Healthy Eating

[CathynGeorge]

What an interesting thread! We are hardcore vegan and love being able to eat just as healthy on the road as we do at home. I do a little prep work before the trip to save time and love sharing our good with curious people that have no idea how good plants can taste. This is our first year as airstreamers with our new 23 foot International.

[Len n Jeanne]

Lately we have become more softcore vegan.

I am wondering how you manage on long trips with no health food stores (or even health food sections in super markets) in sight.

Maggie, your recipe looks really good, and without all of the oil and sweetener that characterizes granola. Plus, if we want some glorified oatmeal porridge, we can always cook it.

[Lara Me]

I agree with most comments here, but will say that a country style breakfast is most usually enjoyed at a local cafe. Can't quite seem to get the hashbrowns as crispy on a propane stove as they do on a proper griddle.

But BBQ and dinners always seem better in the AS and we can control portion size and fats.

[rmkrum]

Cracker Barrel is our country style breakfast (and lunch, and dinner) restaurant of choice on the road. And many of them have RV pull through parking.

Sadly, they are not anywhere in California yet. That may be a blessing, because it's just too easy to turn into a 'Big Bubba' on a steady diet of their food. Not that weave their food, but they also have fun stuff in their store, like our famous Flying Pig statue. We usually hit the first one we find in Arizona, then use one of their handy-dandy hand-out maps to navigate cross country for the rest of the trip.

Sometime our trips are defined by food stops, like Pappys BBQ and Saltgrass in Texas, and certain delicatessens in Florida. We also love to hit seafood and sushi places in Washington State as well.





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[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by Len n Jeanne

Lately we have become more softcore vegan.

I am wondering how you manage on long trips with no health food stores (or even health food sections in super markets) in sight.

Maggie, your recipe looks really good, and without all of the oil and sweetener that characterizes granola. Plus, if we want some glorified oatmeal porridge, we can always cook it.

It is really quite yummy, guilt free, and a good start to the day.....or end, as the case may be.

I am not vegan, but a number of folks here are.

And, I eat healthily most of the time these days, but still have my indulgences.

I am more and more interested in anything I can put together myself, minus the preservatives and additives from someone doing it for me.


Maggie

[xrvr]

Traveling off the interstate usually makes it easier to find fresh fruits and veggies as well as ma and pa restaurants with fresher and more local type foods. Whatever is the norm for the area. Keep your eyes open for roadside stands and smaller grocery stores. You may not find what you want but you can find something else to try. Mueslix sounds really good. I could eat that with some bacon or ham on the side and be very happy. Thanks for the idea. Peace, jim

[ALANSD]

I eat healthy whether home or on the road. Your health requires choosing the best foods. I eat no wheat,and low carb in general. Lots of fresh foods. No frozen meals.
I had a serious coronary artery condition that I have pretty much beat with diet & certain supplements.No meds.
So I eat the same, at home or on the Airstream road.

Posted a thread sometime ago;

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f483...ng-116699.html

[Pagey]

We are hardcore vegan, too. I can pretty much veganize any recipe out there. Just finished up left over Beef Carbonnade with eggless noodles for lunch. Used Gardein beef tips, a good vegan ipa, fresh herbs and vegetables. The flavor got richer over the couple of days it was in the frig.

We are looking forward to getting on the road and hitting farmer's markets, plus I have pretty much book-marked every Whole Foods and Trader Joe's in the country on my computer. Don't think we will have a problem eating healthfully when we start full-timing.

[CathynGeorge]

Pagey-we sound like kindred spirits! Another trick I use is cooking pasta before we leave for a trip, put some olive oil on it and store in ziplock bags once it cools. Less cooking time and moisture in the trailer. This is our first year with an airstream and we love it. We rarely go out to eat when we are not on the road so the transition for me is easy. Great idea about whole foods and trader joes and mapping them out!

[Len n Jeanne]

This pre-mapping of good major chain stores sounds like a good idea-- although we avoid cities if we possibly can. We live in a remote town and tend to stay in the boondocks, so the following can be make from easy-to-find-locally ingredients plus a little pre-trip shopping at an urban specialty store. (We load up in Vancouver!)

We focus on "real" food vs. look-alike meat substitutes. I enjoy cooking (glamping-- hey, we're in an Airstream,) but not in lieu of time spent in the great outdoors.

Near Eastern foods like hummus or ful, baba ghanoush, pita, a chopped salad of tomato, pepper, and cucumber; and tabouli (w/ quinoa or millet for the gluten-free folks) can be easily made. And often purchased. Ovo-lactos can add feta cheese.

For grilling, it is hard to beat smoky grilled eggplant, green beans, sweet potato slices, or asparagus; and grilling is a nice thing to do to marinated extra-firm tofu.

Canned artichoke hearts and kalamata olives, can round out a Near Eastern or pasta meal.

Japanese food is another winner. Skip the fish, and use tofu, short-grain rice or noodles, seaweed salad or sushi wrappers, miso, just a few special ingredients like their cooking wine (mirin, pre-purchased,) and a few vegetables. Many of these foods are served at room temperature so there's no struggle to get hot foods ready at the same time. Pass the green tea or sake!

Lettuce wraps with many types of ethnic inspirations are another option.

Indian vegetable curries over rice are also easy to make with a pre-mixed curry powder.

Basic staples for the above would include canned chick peas and fava beans (dried if you have the time,) fresh garlic, scallions, flat-leaf fresh parsley, a pre-mixed Near Eastern spice mixture, soy sauce, lemons, wasabi horse radish (can be purchased in a dry powder form,) sesame seeds, tahini paste (can substitute almond butter,) and instant dashi (seaweed bouillon-- but it is hard to find without MSG.)

