Travelling and eating out

[lcs75]

Hello

 

I travel a lot and for a few days at a time.

 

What are your startegies to find compliant food? And how do you ensure to get enough veggies? I always find that in this carb oriented world, veggies are the difficult part.

 

With the meals I had in the last couple of days, the following questions came up for me:

 

How do I check if mustard is compliant if I don't see the bottle - stay away completely?

How do I know even with oven baked chips, which oil was used?

How do I know which oil was used if I eat i.e. a coconut thai curry - I asked dairy free and gluten free, but what else is in there?

I think the oil question is a key question, as pretty much anything could have oil in it?

 

Tonight I had steak with avocado and chips - I chose chips as the alternatives were potato gratin and mashed potatoes. I need to eat but don't have time to research restaurants - so I had dinner in my room with little choice.

 

For lunch someone got me a chicken salad, no dressing, but there were chick peas in there and shaved parmesan. So they mean well, but it is difficult when I am not in charge.

 

How do you cope on business travel?

 

To take all meals with me is not an option, but I do have a big pack of nuts with me.

 

Thanks and cheerio

 

 

 

[GFChris]

To me, the veggie part is easy. I typically request a double order of veggies, either steamed or cooked in olive oil only.

On all your other questions, you need to *ask.*  For anything sauteed or roasted, you might start with saying that you cannot have soybean oil, corn oil, peanut oil, or butter and ask if you can have it cooked in 100% olive oil. 

On the coconut thai curry, I might skip that while dining out, as you'd need to confirm no sulfites in the coconut milk, no gluten in the curry, plus avoiding other off plan foods.

You also need to watch for seasonings and marinades: many can contain soy, gluten, sugar or other sweetener.

I would also avoid having people get food for you: too much room for error.

You might find this article helpful: http://whole9life.com/2012/11/dining-out-whole30/

[lcs75]

Thanks Chris,

 

I read the article. I still feel really self-conscious to be "the odd one out". I don't really worry about the staff, they are mainly very accommodating, but the rest of the table that has to wait through the ordeal. No worries with family and friends, but I find it annoying with clients.

 

Perhaps I should just have a staple set of meals that I always order - might be a bit boring, but easier:

 

Hotel: Poached eggs with avocado for breakfast (I did not order mushrooms or spinach because I thought there may be oil in that).

Take-away: Plain lettuce with chicken breast (does it matter that the chicken breast has spices in it and may be cooked in oil?)

Restaurant: Steak (without fat) and vegetables, no sauce

 

Take-away is really hard - often the dressing is pre-mixed. What shall I do then? Chicken tenders from the take-away shop? Is fruit + nuts an alternative?

 

So with this insight - do I start again at Day 1?

[GFChris]

Can you get raw carrots or pepper strips w your breakfast?

Yes, chicken breast w spices mattters: it might be dredged in flour, and the spices are suspect for sugar, soy and gluten.

I highly doubt chicken tenders would be compliant: likely breaded or deep fried.

Your call whether to restart or do your own program, following as much of the Whole30 as you can.

[lcs75]

Hi Chris,

 

thanks I am starting again, had a big slump last night. http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/26967-starting-again-making-peace-with-food/

 

I think travel will be a big trial and error for me. National travel I will be able to solve eventually - international is harder. I was in Singapore two weeks ago and thought I was doing ok, but started getting sick from the food on Day 2. I know there are foods that make me sick and I need to be able to pin point them.

 

My GP got no where with the testing, said I have IBS and left me with the diagnosis (he said the same about EDS, I think I have a shit doctor...). My physio actually suggested this week I should sit down and think about my eating, to figure out if there is a correlation between my pain patterns and food.

 

So to answer the starting again question myself - yes I will and I will continue to try until I get it right

[Aerwyna]

Definitely might be easier to stick to primal rules when travelling.

 

Don't worry about the oils unless they make you ill.  Don't worry too much about the added things in a cooked breakfast - kind of depends if that is your thing.

 

I used to get by on a cooked breakfast: sausage, bacon, eggs, tomato.  Quite often I would end up skipping lunch, which was more my bad planning regarding timescales than because I couldn't find what I needed.  I often had something in my bag but no convenient time to eat it!

 

For dinner I would usually have steak or hunters chicken.  The bbq sauce with my chicken was my 'cheat'.

 

I also used to have a glass of red wine with dinner.