Leif_in_Alaska Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 For nearly 7 years, I've lived the typical Alaskan institutional lifestyle at a camp job. I work two weeks and am off for one week. While in camp, I am at the mercy of the chef of an international camp servicing corporation - food quality can be directly inferred by the description. I posted here rather than sourcing because 2/3 of my life is "dining out." Due to room space limitations, I can only bring about a week's worth of non-perishable, supplemental food with me, do not have access to frige or freezer, and can only cook with a microwave. On 08 Sep, I stated Whole30 after reading about Paleo dieting and seeing it as a challenge. The diet itself is not difficult for me by any means as I've been a macro nutrient guy for years and have excellent food discipline. The hard part is not just finding "compliant" food, it's finding anything remotely close! Breakfast, I can get eggs (source unknown but restaurant quality). Scrambled are the prepackaged liquid so I avoid that and usually just get boiled as the grill cooks with veggie oil. There is bacon and sausage but it is likely sugar cured and packed with nitrates. Lunch is sandwich and salad bar with soup. I have not seen any soup remotely close, so that is off the list. I raid the sandwich bar and make with lettuce for bread or make a chef salad using the deli meat. Dinner is a wild card. Some meals are all deep fried, some are mostly sauced with a smattering of oven roasted or steamed veggies, and others might be dogs & burgers. I just hit the salad bar a lot. The one bonus of camp is we have lots of reasonably fresh fruit (apples, melons, bananas) - better than I can get in town on my off time. In town, food is what the local grocery has - no Whole Foods, no CSAs, local produce is mostly hydroponic or hot-housed. The farmer's market runs from mid-May to mid-Sep and does provide some good stuff. The local butcher is over $4/lb hanging weight for a side of beef. The family tried it once and vetoed it for future. So, after this long ramble, anyone living in similar circumstance have advice for Whole30/9 lifestyle? Thanks,Leif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katt Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 I don't have any advice for you, but after an Afghanistan deployment last year and now getting ready for another deployment next month I feel like I'm in the same boat as you. I'll be living out of a hotel room for 6 months before deploying out and am trying to get a handle on what/how to eat. I've found I can take the pouches of tuna and salmon with me on field exercises as they are small and travel well. I will typically stash away extra HB eggs for later meals in the day when they are offered at breakfast. You can put away some larabars too. They are small. I can't keep them in large quantities, they are like candy bars to me. I'm new to W30 and don't have very good food discipline so I have to keep starting over. Hopefully I can find more things that work before heading out again and maybe you can too. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif_in_Alaska Posted September 21, 2013 Author Share Posted September 21, 2013 Thanks for the feedback. Stay safe in your sandbox, I did my time in the Iraqi version. KRB puts out a pretty good spread ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif_in_Alaska Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 Quick update and observations: My start of the Whole30 program was during my last week in camp (4 days) so the transition to apparently compliant foods didn't seem unusual. For the next week, while at home, the diet was fully compliant and I ate well. I've been back at work for three days, resuming the camp diet as I did the week before. My stomach is bound in knots and I've been chompin down on the Pepto pills with peppermint tea for most of the day. I suspect there weren't any issues the first few days because I was actually only weaning myself off the nasty food and a week of purification was enough to change my tolerance. Looks like I will need to find a way of bringing in sufficient non-perishables to supplement the eggs, fruits, and raw veggies that I can eat. This experiment did serve as personal reinforcement to the blog post regarding 99% compliance doesn't get you 99% of the benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
49stars Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 I live in Anchorage, and we do have the Full Circle Farms which is a little ridiculous in price, quality and quantity so I too quit that and Fred's has been my off season place to get veggies. Anyhow, any way the family could put together a food box for week two and ship it out with a flight to the camp? I imagine that there are weekly flights in with mail, food, and people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsStick Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 And if there aren't flights in that fresh stuff can come on, you can still make it work. RxBars, beef jerky (PaleoPacs), tuna pouches for protein. Bonus is that they're all easy to pack! Make a lot of veggie 'chips' to get those in, or even buying ones with compliant ingredients that maybe aren't cooked in the best oil for when your only veggie is corn or deep fried okra. Maybe things like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif_in_Alaska Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Thanks for the suggestions. We don't have any flights into the mine as we're serviced by bus with 2x per week mail. The family is supportive only to the extent of not trying to make me eat what they do so for a package, I would still have to pack it and schedule a delivery. Sounds like I'm complaining, but it's really just a thought exercise on finding out best way to eat. Although I haven't stopped the protocol (on day 20 now) and am eating the best I can, I realize that being Whole30 compliant out here will take a lot of planning. MrsStick, what brand tuna did you find without soy? The albacore pouches I brought didn't list it as in "ingredient" but are labeled as containing soy. I did find some good canned chicken from Sam's that is just chicken, water, broth. My last trip of the year to the farmer's market yielded some zukes that I turned into chips. I also found I can keep a 5lb bag of carrots for snacks. Hunting season is about over and the harvest is in, so next trip home will be moose jerky and maybe can some salmon. Appreciate the support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpinSpin Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Wild Planet is one brand with out soy, but it is canned, not in pouches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif_in_Alaska Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Canned is ok, pouches are just more convenient. I found this on-line and will look for it in the store next time out. Although it's listed on the Walmart website, I haven't seen it in Fairbanks. I did find this though with some searching and think it may be at the store. http://www.bumblebee.com/products/tuna/bumble-bee-prime-fillet-solid-white-albacore-very-low-sodium-in-water/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsStick Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 The name brand stuff in my grocery store in pouches (Star Kist?) in pouches packed with olive oil is soy-free (not on the label anywhere). Check the oil packed vs. water-packed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif_in_Alaska Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Thank you. I will check it out - been decades since I looked at oil packed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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