5 Days - Eating with Relatives!!!

[Berty]

We are going to be visiting both sides of our families starting on Wednesday. None of them are on board with the way we strive to eat. When we visit I notice so many things that we try to stay away from - skim milk (gray water), margarine, crisco, cheepo hotdogs, cool whip, chips, candy, etc. I don't want to come off as a snob with an "I don't want to eat your food" attitude. Normally it is just a two day visit so I let things slide a bit but I'm really worried about five days. I can bring some food but surely not enough to share with everyone. I don't want to bring food just for us and cook things seperately but I don't want my kids to eat 5 days worth of a lot of junk either.
Any tips on how to handle this or what things I could bring? It's not that I won't let the kids have any snacks - they snack at home but I know our meals are very nutritous at home. My sister's idea of something "good for you"? A lemonade at McDonalds rather than a soda. Help!!

[quietserena]

I just went on vacation with relatives and it was very similar to that. I'm not sure what to tell you - I just gave in and ate whatever they ate but stayed away from certain things (soda and just mindless snacking some of them seem to do all day long). I tried to eat more vegetables than anything else during meals and that seemed to help. I also cooked a few meals and while they thought it was weird to have sauteed spinach with hamburgers, they ate it and liked it.

I hope it all goes by easy.

[bigknitwit]

Worst case I would at least bring a bottle of CLO and be religious about it while you're there.

[soliloquy72]

ugh, I don't know what to tell you. We would bring our own food but our families are so used to us being "weird" that it wouldn't cause much of a problem, just a few eye rolls.

[saratc]

Originally Posted by bigknitwit

Worst case I would at least bring a bottle of CLO and be religious about it while you're there.

I brought CLO and CO when I went to China earlier this year for a week, and had it religiously every morning before we all left for breakfast. I fared the whole trip without getting sick even though my sister, dad, and brother in law all got sick.

[tankgirlhi]

Originally Posted by saratc

I brought CLO and CO when I went to China earlier this year for a week, and had it religiously every morning before we all left for breakfast. I fared the whole trip without getting sick even though my sister, dad, and brother in law all got sick.

What is CLO and CO?

[Berty]

Great idea with the CLO. My kids actually really like it. My boys call it the muscle and brain juice
I think I'll also pack some eggs from our free range chickens, some organic veggies and fruit, and some oatmeal that I'll soak the night before. If we start out with a good breakfast, I'll know the kids will at least have one good meal in the day.

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by tankgirlhi

What is CLO and CO?

CLO = cod liver oil

CO = coconut oil

[jamie79]

Originally Posted by tankgirlhi

What is CLO and CO?

I belive they are talking about CLO being cod liver oil and CO being coconut oil.

[tankgirlhi]

Originally Posted by Dillpicklechip

CLO = cod liver oil

CO = coconut oil

[Feb2003]

I'm in the middle of this right now

I have been feeding filling and nutritious "snacks" between meals so they aren't very hungry for the processed junk: beef jerky*, cheese (our raw one when I can ), nuts, natural peanut butter (on spoon or in our pita bread, maybe with a little stevia and/or fresh fruit), Lara bars for hikes, sprouted cinnamon/raisin bread with lots of butter, fresh fruit, eggs...

*I made beef jerky before we came with ground beef and beef liver (processed to be smooth, seasoned, and then made into thin strips...I used a ziploc with the corner clipped to pipe long strips onto parchment and then covered them with another sheet of parchment and smashed them as uniformly flat as I could...we dried it ala Alton Brown with a box fan and cotton a/c filters).

I also make extra veggies for the meals since she does a lot of canned stuff and starchy veggies. I just lightly steam some fresh veggies and make sure they're ready for the kids to snack on while she/we are finishing making the main meal.

I have been eating lots of CO "cubes" I brought with me...flavored with chocolate, shredded coconut, and peanut butter. These have really helped ME to avoid the cakes, caramel/chocolate bars, white breads, etc.

(Thankfully, ds1 didn't like the icing on the cake when he tasted it on the beater so I had a good excuse to sautee a cubed, slightly-overripe nectarine with butter and a little stevia and serve warm with some of the not-too-terrible vanilla ice cream everyone was eating ...it was much better in my opinion!!)

We brought a little bit of food with us, but it's mostly gone and since we're in the middle of nowhere the grocery store has almost nothing to offer. We miss our kefir and yogurt and kombucha!

She only does conventional skim milk, so I'm breathing deeply and I also brought a couple of cans of coconut milk to supplement.

Also brought the CLO.

I scrub the fruit as best I can (hard with strawberries ).

I move the yucky HFCS pancake syrup next to the pan so they can put i ton their's but it's off the table so my boys don't ask (hello, it's yucky and then she microwaves the plastic every time they use it!).

I water down their juice (which we don't usually drink).

Dss are still young enough that I fill their plates so I have some control there, but they are old enough to ask for things others have on their plates so I breathe deep and serve small portions when I feel like they'll care.

My MIL really does try to help us, she just doesn't "get" it . She does keep butter around now which is very helpful (I guess she got the hint after I'd bring it with us )

Good luck!!!

[mrsbernstein]

Feb2003,

Wow! That is a LOT of planning!

I loved your idea about the sauted fruit for the ice cream. I NEVER would have thought!

What are CO "cubes"?

Thanks!

Mrs B

[Feb2003]

I forgot avocados...we love them with just sea salt and a spoon, but they can also make a salad into a meal (for me...not the boys, yet) when there isn't a "meat" that I want to eat (ie when my ILs covered the steaks in MSG-laced tenderizer). I am OK with conventional avocados when needed since the skin is so thick so they're not too hard to find.

