Nourished on the Road

On eating well away from home

Eating a wholesome, nutrient dense diet can sometimes be a feat in itself, as for most people it requires the learning of new habits, routines, and thought patterns. Preparation and sourcing are considered carefully to keep the kitchen stocked with the best ingredients nature has to offer. A repertoire of skills is accumulated to bring the kitchen into rhythm and resonance with both family and nature, to make deeply nourishing meals. But what happens when you leave that carefully created kitchen behind, toss your routines out the window, and take off on a trip?

Last week, I went away to spend the week with some dear friends in Missouri- a 10 hour drive from our home in Texas. I’ve taken a trip of some sort or another almost every year of my life, so traveling for me is old hat. Here are a few tips and thoughts that I’ve got to share after my recent sojourn (along with a couple affiliate links for things I buy online, for your sourcing pleasure):

1. Shelf stable goods
   Not all shelf stable goods are junk! We brought a crate with Jovial sourdough einkorn crackers, lots of grass fed beef sticks and jerky, a few cans of smoked herring, and some honey sticks. We also ended up buying some dried organic mango slices while we were away. These foods travel well and nourish well.

Grass fed beef jerky and dried mango

1. The cooler
   We also brought a large cooler with lots of ice so that we could stop by a raw dairy farm on our way out. Kevin and I rely heavily on raw milk as a nutrient dense part of our diet (we go through nearly a gallon a day), so we did our best to give our bodies what they’re used to. We bought enough milk for the week we’d be away, plus a couple wedges of raw gouda to eat with our crackers and share with our friends. In addition to the dairy products, we brought some water bottles full of our filtered water from home; we never take good drinking water for granted, especially when traveling.

2. Refrigerator and/or kitchen access
   It behooves me to mention that we knew that we would have access to a refrigerator for all of our milk, and we only needed to keep it in the cooler for the 10 hour drive. Maintaining a consistent cold temperature is imperative when it comes to raw milk, so I would not recommend traveling with it unless you are certain you’ll be able to keep it cold.
   On that note, when choosing where you’ll stay, I most emphatically recommend finding a place where you’ll have access to a kitchen. Cooking your own meals ensures you’ll know and trust the ingredients in your food, and it’ll save you some money as well. We stayed with some dear friends who have similar values, so we helped them in the kitchen and ate with them most days we were there.

3. Local resources
   A couple quick tips for replenishing your food supply: There are a couple large grocery chains, like Wal-Mart and Aldi’s, which carry good products we’d regularly buy at home- and they’re pretty easy to find most places in America. We also had success finding good food for very good prices at the local “bent and dent” discount grocery store. This is something I’ll be remembering for future trips! We filled a big box of goodies to bring back home, including castile soap, anchovy tins, sparkling mineral water, seaweed snacks (another excellent travel food!), organic mushroom powder, and organic dried mango. It was a good day. :)
   You can also contact the area’s local Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader before your trip to get their local resource list of farmers, producers, and grocers selling high quality foods. While we didn’t do it this trip, it’s a great way to plan for local provisions and even meet some new likeminded folks in the area.

1. Supplements
   I brought a couple supplements with me on the road to ensure good nourishment while away. I usually take fermented cod liver oil at home via syringe, but that’s not an easy thing to travel with; I keep a bottle of capsules on hand for trips. I also brought a bottle of Ancestral Supplements dessiccated beef liver, as I did not anticipate getting my weekly meal of liver while away (which I count on for a hefty dose of vitamins and minerals).
   Perhaps most importantly, we brought Trace Minerals electrolytes- both the liquid drops and the single serving powder packets. Use my code HOLISTICHOMEMAKING for 15% off your order! Staying hydrated while traveling is tough enough- we wanted to keep it as easy for our bodies as possible! (And we anticipated doing a lot of hiking!)

2. Eating Out
   We are thrifty folk; we don’t make a habit of eating out. I had someone ask me recently what we look for when we eat out, so I’ll tell you here: If we’re planning to make a big date of it, we’ll seek out a farm to table restaurant, or maybe a Brazilian steakhouse if we really want to treat ourselves. Or, if we just find ourselves in a pinch and need some food (the more likely scenario), we aim to choose foods which are made of whole ingredients (even if not quite sourced to our liking), are not fried, and otherwise do not contain pernicious vegetable oils. We ate out once on our trip, at a little mom and pop pizza joint. It was a darn good pizza. No regrets.

I think that about covers it, so I’ll leave you with some final words of encouragement. Traveling is hard enough on your body. You’ll get exposed to different environments, have your routines interrupted, and spend long periods of time sitting in the car (or at the airport). While it’s quite tempting, your trip is not the time to drop your nourishment standards, even if a small compromise comes up (like our pizza). Remember your “why.” Keep yourself and your family nourished despite all of the changes. And enjoy your trip!

Questions, or things to brainstorm? Comment below!

Driving all day can be rough. Don’t forget some healthy treats to keep everyone cheerful :)