Good Monday afternoon to all you ladies!
Now for our first official blog conversation! The topic today.....eating paleo when traveling or when your time is limited. I've been reading a lot of food blogs online, specifically Nom Nom Paleo and Everyday Paleo and am always impressed with the creativity these women chop, mix, sear and toss into their meals. I'm especially impressed with the Nom Nom Paleo author...not sure of her exact occupation but she often writes about working nights at a hospital...for those of you who don't know, I'm a new RN and can appreciate the complexity of long shifts and eating right.
This past weekend, my husband and I traveled to Great Falls for a wedding...I made sure to pack lots of snacks (nuts, chopped up peppers, coconut flakes, store bought protein shakes...in a pinch they're better than half a loaf of bread when I'm starving) and tried my darndest to remember Lisa's words of wisdom after class on Saturday..."Make healthy choices!"....Thank you dear :)
The wedding dinner was simple, pasta salad, cold cuts, rolls, baked beans and cake. I loaded my plate with cold cuts and a dollop of spicy mustard to make it exciting. I skipped the roll and ate the veggies out of the pasta salad, trying to avoid the spiral noodles clinging to my fork. I had a small helping of baked beans and shared a piece of cake with Mr. Rigard. The beer provided was light beer....not a huge fan...the darker the better so that was easy to bypass.
After the wedding we headed to a bar....I indulged in a gin and tonic, a fresh veggie tray and a small helping of nachos....overall I did my best with the options at hand and I have to say I'm proud of my efforts. There's definitely a balance between eating what you know won't make you ill, not feeling guilty for indulging once in a while and having a good time for a special occasion. I might add that I did feel a little like poo the next morning...food hangover I guess....nothing lots of water and fake eggs at the hotel continental breakfast wouldn't fix.. :)
So ladies....the summer is about being on the go, enjoying the sun, going on short or long trips with your families and friends....how do you do it? What foods or snack ideas have you found that work? I want to try making some homemade jerky...anyone got a good recipe? Let's share ideas!
One final thing...I thought it would be fun to "feature" a recipe or two each time I write a new post. Let me know if you've made something you'd like to share....it would be very easy to attach a picture if it's a homemade creation.
Thanks for being so welcoming to this blog idea....long post today...got to go! See you at the gym on Wednesday!
Jenn
5 comments:
Hey Ladies!!!
I hope everyone is doing awesome! Finally we got some nice sunny days here in Bozo...I dont expect it to stay for long, but at least its starting to look like spring!
Traveling Paleo, well I have done this a few different ways...the way I have done it in the past is to just load up on fresh veggies, deli meats, berries, nuts boiled eggs, nuts and jerky. I fill a cooler up and off we go...it pretty much means snacking all day which is good for a one day stint, but once you get to your destination what then? If you have plenty of money, and there are a ton of great restaurants where you are going, and want to eat out every night, then by all means, I would say eat out and stick to your paleo staples(meat, veggies, fruit, eggs and nuts.
If you are short on cash, camping, or just want to be able to have a little more control over what you are putting in your body, I would say to make at least 1/2 of your food before hand. I did this when I went on my last trip. It was awesome! We only ate out once while I was there and I LOVED having healthy choices with me everywhere i went! Not to mention we saved a huge amount of cash!
How you say?
Step 1:Pick a few of your favorite protein sources to make and bring with you. I made an Italian Frittata with Homemade Turkey Breast Sausage, Tarragon Citrus Grilled Chicken, Grilled Asian Grassfed Beef Burgers, and Morrocan Spiced Tilapia.(I know its sad that I remember that...considering that was 4 months ago)
Step 2: Package your protein in small plastic baggies(they take much less space than tupperware, and you can bring them with you anywhere(we brought chicken breast into the mall when we were shopping;)
FREEZE for at least 12 hours. Leave a few packages out so you will have some food thawed for your trip.
Pack up a cooler with ice, and meat.
Step 3: Portion nuts into small baggies for salads, or just snacking.
Step 4: Bring Oil and Vinegar with you...Jeanni had this really cool tiny little travel bottle that was meant for shampoo, but she just filled it up with vinegar, and you just squeeze it out. I think she said she got it at REI
Step 4: When you reach your destination, hit the nearest health food store. Most larger cities have a whole foods...go to the salad bar and pick up a few boxes of salad for the day, or multiple days(or if you are going to have a kitchen that you can use to prep...just pick up some spring mix and fresh cut veggies, sprouts, berries and whatever else you want on your salad.
