The time is near for Spring Break for Oregon schools, and we’ve decided to go to the Oregon coast in our travel trailer for 4 days. Our vacation next week next week has got me thinking, what am I going to feed us? I mean, we will go to a favorite locally owned pizza place one night, but what about all of the other meals? And what about Nourishing Traditions food to take on the road with us?
I realize now that this is going to take a bit of planning, but will make our trip go much smoother and everyone will feel much better if we’re eating healthy food MOST of the time. I should mention, in previous trips to the beach, we kind of go crazy at the candy store. I just can’t do that this time, because I know I want to feel good and enjoy our trip as much as possible!
Healthy Food for the Road
If you have a cooler you can take just about anything. Here are some ideas for meals and snacks in the car, or at a rest area or picnic spot on the way to your travel destination. Doing this even for one lunch can save you quite a bit of money, and you will also have some better family moments and adventures trying to find a good place to eat your picnic. Even a picnic in the car can be fun. I always just feel better knowing that we aren’t at the mercy of a bad choice of restaurants wherever we are. Plus when things are decided ahead of time, I’m more likely to go through with the plan and not give into a bunch of extra stuff that we don’t need.
Snacks:
- Crispy Nuts, beef jerky, raw cheese &Â soaked/sprouted flour crackers
- Lemon muffins or almond cookies
Lunch on the Road:
My girls love what I call ‘The Big Sandwich’ which is really just a big loaf of bread made into a sandwich (like a sub sandwich) with anything you want on it. Funny how individual sandwiches would be ho hum but The Big Sandwich is a fun treat. Buy or make a round or long loaf of sourdough, and slice turkey breast, ham or chicken thin and combining with lacto fermented condiments and vegetables (or put them on the side). We always top ours with cheese and use different meats on one side versus the other so there’s a choice, and then cut in thin slices to serve.
A big thermos of chowder or soup has been a big hit with my family. I bring our little plastic bowls (reusable).
Don’t forget: mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, sauerkraut all in little sandwich bags or small plastic containers.
Plus: plates, napkins, cutting knife, butter knife, spoons, cups, salt/pepper, picnic set with tablecloth and bench covers
Beverages:
Jar of Kombucha
coffee, tea, milk or cocoa in a thermos
Healthy Meals to Cook in a RV
My RV kitchen is tiny, and although it has an oven, stove, and everything else, it’s not the best environment to cook in. Plus there’s always the hand washing of dishes. Therefore I really like to make simple meals when we’re “camping”. Once we made tacos, which sounds great, but I realized all of the chopping and all of the ingredients was really a pain in a small space. Now I tend to cook one pot meals and/or I cook something ahead. Since we live in Oregon and it’s not always the greatest weather when we’re away, we needed other ideas for meals that didn’t revolve around a BBQ grill. Although we have done this too even in the pouring rain, but it’s not the most fun! Here are some ideas:
Breakfast:
I usually plan for one breakfast that is more elaborate, and the rest are eat and go (we have teenagers that sleep in)
- soaked granola dry cereal (brought from home) with milk or yogurt – if you don’t want to make this yourself, a good place to get it JoshEWEa’s Garden
- soaked oatmeal is easy to prepare on the RV stove top or even over a camp fire
- hard boiled eggs (prepared ahead of time)
- yogurt and fruit
- scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese, and toast
- bacon – this can tend to be too much trouble in the RV but is of course great if it’s nice weather and you can cook it over a fire! Sometimes I cook it ahead of time.
Lunch:
I typically don’t plan many lunches because we either eat leftovers or we just snack and eat an early dinner. But it’s always good to have a few things in reserve for hungry kids, especially…
- Leftover dinner is always popular!
- Antipasto plate: cheese, crackers, salami or other meat, pate, fruit, sauerkraut, hard boiled eggs, veggies on hand
- The above ingredients in a sandwich instead
- Egg salad sandwich
Dinner:
We try to eat dinner early if we’re having a big meal and then skip lunch or the kids snack.
Rainy night dinners:
- Spaghetti sauce (prepared ahead and brought frozen), brown rice pasta, bread & a vegetable or salad
- Crock pot  - Beef crock pot roast & baked potatoes in the oven, a vegetable or salad
- Crock pot – Chicken corn potato, or locally bought clam chowder & bread
- Crock pot – Chili & cornbread
- Sausages and baked beans
Nice weather dinners:
- Steak and chicken grilled on the BBQ rare, baked potatoes & salad or vegetable on hand
- Beef, shrimp and vegetable kabobs on the BBQ – fun for kids to help prepare on the picnic table outside
- Hamburgers or Nitrite free hot dogs over the campfire, potato salad, fruit salad
- Local seafood/fish cooked on the grill with baked potato and salad
Snacks:
- Crispy Nuts, beef jerky, raw cheese & soaked/sprouted flour crackers
- Lemon muffins or almond cookies
- Yogurt with granola or fruit jam
With a bit of planning, our vacation will go better and we won’t be tempted to eat out more than we should. Also, I can relax a bit more knowing that things are taken care of.
What do you do for camping or a vacation to stay within the Nourishing Traditions way of eating? Please let us know in the comments… thanks!
Photo courtesy of slworking2 on Flickr
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
If you’re anywhere near Neskowin, I know a good source for raw goat’s milk. Yummy! I grew up in Cloverdale.
This is our first year that we’re actually making an effort to do NT when we’re out (because ‘regular’ food makes us feel sick now… lol). I love that I’ve gotten over my fear that we’ll get food poisoning if we let the yogurt, mayo, etc sit out just until lunch. It makes eating on the road easier.
One of our favorite “on the road” lunches is the NT High Enzyme Salad. Sitting in the car for hours and hours can do a real number on our digestion, but a side of this salad helps keep it all in balance. We also make a cheese spread and put it in individual baggies. At serving time, we snip a corner off and Ta Da! Instant real food “squeeze cheese!” Served in celery or on crackers it’s a protein boost that helps clear mid-afternoon cobwebs.
What a great group of ideas. I am getting better about packing our food on trips. It is hard to get past the “I don’t want to cook and do dishes, aren’t I on vacation too” mentality that I grew up with.
Thanks for this post Kim!
). I hadn’t thought of doing kabobs. Love it! And the High Enzyme Salad is a great suggestion. The Big Sandwich sounds like something my girls would love too.
We are doing an 11 day camping/road trip event at the end of June. I’ve been working on our meal plan and still have a few days to fill in (I know that it is still 3 months away but I really like to plan ahead
Because of the length of our trip and the fact that I’ll be dealing with space issues, I’m taking the first few days of food but then restocking along the way. One meal that I’m planning to take along includes Kimbop (made similiar to this discription http://everythingfreeeating.blogspot.com/2007/04/some-things-i-do-for-me.html). I look forward to seeing suggestions from others.