“How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat!?” – Pink Floyd
Paleo stir-fry in the back of Dora!!
Paleo on the Road. So, what was it been like trying to eat a Paleo diet while on the road in a camper-van in the USA? Surprisingly easy actually, and if I haven’t exactly been eating “strict” Paleo, then it’s been totally my fault. It all comes down to choice doesn’t it? After all, we choose what we put in the trolley at the supermarket, we choose what we order at a restaurant, we choose not to be organised (and subsequently getting caught out and having to make bad choices), we choose what to put in our mouths. Anyhow, being able to cook my own meals was part of the attraction of getting a camper-van in the first place, and gave me the flexibility to buy my own food and have more control over what I could eat on the road. I must say I was impressed with the range of paleo and gluten free options available at supermarkets like Safeways, Wholefoods and Trader Joes. To be fair, I’ve been pretty boring really and didn’t really eat out that much at all while I was on the road. Partly also because I was on my own and it does kind of suck eating at restaurants alone.
Paleo shopping at trader joes
Supermarkets.The supermarkets had everything you would expect and more. They had a good range of pre-made salads and deli style meals too if you were in a hurry (but kind of expensive). The shopping list generally looked like this: Veges, meat or chicken of some description, eggs, nuts and seeds, avocado, some fruit like apple or berries. I also got a bottle of balsamic, small bottle of olive oil, thai sweet chilli sauce, some herbs and spices and 1x jar of almond butter that lasted around 3 weeks. My standard breakfast would generally be leftover meat / cold meat, baby spinach, boiled eggs, tomato and avocado, or maybe an omlette.
Kale chips – seriously good!!
Lunch would either be a quick salad, or some snacks of DIY Paleo kit (an equal mix of protein, carb and fat made up of jerky, nuts and dried fruit). I tried Kale chips from whole foods once and they were awesome. Raw veggies or apple with almond butter was also good. Vege chips from whole foods were also another treat that I tried once and really liked – kind of expensive though. Coconut water here is much less expensive than in New Zealand and more readily available in 1L containers and good for post WOD re-hydration. Dinner would generally either be a salad or a stirfry with seasonal veggies and either chicken, turkey, beef of some description. A memorable desert I made in the camper van when I was craving something sweet was stir fried sliced apple, coconut cream and toasted walnuts. Yum, but needed some cinnamon. I did a few day hikes and took small tins of tuna or sardines and baby carrot / celery sticks, nuts and dried fruit, jerky etc.
Paleo(ish) mediterranian lunch at winery
Eating Out. I did eat out once whilst on the road at “Chipotle” (a Mexican style takeaway) and had a brilliant chicken salad w/ pinto beans, sour cream, guacamole, salsa…yum. All the other fast food outlets such at “Jack in Box”, Taco Bell”, etc etc haven’t really attracted me at all. Once I hit San Francisco I was staying in a semi-dodgy backpackers with a very basic kitchen so had to improvise a bit more, but managed to enjoy some of the awesome cafes and restaurants on offer in the city. The backpackers provided breakfast, but it was bagels served with cream cheese, jam and fruit, so I passed on that!!! I ate out at Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Indian restaurants and managed to eat Paleo friendly meals at all….Thai beef red curry with steamed veges, Vietnamese beef and ginger stir fry with green beans, Japanese style Sashimi and BBQ veges, Indian chicken tandoori and nilgiri (beef shank stew / curry). I went on a winery tour to Sonoma one day and yes, I know Pinot Nior is not exactly paleo, but it was sooooo good! They provided lunch and I had asked for a gluten free option. When everyone else got a picnic of sandwiches I got a Mediterranean style salad with nuts – perfect! And, when I was staying with my first ‘couch surfers’ (Myeesha and Mango) in San Francisco they made a nice moroccon stir fry one night (yes I’ll admit I did have a wee bit of cous cous with it!!!.. I was really hungry!!) and another night we went out for Thai (had my favorite of green papaya salad, Som Tum and Tom Yum soup).
Paleo snacks for the plane
Planes and Cheat Food. United Airlines don’t do meals on their flights…a bit like Jet Star. So I went to the supermarket and stocked up the day before the double leg flight from San Francisco – Houston, and Houston – Guatemala City. I boiled some eggs made a salad with baby spinach, sliced roast turkey, and sliced capsicum. I also took some snacks of almonds and prunes, and baby carrots. All in wee sealable plastic bags. Oh and a Lara bar. Lara bars are gluten free paleo friendly snack bars generally made from dates or other dried fruit and nuts. They are super yummy and have been my downfall since I have been here. Good in moderation, but reasonably high is sugar and calories. Along with eating too many nuts and dried fruit, they have been my one treat or “cheat” (at $1.25 per bar). Seeing as I have not been drinking at all (except for the wine tour) I justified it that way. To be fair, I’ve probably also been eating more fruit that I would back home and at the end of the day that’s all sugar….
Paleo cheat food – hopefully not too many of these in Central America!!
My Paleo goals for August. For the next month in Central America I have some things that I want to clean up in my diet as I am keen to trim down and ‘clean up’ a bit. I want to restrict my intake of nuts and dried fruit….it’s been too easy in America. And I want to restrict my fruit to one piece per day. I’m not sure how things are going to pan out in terms of eating out and paleo options here in Central America – it’s been a lot more challenging so far, but that can wait till the next installment….
kiwicrossfitodyssey 