Eating Right on the Road

Take-along Primal/Paleo food

My job requires frequent travel. Maintaining my way of eating while on the road has presented some challenges. I've attended conferences where the “free” meal wasn’t worth the price – breaded chicken, corn, mashed potatoes with starchy gravy, and sugary dessert. I’ve learned to “just say no.” Eating at restaurants on the road reminds me how good our local restaurants are. When asked what kind of restaurant I’d like to go to, my answer is “one that serves meat!” So far, I’ve been able to find choices that fit my needs. Nancy and I have learned several lessons about ordering when we eat out, and those apply on the road, too. Some restaurants, like the DeRico Brazilian Grill in Springfield, Missouri are wonderfully easy!
Air travel, and time spend in airports, presents the greatest challenge to finding appropriate food while away from home. It also provides some head-scratching moments. The complimentary “food” (“pretzels, peanuts, or cookies?”) service on a recent flight provided these:

Really?!? Who would have thought that a bag of roasted peanuts would have been produced in a facility that processes peanuts?!?!?

Where do I start with this messaging on the napkins they handed out? What’s “THE heart TRUTH”? It’s a registered trademark of the Department of Health and Human Services. Those same folks who help bring us the Dietary Guidelines. Nice to know that “Participation by Coca-Cola does not imply endorsement by HHS/NIH/NHLBI”! I’m sure Coca-Cola’s participation has no influence whatsoever …

Food choices at airports are generally expensive and typically not low carb/primal/paleo-friendly. The few options that might fit my requirements are mega-sized. So we’ve been looking for some take-along options.
Tanka Bars – These are a tasty combination of buffalo jerky and cranberries. The first time I tried one my thought was “meat candy!” The packages are easy to open, but there is the potential for mess. Another issue is that they’re low fat – a fact they promote in marketing their product (there’s SO much work to do …). So I’ve learned to combine them with a pre-packaged bag of raw almonds from Trader Joe’s. These 1.25 ounce packages help me with portion control, and they’re not much more expensive that Trader Joe’s raw almonds in larger packages.
Nick’s Sticks – Each package contains two sticks, or sausages. Together, they provide 10 grams of protein and 7.5 grams of fat in 1.7 oz (47g). Enough to be a very effective snack. These are easy to open, with a nice grind and texture, and they’re made of grass-fed beef with sea salt and no MSG. Nancy says “they’re delicious!” and I agree.
Disclosure: Nick’s father is a co-worker at Barenbrug USA. I have no commercial relationship with Nick or Wallace Farms, Inc. I have no relationship with any of the other products. I’ve received no consideration for my opinion.
In general, I’ve found airports to be poor grounds for hunting and gathering, but I was pleasantly surprised when I found Gary West - certified angus beef black pepper steak strips at Portland International Airport. This product is easy to open, and didn’t produce a mess. The quality of the ingredients is good.

A Complementary Carbfest

Most of the motels I stay in offer a complimentary breakfast buffet. For the most part these are carbohydrate-heavy affairs. But I can still find some acceptable choices. At location pictured above, I scored some scrambled eggs and sausage, melon, cream cheese to mix into the eggs, hard boiled eggs for later (it pays to carry plastic baggies!), and slivered almonds (the were next to the oatmeal).
I can be a challenge to maintain my way of eating while I'm on the road, it isn't impossible.