Portable Paleo – Diet tips while traveling

Having recently returned from a week-long trip to a foreign country, I can say that eating Paleo while on vacation can be difficult, but not impossible.

Any time you go out to eat, you’ll have to make some compromises. Even if a restaurant says they’re organic and the menu looks pretty clean, you still have little control over the ingredients and preparation that comprise the entire meal. The meat may be grass-fed but cooked with an oxidized oil, or they might have added sugar to the meal along the way. Dinner may come with grains or a starch that looks tasty as hell, but will most likely wreck your GI system. Do you order the meal anyway and try to eat around the offenders, or do you go in a different direction and add protein to an order of salad?

When you’re on vacation, try to eat as clean as possible but don’t shy away from small indulgences. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but on vacay, the mentality is that I’m taking a break. As long as you don’t go overboard and completely hijack your blood sugar, you don’t have to feel bad about having a few bites (or the whole thing) of some non-Paleo treats. Taking these mini-breaks from time-to-time keeps you sane.

Paleo Foods for Travel

Jerky: Hard-boiled eggs are fine once you’ve reached your destination, but they’re too stinky to travel with. Opening a warm Tupperware container of hard boiled-eggs on a plane is probably a federal offense. Jerky is a much better option and is probably the perfect travelling protein. If you can make your own, that would be ideal, if not always practical. Most store-bought jerky has sugar, soy, and other additives that are less than optimal. Something like Steve’s Original Paleo Kit is good when you’re in a fix, and they even offer grass-fed kits now. The only thing I don’t like about them is they’re really messy; the Paleo Kits have a lot of moisture in the package, which makes for a wet mess in your hands.

Single-Serving Almond Butter Packets: I like Justin’s Classic Almond Butter packets, and you can get them from Whole Foods. They’re small and portable and I’ve never had a problem taking them through airport security.

Larabars: There’s quite a bit of sugar (albeit natural sugar) in these little bars. As good as Apple Pie and Banana Bread are (and apparently Blueberry Muffin as well, although I haven’t tried it), don’t crack out on them. Still, they’re a good whole food snack on the road.

Water: Hydration is critical, especially when travelling. Airplanes have low humidity and dry, recycled air, so it’s easy to get dehydrated on longer flights. You can’t go through security with a full water bottle, but you can go through with an empty one and then fill up at a water fountain later. You may need to take your water bottle out of your bag at the x-ray machine. Side note: For any of you mobility fiends, you may have your bag searched if you’re travelling with a lacrosse ball or an empty Nalgene bottle. On my last flight out of Philadelphia, the screener saw a solid mass (the lax ball) on her screen and didn’t know what it was. Avoid the hassle. Take the lax ball and water bottle out of your bag before sending it through the x-ray machine.

Paleo-Friendly Booze: If you plan on having any in-flight Paleo cocktails, you can bring up to five 1-ounce bottles of booze (keep it Paleo-friendly) through security without a problem. If you need a mixer, you’ll have to get it on the plane.