janna Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I completed my first whole30 in March of 2014 and aside from a few choices here and there (homemade chocolate, alcohol, non-gluten grains and some paleofied treats) have stayed pretty much stayed strict-paleo. I just like the way I feel when I eat this way! Our summer vacation this year was a 7-day trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, where (1) cooler space is limited and (2) other people will plan and cook most of your meals. I knew it was going to be near impossible to maintain my way of eating over the trip, but I just told myself to do the best I could, when I could, and bring food that I knew would make me feel good. Then get right back to it when I got home! I was a titch nervous however, especially after hearing one of the boats saying they were cooking dutch oven "Mexican Surprise" for dinner (read: tortillas, beans, cheese, rice and more cheese.) There was room to bring some items of my own (for lunches or snacks) and so I thought I'd share what I brought and worked well. I scoured the forums for advice while I was planning and hopefully this will help someone (it could apply to a river trip, camping/backpacking adventure, or any time when cooler space is limited). I started off by studying this list from Whole9: http://whole9life.com/2011/07/whats-in-your-cooler/ There are a ton of good suggestions and information there. Here's what I brought and seemed to work well: - Canned tuna (mix with guacamole and stuff in a bell pepper or SeaSnax for lunch) - Smoked Salmon (mix with guacamole and stuff in a bell pepper or SeaSnax for lunch) - Wholly guacamole (individual packets so I could use 1 or 2 at a time) - SeaSnax - Bell Peppers (I guessed these would last about three days in our cooler, so I ate them first and then used SeaSnax to stuff my tuna mixture in for the last days) - Nuts - Canned olives - Dried Fruit - Apples - Almond Butter - La Croix - Pureed/frozen strawberries to mix in my water (it was 100 degrees most days and you drink a lot of water. It was nice to mix it up!) - Pureed/frozen mangos to mix in my water - Applegate sliced turkey (to eat on apple slices) - Coconut milk (for my coffee) - Cinnamon - Primal Paks (the meat sticks are awesome and was a great way to get extra protein) - Larabars - Shredded coconut - Omnibars (they are a locally-made meat bar (like and Epic bar). They aren't whole30 compliant, but are paleo-friendly) - cutting board - can opener - limes - salt and pepper - spork and collapsible bowl to keep in my personal dry bag Writing this out, it seems like I had a lot of space. But I didn't. I pre-froze what I could and put it in the cooler and the rest went in the dry box. Each morning I would get out what I needed for the day's lunch and/or snacks. Since I wasn't eating according to template (and my veggie intake was WAAAAYYYY too low), I did snack a bit because I got hungry. Next time I want to try and up my veggie intake, and may bring kale chips or carrots. Other ideas I've written down since returning are: - pre-made mini quiches - meatloaf or meatballs (since they can be eaten cold) I have to say however that each day when I got my lunch out (even though it was just tuna/guac stuffed in a bell pepper), there were longing looks from my fellow rafters. I shared a few and they were a hit. The rest of the time I just resigned to doing the best I could. Breakfasts were usually pretty easy (eggs, etc.). The worst was definitely Mexican Surprise night, but I knew that the dairy/bean combo was going to wreak havoc on my gut. But so did the beer I enjoyed. Now that I'm back, I feel a bit bloated (as expected) and low on energy...but I'm heading right back into eating healthy my body will respond. At least I hope so! Hopefully this helps someone else who is planning an excursion into the wilderness....and if you have any ideas for next time, please let me know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higs Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Janna, this post is awesome and so small-worldly! I am doing a Middle Fork trip too (!!) - mine is in mid August. Big props to you for managing to maintain such healthy eating on the river. My plan for my trip has been to do some big off-roading for the week, and start my next Whole 30 the day after I get back. I never even imagined it could work to be Whole30 compliant while river guides are doing all the meal planning and cooking. While I'll be (literally) off-roading in August, I am planning a backpacking trip in September during my next W30 and will be inspired by your fantastic example. Was the trip amazing, Janna? Our trip is going to be in drift boats instead of white water rafts because we're going with a fly fishing group and will be tormenting trout all the way down the river. I have been looking forward to this for a year. I grew up in Idaho, and this will be my first Middle Fork trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Mission Mountain Wood Band... Excellent post, Janna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaseyD Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Have you tried making dehydrated foods, like dehydrated soups and stews you can re-hydrate over a fire? If I was on a long trip like that, I'd probably prep stuff like this. Also, you can can stuff to bring, if you have enough room. That stuff doesn't have to be kept cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janna Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Janna, this post is awesome and so small-worldly! I am doing a Middle Fork trip too (!!) - mine is in mid August. Big props to you for managing to maintain such healthy eating on the river. My plan for my trip has been to do some big off-roading for the week, and start my next Whole 30 the day after I get back. I never even imagined it could work to be Whole30 compliant while river guides are doing all the meal planning and cooking. While I'll be (literally) off-roading in August, I am planning a backpacking trip in September during my next W30 and will be inspired by your fantastic example. Was the trip amazing, Janna? Our trip is going to be in drift boats instead of white water rafts because we're going with a fly fishing group and will be tormenting trout all the way down the river. I have been looking forward to this for a year. I grew up in Idaho, and this will be my first Middle Fork trip. Hi higs! Congrats on your Middle Fork trip! It is by far my favorite permitted river....good rapids, good camps, lots of hotsprings. This was my second trip down the Middle and I think I loved it even more this time. We did the trip as a private group (non-guided) so I had a bit more luxury with dry box and cooler space. We've never done a guided trip so I'm not sure how much you can bring on your own, but my guess is very little. So I maybe should have made that disclaimer up front. The fishing was fantastic. You'll have an epic trip. Have fun and like you said, just get back to whole30 when you can. I once heard the quote that "drawing a permit for the Middle Fork is the whitewater equivalent of Willy Wonka's golden ticket." So....it really is a rare occurrence and one that you shouldn't let yourself feel guilty about indulging in (food-wise anyways). Have a great trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janna Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Have you tried making dehydrated foods, like dehydrated soups and stews you can re-hydrate over a fire? If I was on a long trip like that, I'd probably prep stuff like this. Also, you can can stuff to bring, if you have enough room. That stuff doesn't have to be kept cold. Fantastic! No, I haven't done this in the past but it's a great idea. Thank you CaseyD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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