As much as I love that my kitchen is a happy, healthy, natural little bubble, I am well aware that the the majority of this country does not operate in the same manner. While I would love to arrive at others’ homes to find fruit platters, almond milk, and hydrogenated-oil-free nut butter, the reality is far from my dream.
I’ve been doing a lot of traveling recently, and the weekends away are not over just yet. Mostly, the occasions have called for celebration, which I am more than glad to be a part of. Of course, every day that I am away, I have to rely on someone else for meals, whether it be a friend’s pantry, a takeout window, or a restaurant’s kitchen.
pantry staples: raw nuts, whole grains, natural sweeteners
An example: when cooking for myself and my mother a couple weeks ago, I opened the pantry in search of vegetable broth, a staple of my own cabinets. I found instead two cans of chicken broth, and upon inspection of the ingredients, I discovered that I was holding not only chicken broth, but MSG, in addition to a couple other questionable additives. I deliberated for a moment, but I already knew the answer: on very rare occasions, one cup of less than ideal broth won’t ruin me. I encouraged my mom to look for a more natural list when her supply ran low, I opened the can, and I kept cooking.
classic travel snacks
Sometimes, a little planning is a help. I usually pack a few snacks for a weekend away, but I rely on them only as a safety net – if I’m hungry and no one else is, or if I really can’t find anything I’d like to eat. This past weekend, when I was in near desperate need of lunch, my friends left the choice between suburban takeout chains to me. I could have copped out with my safe snacks, but instead, we all went into Subway, and I ate one of their sandwiches for the first time in my life. I’m still here to tell the tale [though that vegetarian sandwich filled me up for about an hour]. The following day, however, those snacks became essential when we didn’t stop for lunch on the trip home [I never skip meals, ever].
There are lines, I’ve found, between taking control of your health, obsessing over it, and being flexible. There was a time when I would have felt pressured to eat something I’d rather not have because doing so would be “normal.” And, there was a time where I might have wanted that normal meal, but I wouldn’t have eaten it because it wasn’t “allowed.”
weekly produce haul
The difference now is that I don’t apologize for my habits. I am not ashamed that health is important to me, and I am not unwilling to proclaim that I prefer vegetables over, for instance, a pretzel. On our drive home this past weekend, I mentioned to my friend that I was craving a vegetable-heavy dinner. Her incredulous response: “But, you ate vegetables all weekend.” True, I ate vegetarian meals throughout the weekend. But the quantity of greens and other produce was far below my norm, and I was thrilled to consume a large bowlful of veggies with dinner that evening.
Still, I am happy to have acquired the flexibility to break from my routine. It wasn’t always this way for me, but if I was unable to do so, I would have missed a wonderful celebration with my closest friends. And I wouldn’t trade that for all the kale and zucchini in the world.
How do you handle breaks in your routine? Do you find it easy to keep up your lifestyle away from home?
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I am going out of town this weekend, and definitely have my stash of snacks/breakfast items (find that my friends don’t have quite the same passion for oats haha) — that is crucial for me! I think I sometimes can feel ashamed of my habits, or guilty/selfish since most friends don’t share the same views… however most of the time after they give me a hard time for being a pain in the butt they understand how important it is to me – even if they don’t get it :) That’s why I love the blog community so much, we all understand and are supportive of each other’s lifestyle choices!
I love that you are flexible. I get so frustrated when healthy people become preachy and overbearing about their views… If you’re flexible, you show people that it’s not actually that hard to maintain a healthy diet, and they are probably more likely to emulate you. Love this post :)
Oh, what a good question. I’m about to travel this weekend, and I thought to myself, “Should I bring oats? My own PB and jelly? How will I transport?” etc. etc.
I’m worried about the next few days because I’m traveling with a friend who forgets to eat (yes, really). The other friend, however, is pretty good about meal times and generally eats OK. I’m hoping she pulls us through.
i find it hard to travel and take breaks in my routine, i guess if i am stable in my recovery and healthy it can be good, but in June i went on a mini vacation for a week and came home and a bunch of stuff happened when i returned and that started this whole horrid relapse :/ so i guess i must be ready to break out of my normal routine…
well anyways love your post as always, i love your writting and you always have such a great topic!
your pantry stables and travel snacks are perfect! :)
xo
Eliza
I JUST blogged about this yesterday!! We had a potluck at work and although I only selected vegetarian options I found myself taking some desserts to be polite- and then threw them away at my desk. It’s suck a conflict. My co-workers were so proud of the foods they baked and brought in….. I felt so rude by not taking them…. so I put them on my plate. But then tossed them. I’m always in conflict with myself on this issue.
-A
such a good post as always! :) thanks lovie for the comment this morning..
i always crave veggies too, ever since little id eat bowl after bowl of my moms ratatouille :)
such an amazing topic that so many of us struggle with this problem of eating away from home. i find it so hard to be flexible, but when i am away i need to pack my “safe” foods and what not..and always have an “emergency” bar or something. but in the past traveling has not worked on my behalf in recovery very well :( i cant wait till the day i can go away for a week or even a weekend and not worry bout the food.
xo
maya
being flexible is so important. I just learned to be that way recently.
I always crave a veggie-loaded meal after breaking the routine for a few days! ;)
Whenever I work overtime at work it breaks my routine and have to find something to snack on unitl my evening meal not knowing when that’ll be.
I usually end up eating poorly on “breaks.” I’ve always figured that they are opportunities to treat myself and that I’ll get back to normal quickly. Sometimes that’s harmless and sometimes I eat pretty badly.
I find it hard when anything is unpredictable in my routine. Which is why I don’t travel much and if so, it’s to places I have complete control over my meals. I am happy to go to relatives houses for meals since they know my quirks and accomodate them as best as they can (so grateful for this) but it still throws me in a spin. Which is why NY is stressful :P But this time I am self-catering in the place I lived at for a few months 2 years running so it’s all good.
Email me and let me know your plans next week- coffee/lunch?
Living in Seattle, it’s easy to eat out conscientiously, but travelling elsewhere always requires planning. Last time I went away camping for the weekend, I did it with a group I knew contained 2 health-freaks, and made sure one of them was on the shopping committee (my favorite non-perishable snacks for camping/hiking include: stonewall jerky (it’s vegetarian) and fruit leather strips). When Steve and I went to a small island 2 weeks ago for an anniversary celebration (Friday Harbor), I made a giant salad with all our favorite veggies in it that we had on the ferry Friday night so that we started our weekend off with a home-made, healthy meal, and then could feel better about the less-than-healthy options we were presented with for the rest of the weekend. My favorite travel-snack is an apple, and Steve’s is trail mix, but it does depend where we’re going… I’ve discovered that airplanes DO let apples on, but ferries to Vancouver do NOT, whereas ferries to Victoria, BC DO let a jar of almond butter on, and airplanes do not.
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