Costco is a great source of raw nuts, and increasingly of organic foods.

[MrUKToad]

It's nice to see that the DW and I are in good company with other vegan and plant-based devotees out there. The stereotypical camper is often painted as being a real carnivore, living off steaks, chili and bacon, but as I said in my earlier post, camping actually encourages us to use the local fresh produce that's available at small stores and roadside stalls all over North America.

I'm looking forward to hitting the road again this year and getting some good, local and seasonal produce into our meals.

[Len n Jeanne]

We are currently driving south through Nevada on HY 95 on our way to Death Valley. This is our second such trip and I have not yet found a good supermarket in Nevada, let alone a roadside stand, unfortunately. We avoid big cities if humanly possible, and no doubt an upscale suburban Las Vegas neighbourhood would do much better. This morning we found a supermarket in Winnemucca that had no (zero) small containers of plain unsweetened yogurt and hardly any organics. But it had about two aisles of liquor-- mostly in the jumbo-sized bottles. The produce section was interesting, though: Mexican specialties that we wouldn't see in British Columbia.

Fortunately we loaded up at the Yokes supermarket in Ponderay, Idaho (big natural foods section); plus I made a lot of hummous & a kidney bean-walnut spread before we got here.

[TCwheels]

Glad I found this thread! I thought we were alone eating vegan (me) and almost vegetarian (DW) in the RV world. SO helpful to read meal suggestions. Maybe an "eat healthy" forum rally could work....of course, we'd let the carnivores in too!


WBCCI #7246 Michigan Unit,Texas Hill Country Unit (associate member), AIR #91367

[TerraYacht]

As an omnivore and people who want to eat local and fresh where possible, we also want to note that the rallies we attend usually have a potluck meet-up and there are ALWAYS various dishes. Of course, there are meat=based items, but they are fresh-made and tasty (for us). the large number of salads, "side dishes" and veg items is always fulfilling and generally fresh tasting. We are focused on quality, and since we are both former vegetarians we still have a focus in this area, and the potlucks always meet the expectation.

[jbroedlow]

Depending on the area of the country we are in, dictates how we eat that day. Right now we're in Cajun Country and for sure we're going to try and eat the local specialties. I use yelp a lot and also ask around where the best local places are to eat. Yesterday was a great example of that. Locals told us about Don's Meat Market for the best "boudin." We found Don's, bought a couple of hot links and was told the only place to sit was around the side of the building at a "table." We found out this is where the help takes their breaks, so enjoyed the boudin with the chef and his helper and got a great lesson on the making of boudin and other Cajun specialties. That was so good, went back in for one serving of the plate special of the day, pork and sausage over rice and gravy, lima beans with ham, and canned pears. The canned pears kind of threw me, but who am I to judge. The whole experience was great. If we're in uninteresting food country, it's two meals a day in the AS and try to eat as healthy as possible.

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by hickory

I was having a discussion with a friend about traveling.
He says that pulling a travel trailer is a very poor way to travel. They like to travel by car stay in motels and eat out all the time. Much cheaper and more relaxing according to him. No making the bed or cooking or washing dishes.

Do you think you eat healthier when traveling in your trailer?
Hickory

Your friend must not be very good at math or managing his/her money if he believes that utter nonsense.

Room prices exceed camp ground fee's by an order of magnitude: Average daily hotel room rate in the U.S. 2015 | Statistic
http://skift.com/2014/09/02/average-...-half-of-2014/

Over $120 on average per night in the US. Please tell me more about expensive camp ground fees.

And sorry, shopping for groceries is cheaper than eating every meal out.

Sadly your friend is a prime example of why most people never go on vacation. They lament they can't afford it, because that's how they travel. Like they're a sultan or something. Utter stupidity IMO.

If you don't eat out 3 meals a day at home, why do you suddenly do it when traveling?

[Lily&Me]

Interesting article.

Not a vegetarian, but leaning much more that direction with my widow's diet , I have experienced a number of health-improvement by-products from consuming much less meat, almost no beef, and many fewer carbs in my diet.....simply because that is what I prefer.....and because I am the only one I am preparing meals for these days.


Meaty Truth: How Chronic Diseases May Be Fueled by an Animal-Based Diet - Health and Wellness - Mother Earth Living


Maggie

[xrvr]

Traveling by RV can be cheaper than by car, if you do not figure in the initial cost of the RV. In my case I always have a trailer so we save bunches by using it to travel. Peace,jim

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Interesting article.

Not a vegetarian, but leaning much more that direction with my widow's diet , I have experienced a number of health-improvement by-products from consuming much less meat, almost no beef, and many fewer carbs in my diet.....simply because that is what I prefer.....and because I am the only one I am preparing meals for these days.


Meaty Truth: How Chronic Diseases May Be Fueled by an Animal-Based Diet - Health and Wellness - Mother Earth Living


Maggie

Since dumping meat (for various reasons), I've lost 30 pounds in weight and feel so much better; no more indigestion or acid reflux for me. I've also dropped dairy products and whilst I might have enjoyed a bit of cheese in the past or added cream to my coffee, now I really don't miss any of that stuff.

I do occasionally have a bit of fish, which is my treat to myself and why I don't use the label "Vegetarian" or 'Vegan", but I've been mostly plant-based for 18 months and really enjoying the change.

[Lily&Me]

I don't think I could do meatless altogether, and feel no need, really, but the health benefits of less meat in our diets seem pretty clear.

Less meat, whole grains, less processed food = improved health, in many ways.



Maggie