I'm usually asked to join a client or coworker for lunch, and I don't always have a say in where we eat. That's when I just do the best I can. Steakhouses are easy, and almost every restaurant has a salad or two that are near-paleo. I don't sweat lunch because I'm careful at breakfast, supper, and everytime else.
Also, buffets are great! I don't know why people say it's impossible to eat paleo in Vegas.
Cool Post. My nutrition tends to get derailed the most when I travel so I'm excited to see the suggestions on this one but I don't have much to add. Beef Jerky is great but it's kind of expensive and tough to find without Sodium Nitrite.
Great tips so far.
Just like Amy, it usually depends where I'm traveling to. I'm in law school now so I don't do much traveling but when I was in college I was a rower so we'd travel a lot for regattas. Mostly the team provided us with food on the bus and money to go out and eat. For the bus trips most of the food was muffins, bagels, granola bars etc. So I'd make sure I'd bring some of my own essentials.
Usually I'd make a little "snack packs" of vegetables, nuts, and cut up fruit.
For dinner I'd throw in veggies and meat into a slow cooker a night before and just pack the "stew" in tupperware.
The lunch is usually a lot cheaper to eat out and easier because there are plenty of places that serve chicken/turkey salad. I never liked dressing on my salads so I always order without it and that's where most of the crap is in anyway.
Not much but that's all I got.
-m
@CFTribe: Of COURSE Paleokits!
@Shkitzelbaugh: Check out Steve's Club, and their Paleokit offerings. Highest quality, best taste and FOR A GOOD CAUSE.
@Amy: I second the tip of making sure your hotel has at least a fridge. I've stayed at a few of those extended stay hotels, too, with mini-kitchens. Perfect for making a good breakfast, and then fending for yourself for lunch and dinner.
I travel SO much - every weekend, these days. I do fine with breakfast and dinner (I eat a lot of steak and burgers on the road, for breakfast AND dinner!) but I'm getting pretty bored with my daytime travel food. Turkey, fruit, portable veggies, nuts, jerky. I'm dying for something new - a recipe I can make and eat cold, or some veggie ideas OTHER than carrots, snap peas and red pepper. When coaching a cert, I can't exactly bust open a giant salad... whatever I'm snacking on has to be quick, easy and not too messy (in case I'm called on mid-lecture to demo something). I'm hoping for some good tips and tricks here today too.
Thanks, all!
Another option when on the road is to simply not eating anything at all and fast for the day. Intermittent fasting offering many health benefits not to mention the money and time you'll save from skipping a few daytime meals.
Then of course you can make up for some of the lost calories in the evening or the following day.
Ugh, Whole30 confession time:
I have no idea what is going on with my eating as of late. After not struggling at all for three months of 95% paleo, the last month and a half have been an absolute disaster. Things i don't even like/miss/want keep finding their way into my diet.
I'm not cheating smart.
Yesterday's creme brulee from dinner with a friend i rarely see was almost acceptable...the bagel i ate this morning was the farthest thing from it.
I've been trying to kick myself in the ass for a week now, with varying degrees of success. Looks like it's time for another 30, with some eyeballed WAMing (I know I've been misjudging my daily intake due to the fatty meat sources that I primarily eat. Need to get a better idea)
Anyway...accountability and all that...thanks guys.
So, day 4 of 45. I'm pleased with how quickly I got here. I'm also doing this caffeine-free, but I haven't really noticed anything yet, probably because I was only at one cup of coffee a day before this. Still not even looking at desserts. Feels good. :)
As for travel options:
hard boil a dozen eggs and crack them as you need them.
Other protein sources are easily found in deli meat rollups (roast beef is the least processed, i believe)
I love my homemade jerky...i could subsist on that for the rest of my life
I'm a big fan of fasting when I can't find anything to eat...my problem is that I replace all the food I would normally be eating with coffee. For times when caffeine-water isn't enough, I like to hit Trader Joe's for an assortment of canned fish (trout, sardines, salmon, etc.) It generally has a lot of salt and sometimes Canola oil-but it seems like a pretty good alternative to Subway or the like. Ground turkey is my go-to meat for handiness. I like to fry up a pound or so and have it on hand to take for lunches. I just mix it with some veggies and olive oil and call it a melange...pack it in an insulated lunch box and you're good to go.