CO "cubes" are my favorite way to get in my CO. Someone on here mentioned that CO mixed with honey and molasses was delish and would have the benefits of raw honey and the minerals from the molasses...then someone else mentioned how adding coconut to it made it chew able. I ended up taking out the honey (though it was delicious!) because I can't handle the dose of sugar and I usually add unsweetened cocoa, a lot of coconut and use stevia to sweeten it. I glop it into ice cube trays and freeze (only 'cause it's faster)...then I store them in the fridge and/or freezer and eat a few while I'm preparing a meal. HTH!

[welldone]

We spend five weeks away from home each spring, with others in control of our food preparation. Two of those weeks are with various family, and three are at a camp (institutional food). Here's how we survive:

-cod liver oil daily
-bring or request butter (the camp serves margarine, but will meet alternative dietary needs, which I consider traditional eating to be nowadays)
-buy or request whole milk (still pasteurized and homogenized, but better than the alternative)
-prepare crispy nuts (we like almonds) ahead of time, store in jars, and bring along for snacks (my kids love these)
-give the kids cheese whenever they want--both of our families and the camp had regular cheese
-let them have one crappy thing a day so they don't feel like I'm saying no to everything
-load up on fresh fruit/veggies when it's served/available
-with family, offer to cook at least one meal while I'm visiting

It's hard to be away from organic and traditional foods, but I focus on whole foods as much as possible. Regular (non-American) cheese, for example, is much better for my kids than Velveeta casseroles. Whole milk (even pasteurized and homogenized) is better for my kids than skim powdered milk.

After all these years, our families, at least, are used to our crazy requests. My mother-in-law buys organic milk for the kids now, which is a big, sacrificial step for her.

Hope it goes well for you!

[Benji'sMom]

Originally Posted by Feb2003

I have been feeding filling and nutritious "snacks" between meals so they aren't very hungry for the processed junk

We do this when we go to my mom's so this would be my advice too. I fill them up with snacks I bring so they won't eat the Kraft Mac N Cheese (BARF!) that my mom makes for them. (I've only realized how much trash my mom cooks with since I got away from eating that stuff. I mean my God, does it have to be macaroni with fake cheese powder??!! WHY??!!)

[rainyday]

Wow, are the family meals really that bad? I guess I'm spoiled because food is a HUGE part of life for both our families, and whenever we get together, people spend hours cooking dinner. Lunch is usully leftovers of dinner, and breakfast is another cooking fest - usually pancakes, eggs, maybe waffles, plus breads and things. Everything is made from scratch.

I just can't imagine having to stay somewhere where most of the food is processed garbage. So, no advice from me, but lots and lots of sympathy!

[welldone]

My mother is Korean, so when we're with her, we get a mix of great traditional foods and more conventional American fare. But she and my dad have also embraced more healthful eating habits since I started having kids, in response to my requests. So, one of our five weeks away is spent with good food options.

It's mostly the three weeks at camp that kills me.

[westcoastmom]

Originally Posted by Feb2003

I'm in the middle of this right now

*I made beef jerky before we came with ground beef and beef liver (processed to be smooth, seasoned, and then made into thin strips...I used a ziploc with the corner clipped to pipe long strips onto parchment and then covered them with another sheet of parchment and smashed them as uniformly flat as I could...we dried it ala Alton Brown with a box fan and cotton a/c filters).

Do you process the ground beef and liver in the food processor? What ratio do you use? Does it taste like liver?

Do Alton Brown's books give info on how to dry meats?

[kbchavez]

I make jerky with ground meat and liver, too, but I dry it in a dehydrator. I just grate some liver into the already ground meat, add spices and either kefir or a yogurt/rejuvelac mix and let it marinate a day or two in the fridge. I got a cheap jerky gun online (nesco) and it squirts out flat ribbons of meat. It doesn't take that long to dry... less than 12 hours, I think. I store it in the freezer. I'm still figuring out how much of what spices to use, but it's pretty tasty, I think.

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by westcoastmom

Do you process the ground beef and liver in the food processor? What ratio do you use? Does it taste like liver?

Do Alton Brown's books give info on how to dry meats?

I used a # of ground meat and about 1/3 # liver...it's yummy but a little strong on the liver side since I didn't season it much for the little guys (just some soy sauce and Worcestershire's, I think)

Yes, I processed it all together because I wanted my almost 2 yo to be able to eat it really easily and I didn't have time to experiment with an un-processed batch so I hedged my "bets" and pureed. I used the flat disc blade to grate the frozen liver and then pureed in the ground beef with the regular blade.

Next time I will decrease the amount of liver some and add more spices for myself and DH. We really like the ease of using ground beef versus slicing ourselves and we are confident that the meat is fresh and safe b/c my parents raised her and they work closely with the butcher.

We don't have an Alton Brown book, but read on foodtv.com about drying on a box fan and filters. We don't have a dehydrator and, although my oven goes really low (135 degrees), I didn't want to heat up the house or figure out what to put the jerky on to hold it while drying. (Plus the oven was being used to for chocolate meringues! I *needed* to use up some egg whites before leaving and chocolate snacks are also a big hit around here )

Also, I think a jerky gun would be cool, but I try not to have equipment in my kitchen that only does one thing (another thing I agree with Alton Brown about ) and I can't justify spending the money when I can pipe it out ala homemade pastry bag (although I hate the plastic waste ) and squash it flat a little.

We had two 6 hour days of driving on each end of the trip plus hikes/walks while there so it was nice to have such a portable, healthy snack!

HTH!