Primal on vacation?

[BlueStateMama]

I've been reading the primal family thread and am VERY interested.  I was wondering what people following the lifestyle/food choices do when they're on vacation though (ie all restaurant eating for a week?)  Thanks for input :)

[flightgoddess]

Sorry, I'm not super primal, but I am gluten free. Places with all you can eat breakfast were always a good option - eggs, meat, hashbrowns if you do that, you can always request fruit, veggie omlets, etc  Mongolian BBQ, just ignore the noodles, or have rice if you want, etc, other 'stir fry' places would probably work too, like Big bowl maybe. Steak joints, you can always get meat, many places have baked sweet potato as an option. You probably could even do mexican from a pretty authentic place, ask for no rice or tortillas. unless you do want tortillas.

This could get you started

http://www.glutenfreeregistry.com/

[SundayCrepes]

We're not primal, but our daughter can't eat gluten, dairy, or cane sugar and we're vegetarians. Eating out is pretty impossible. And eating out on vacation is totally undesirable. Unless we're going to be someplace for a long time, I don't want to risk eating something only to have her get sick on the drive home.

We haven't flown anywhere since this diet change. For car trips I either make everything ahead of time, freeze it, and put it in an ice chest with dry ice, or we get a place with kitchen facilities and I take a combination of ingredients and pre-cooked food. If you're getting kitchen facilities, verify the size of the freezer/fridge, pots and pans, prep dishes, etc. (I planned on making our son's birthday cake in the oven that I verified the cabin had. I didn't verify if they had baking pans or an electric beater to make egg whites. Fortunately I took my cast iron skillets so I baked the cake in one. I even used the large one for cooking pasta since they didn't have a large enough pan for pasta. Oh, and I learned I can make stiff egg whites with a whisk. It didn't take all that long either.)

If you're going to fly, find out what type of grocery stores are in the area. Find out what type of ingredients they have. Find out about the kitchen facilities.

Believe me, eating paleo out has to be a lot easier than our diet. Frankly, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian would be a piece of cake. It's the cane sugar thing that's the problem. It's in everything.

[Millie Ivy]

I eat strict gluten free, mostly primal, TF style.  Kids and hubs are more slack with grains and stuff.  I agree that getting a place to stay with a kitchen is so beneficial. 

We always stay at places with at LEAST a fridge and microwave (I don't have a micro at home, but that's the least of my worries on vacation)

I stock a cooler for shorter road trips.  Longer ones and flights we make a grocery run when we get there. 

foods I bring

hard boiled eggs

cooked meat

cheese

fruits

veggies

corn tortillas (for the rest of the family) or quesadillas

small amount of our raw milk (too much will go bad before we use it outside of proper refridgeration)

vitamins, lots of water, tea bags

some treats like chips or crackers that we don't usually do

fruit leather, nuts, chocolate

If I have a proper kitchen, I'll shop at a whole foods or something at our destination and get

a chicken (roast, leftovers)

fresh eggs

salad stuff

bacon ;-)

and variations thereof, depending on how long we stay.
 

[spiderdust]

I really like the article "10 Ways to Forage in a Fast Food Nation" on the Mark's Daily Apple website for the primal fast food suggestions. There may be some hidden vegetable oils or soy sauce in some of his suggestions, but they aren't too bad.

If you can find a Chipotle where you're going, they have a burrito bowl or a salad that you can get without the beans, tortilla chips, or rice. Skip the cheese and sour cream if you're avoiding dairy and add guacamole. Skip the dressing if you order the salad, but do get pico de gallo.

Boston Market has rotisserie chicken and steamed veggies, or a Caesar side salad. Skip the corn muffin.

Carl's Jr Six Dollar Burger with the lettuce wrap isn't the worst choice in the world. Hardee's has a similar option with their Thickburger.

My suggestion: if you can find a Sweet Tomatoes or a Souplantation, they're known for their HUGE salad bars. Pile on the veggies, plus hard boiled eggs for protein (you can also pay extra for grilled chicken to add to your salad). Use olive oil for salad dressing, grab some lemon wedges from the drink station to squeeze over the top (or an orange from the dessert station).