Does anyone have any suggestions about how to get a pre-teen, nightmare of a carb-addicted daughter off of the junk?
get the crap out of the house and only make one meal. there was a thread about this on the cf message boards recently. post here: http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=52823
I haven't traveled recently, but I did just buy a house across town and make the move last weekend. I think it was -worse- than traveling, because it was nearly impossible to plan how things were going to go down, and I had no idea when my power was going to be turned on. I was also extremely busy, trying to fit everything in in one weekend, and ended up eating a lot of bread and 'drive through' food. I paid for it, though. My face broke out all over this week, and I felt slightly naseated the entire time. I've noticed that the longer I eat mostly clean, the more likely I am to feel sick after cheating. At first a large chunk of bread and butter didn't bother me, and now a tiny piece of cornbread has my stomach upset. Has anyone else had this experience?
Whenever I travel I scope out the hotels, and at least get something with a fridge. I also scope out local restaurants, and most importantly, grocery stores. I tend to travel by plane, and they're not going to dig my bringing along a few dz. eggs, but I will bring nuts and jerky, and coconut oil for cooking :) It's definitely key to bring some of the rarer items along, otherwise you're stuck with a "normal" grocery store and no real oil options :)But my main tip? Recon. Knowing what you're going into as far as local businesses and eating options is key!
I carry handy 1.5 oz packs of almond butter with an apple, strawberries or celery. I also make little meatballs with lots of veggies and bring individual packs of guac to snack on. They aren't too bad cold either. I don't mind eating cold meat, so a cold piece of grilled chicken is a great lunch on the go. That's all I've got!
Before going wherever you're going use Google to find places to eat or get food -- print the maps out and it's all good. If it's a city there were will be healthy places to eat and if it's a small town there will be a grocery store with produce and such.
I work as a pilot for Delta Airlines and I travel a great deal and I laways have problems eating on the road... Because of limitations, I usually only bring enogh meals for two days. One of my biggest problems has been finding something to replace bread for lunches... I was using lettuce wraps but they don't keep very well. By the end of the 2nd day that is pretty gross. Anyone have any ideas? I usually use chicken breast and spinach leaves and lettuce for sandwich. I don't have a lot of space to keep food in either....
Paleo kits are a great idea for snacks but obviously need something bigger for meals as well.
We stay at specific hotels that don't always offer breakfast, or we leave so early that breakfast isn't available. Also never know if hotel room will have fridge or not.....
Thanks in advance for any help anyone has to offer!
I don't travel that much these days (new baby) but I've always made all my own meals, so in grad school that meant a bike pannier full of tupperwares that I took to campus for my 14-hour student days. I got sick of turkey & carrots, too...I *love* hard-boiled eggs, and I've eaten cold frittata sometimes, it's pretty good. Blended soups are a great quick meal--chicken stock, a couple of veggies (I like broccoli and zucchini), blend w/ the immersion blender. You can add coconut milk and some curry spices to add calories and fanciness. Drink it down and you're ready to demo a low-bar back squat!
What's a paleokit?
@jess http://www.paleokits.org/
I just had some grass fed roast leftovers cold with a bit of mustard to dip it in. I know "vinegar" (in mustard) isn't technically paleo, but mmmmm good for a quick snack when options are limited.
There's a really nice website here for yummy recipes but this one looks mighty delicious in a to-go situation. They're "chicken croquettes" and they are DELICIOUS, easy and travel-friendly. I also like hard boiled eggs and turkey/chicken but if I want some flavor, I shoot for something like this :)
I traveled a bit this past year, sometimes flying for work, others by car for CF Certs. When we go to certs (as a group) we take one of those coolers that plugs in to a 12v vehicle plug, or a standard wall outlet. Fill it with meat, veggies, some fruit and nuts and then we were good to go.
When I fly, I have a soft cooler bag that I pack in my suitcase. I take that, some ziploc bags and a knife. I can cut up veggies and meat, pack them in the Ziplocs to take with me and then I fill a couple with ice to make ice packs to keep everything cool in the meantime (I usually wrap my homemade ice pack with a towel to prevent freezing whatever sits against the ice pack.)
@pilotkayaker: I totally hear you on the lettuce wraps! I found this really great Paleo-friendly bread recipe (omit vinegar and agave) here:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/nutty-bread
And, here's the sandwich that I created here:
http://jencereghino.blogspot.com/2009/11/paleo-sandwich-anyone.html
I travel with this bread and use it for toast with eggs or sandwiches. It's really easy to make and will last for a couple weeks, if refrigerated. It's best toasted, but is great either way.
Post a Comment