going on family vacation..what do I take and eat??

[gyllisa]

Hi all! Have been 100% raw for 4 weeks now, high raw for about 8....we are going on a week long family vacation to THE JERSEY SHORE!! aaaggghh! This is the land of fried snickers , corn dogs on sticks and funnel cakes...and that is on the healthy menu! I can go to the grocery store and get fresh veggies and fruits for the kitchenette and full size fridge...but, what the heck do I take in my suitcase to get me through a full week without my dehydrator, food processor, blender and fun gadgets that have made raw so easy??? I am so worried that eating olive oil and lemon juice on salad will have me hungry, crashing and crazy by day two!!! Any ideas what I can take in the suitcase or dressings/sauces/ideas I can carry on??? HELP with a capital H!!! thanks! :)

[mbf]

Hi, I suggest you first go to www.happycow.com got to restaurant/health food store listing and see if there is anything in the area, you may be surprised. There are quite a few whole foods in NJ as well, perhaps you can find one to stock up on fresh or frozen items on the way down. We stocked up on frozen organic fruit and bananas and basically living on smoothies all week!

I also dehydrated for a week before we left, made a lot of cookies and granola to get us by.

Good Luck!

Mara

[gyllisa]

wildwood is pretty touristy..( read: fried EVERYTHING!)....but, I will check! thanks! do you have a good recipe for a healthy cookie or granola??? don't leave for 4 days, so I may just have time to soak, sprout AND dehydrate....My whole suitcase will be food and I will wear the same bathing suit and shorts all week to avoid the horrible choices surrounding us!! thanks in advance for your help!!

[Pailani]

Can you bring a blender? I did a three day trip and bringing a blender was a huge help, because smoothies are so easy to make and so delicious that it was easier to pass up other tempting foods. I also brought sunflower seeds, organic raisns and avocados.

[spicyfull]

Seems like mbf got you on the right track. I am going to check out happy cow myself...................Thanks..........

[juliebove]

With a Kitchenette, you should have no problems at all getting suitable food, unless perhaps you are out somewhere, didn't bring food with you and can't find anything suitable.

When I moved to Cape Cod, I was waiting for my military housing and was forced to move from motel to motel as they were available and had no problems finding suitable food. I wasn't technically on a raw diet in those days, but most of what I ate was raw. I'm a big veggie eater so when I stay in a motel/hotel I always try to get a room with a fridge. I didn't have a kitchen where I was staying. Just a fridge and actually a good sized one as little fridges go. This was in the days just before bagged salads hit the market. I was able to get some things cut up for me (or that needed no cutting), like shredded carrots and cherry tomatoes. I don't eat a lot of fruit but I think I might have bought a couple of apples or a bunch of grapes simply because they gave me some more variety. I found a nearby pizza place that delivered and they had several varieties of salad on the menu. A couple of times, I got large (family size) salads. One of these was enough to last me a few days, adding some additional veggies and nuts to round things out. I did eat a few things during those days that were not raw or vegan, like hummus and cheese.

What amazed me was how cheap my food bill was during the one week I was there by myself. Of course at home, my food bill would be a bit higher, even for myself, simply because I would be eating a more varied diet. But it was far cheaper than trying to find suitable good in restaurants. And I wouldn't have purchased the salads except that the only sink I had available was the bathroom sink and it was rather small. I could wash lettuce in it, but that was rather a pain since I couldn't stick the whole head in there at once. It didn't seem to fit into the fridge very well either. And my delivered salads had a mix of greens plus some onions, tomatoes and other things.

If I were you, I'd take some non-perishable things from home like dried coconut, dried fruit, nuts, and trail mix, if you have the space to pack them. I would also take some sort of storage things like plastic bags. I'd take a cooler of some sort and some blue ice so you could pack a lunch or dinner to take with you, if need be.

Do you have an immersion blender or Magic Bullet? Both of these are smaller than a full size blender but will work for making a sauce, salad dressing, etc. I would also pack some things like a small paring knife, peeler, or whatever other little things you might need for food prep. I've found that even when they say the kitchenette is fully stocked with utensils and such, they might not be in the best condition or look sanitary enough to want to use them.

I keep one of my daughter's old lunch boxes in the back of my van. In it, I have a paring knife, plastic bag, can opener, chip clips, and a little set of utensils that I was given as a gift. My daughter is not on a raw diet but does have numerous food allergies. So I can't always find suitable food for her in a restaurant. With these things, I can almost always find something for her to eat if I can find a grocery store, or occasionally even a convenience store, no matter where we are.