Top your salad with your protein, oil, vinegar,nuts,berries,sprouts, whatever... Enjoy:)
If I were camping, I would just bring along some frozen ground grassfed beef(it will thaw in the cooler on the way), and cut veggies... and make some hobo pies(i dont know if anybody knows what these are, but this is my semi-gourmet version of what my family used to make on camping trips. They are awesome!)
Paleo Campfire Hobo Pies
Ingredients:
Grass fed ground beef
Eggplant peeled and cubed
Zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slices
Quartered tomatoes
Broccoli
Sliced Red Bell Pepper
Onions
One whole peeled clove of garlic per packet
Salt and pepper
Aluminum foil
Toppers:
Fresh mozzarella cheese (optional)
Fresh basil
Good olive oil
Directions:
1. Pull off enough aluminum foil to make a single serving packet. I usually use a double layer of foil because we always eat right out of the packets.
2. Crumble raw ground beef onto foil.
3. Add all of the veggies on top of the meat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Each person can add ingredients to their liking since these are individual
4. Fold edges together
5. Roll the edges together two or three times so steam won't escape
6. Roll the ends two or three times so steam won't escape
7. Place packet on the grill or over the open fire for about 30 minutes or until the beef has had time to cook completely, and the veggies are soft.
8. Fold triangles into the four corners
9. Unroll the center folds and open up so you have a bowl
10. Add toppers and eat with a spoon (so you don't puncture holes in the foil).
11. Clean up is a snap -- you only have a spoon to wash!!
Sorry this is such a long post, but hope it gives you some ideas:)
Hi Ladies!
One thing I make sure to have plenty of when traveling is good FAT! Guacamole, almond butter, and my version of a great pesto. It's easy to chop up TONS of veggies, but they're gone so fast when I'm hungry. So, if I am sure to take plenty of fats with me, then I can stay satiated for a little bit longer while traveling. I never have a recipe with measurements, but here's a general guideline for a pesto that I LOVE!
- 1/1 ratio of sundried tomatoes and almonds or walnuts
- BIG handful of either fresh basil or fresh cilantro (depending on your taste).
-At least 1 TBS good oil (coconut, olive, or other). Use lots more oil if you're making more than 2-3 cups of pesto. The sundried tomatoes from Costco have lots of oil already, so that helps!
- here's where you can be creative... add strawberries, varied kinds of seeds or other nuts, citrus juice etc.
-Blend with food processor until incorporated. Then salt and pepper to taste.
-Cut celery stalks or cucumber slices to use as "chips" for dipping in the pesto.
I used this recipe on a road trip and LOVED it.
Hope everyone is enjoying their week! Come.On.Sunshine!
~Sophie
Hey Hey Hey!!!
Just wanted to say hello and tell you all how FANTASTIC it is that you've posted some ideas! Thank you and keep them coming!
I tried Jody's "Hobo Pie" recipe and REALLY enjoyed it...the burger was delish...I may experiment with spicy italian sausage next time or try and make a "pizza" version somehow....just what I needed to get the wheels turnin'!
Have a great day!
Hey Ladies...I just made the most amazing condiment, ...it is sooooo good! I am calling it a ketchup, but dont let that fool you. It has a much more complex flavor...its nothing like the HFCS laden heinz 57 we all grew up with...It is WAY better, and seriously, prep time was 5 minutes:)
Curried Mango Ketchup
3 cloves garlic
1 shallot, chopped
1 inch knob ginger, chopped
1/2 thai chili(optional)
2 cups cubed mango
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt(i used the fancy ginger infused salt..mmmm)
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 tsp sweet curry powder
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until very smooth. Pour into a small sauce pan and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes.
You could probably use this for anything you would use ketchup for...I am thinking oven baked sweet potato fries, chorizo, burgers, you could even mix it with homemade mayo...now the wheels are turnin'
I am going to serve mine tomorrow with some macadamia and coconut crusted tiger shrimp and chicken breast tenders, roasted artichoke and a large green salad:)
This could just as well be a dressing if you just pureed it, and left out the cooking part.
Cheers!
Post a Comment