My daughter and I play a little game wherever we go to see how many "good" foods we can find wherever we go. I don't mean in the grocery store, but in places where you wouldn't normally find such foods. Like convenience stores or carnivals. At the fair here, we got tomatoes, lettuce, onions, celery, and corn. The corn was roasted. My daughter ate that. But I'm sure they would have sold a raw ear had we asked.

[gyllisa]

thanks for the suggestions....think I may bring a "magic bullet" blender...saw an ad for that...smaller and cheaper than my NEW ktec total blender if it breaks!!! anyone ever use the magic bullet???

[gyllisa]

wow!!! just as I was typing about the magic bullet...you were too!!! I am assuming I can make my "morning green smoothie" in it??? as long as I can do that...I think I can survive...will make some dressings and just hope they don't open and spill in my carry on....aaahh! what a mess that would be! thanks!

[juliebove]

Yes, you can make a smoothie in a magic bullet. It works very well for liquifying things. If you do buy one, it comes with an assortment of cups. You wouldn't need to bring them all. Most likely you'd want the largest one. An immersion blender would be (or could be) less expensive still. You could make some smoothies in it, if you used mainly juices and softer fruits. It would probably do greens as well if you chopped them into smaller pieces. You would need a cup or glass to put your stuff in to use that though.

[rawpriestess]

or you could buy a hand held blender they are truly wonderful


I have a bamix, way expensive but worth it, it has a mini food processor with it, very nice, or you can buy a Braun for about $20.00

anyway, you can also make crackers, burgers falafel, pesto stuffed mushrooms, anything you can put in a freezer, or dehydrator, just dehydrate or freeze and take with you, pop them into a cooler on the way, and into the freezer when you get there, when you want something, just defrost, and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmunch out.

[stiletto]

I know of a great totally raw restaurant in Toms River. There's a great health food store in Spring Lake with a juice bar and they always have one or two fresh raw concoctions like burgers, pate's, etc. They also sell rawlifeline foods.
Tell me which part of the shore you're going to and I'll see what I can recommend.
Take Care,
Stiletto

[daylene]

Hey there! I'm going through a similar situation so I thought you might like to hear what it's like for me. My husband and I have been on vacation, touring around the countryside and visiting various family members for a few weeks now. I don't even have my own kitchen, and we're literally in a different house almost every day.

Anyway, I've been eating a lot simpler (is that a word?) than I was back at home. Back at home I was really getting into the fancy recipes and using all my equipment everyday, but I started feeling like my body wanted simpler fare. So this has been a great vacation for my body too. Most days I just eat whole fruits or fruit salads, veggie slices or salads, and a handful of nuts / seeds / dried fruit every now and then.

There are so many great fruits in season this time of year, and you can eat them all! It's wonderful. I can eat mostly fruit every day. You might be surprised at how satisfying it really is to get out of the "meal" mindset.

I don't know if you're trying to lose weight, but the simpler food is great for that too!

peace,
daylene

[AICgem]

I'm is the same boat!
Next week my son & I are hooking up with dad and sis and going to the Adirondacks to a hunting club (off season obviously!) The driveway in to camp is 6miles!! I'll be in the boonies for a few days!! Making my grawnola now and will do tons of veggies and fruits. There is a main cabin with a huge kitchen and a generator to run fridge, but no way to get supplies if I run out!

[levamssg]

We took a week and drove to niagara falls ... ate at road side rest areas along the way. Took a cooler, cutting board, knife, 1 mixing bowl, 2 smaller serve bowls, a small container of olive oil, celtic salt, cayenne pepper. Bought fruit and veges at local markets, and that's what we ate for the trip. Threw together a waldorf supreme every day as a "meal" type thing (chopped tomato, apple, red pepper, onion, avocado, w/ a tad bit of oil, dash of salt, sprinkle of cayenne. mix well. yummy). The rest of the time we ate veges 'straight up' and munched on fruit. It all worked out very well.

[gyllisa]

thanks for all of the great information..going to google to look up the bamix...never heard of it....we will be in wildwood crest , new jersey probably playing whiffle ball on the beach all day...if you see a girl with dehdyrated blobs in her fanny pack and a green smoothie in her hand...come say hi!! thanks guys! :)

[Pailani]

I bought a regular $40 blender at Walmart that I take when I travel so I won't risk losing or damaging my expensive Vitamix.