Last week my Mam, Dad, husband, kids and I stayed at a beautiful resort in Busselton. It was what I call a 'proper holiday'. It was hot and sunny, there was a pool to jump in and lounge by, you could walk to the beach and walk for a coffee, the apartment was large, clean and comfy. We drank champagne, had breakfast by the beach and ate at restaurants for dinner. Bliss. A good time was had by all.
Now that I realise how crappy my old 'food pyramid' diet made me feel, I have no desire to indulge or pig out - not even on holiday. Reverting back to old staples such as gluten, excess sugar, alcohol and dairy leaves me feeling bloated, sore, bunged up, snappy, foggy, nauseous and I don't sleep well. So you can understand I wanted to stay as primal as physically possible whilst away. As much as holidays are advertised as relaxing experiences the reality is (especially for parents) that there is a lot of organising and extra thinking to do, a different routine, a long road trip, different beds not to mention the over excited children. Not that any of those lessen the enjoyment, I am just mindful that they contribute to the load on the body - see my bucket analogy here.
So you can see that it's not just food that can contribute to you feeling less than tip top when away from home, but everything else about it too. I think that the best way to handle a change in routine is to focus on making sure the food you eat stays as primal as possible. Aim for 100% but accept 80%. In my opinion this is probably the biggest impact you can have on your stress levels when out of your comfort zone.
What I took from home
Every day staples:
- Paleo Bread
- Nut Milk (which I take to cafes and ask them to make coffee from)
- Grass fed meats for the obligatory holiday BBQ
- Coconut Oil
- Organic Yoghurt
- Avocado, salad leaves, asparagus and other seasonal veg
- Eggs from our chooks
- Organic milk and organic butter
- Kombucha
- Fruit for the kids
- Rain water (I know...)
- Snack options like gelatine lollies, macadamia nuts, 90% cocoa chocolate
- Paleo baking like banana bread
- Vegetable chips for platter with champers
- Organic Wine
It really depends on how long you are going away, how organised you are feeling and if you can be bothered. Road trips are a good time for some intermittent fasting, if you don't feel hungry, don't eat. A handful of nuts may be just enough to get you through the trip. If going on holiday for you means a break from cooking then read on...
What to chose in restaurants & cafes
What food makes you feel the worst? Is it dairy? Alcohol? Sugar? Grains? Gluten? Chose your worst offender and avoid that the most. For me I try to remain strictly gluten free at all times as that is my worst offender. In WA most cafes and restaurants have GF options and are often more than happy to make meals GF for you, it may mean removing the gravy and that's all, don't be afraid to ask. When ordering it's really pretty simple if you stick to meat and veg or salad. It's safe to assume that all pasta and pizza dishes are off the menu.
After that I try not to drink too much, two glasses of wine seems to be my limit these days. Two glasses of wine several nights a week with breaks in between that is. Remember that the bucket fills over time so two glasses of wine every night of the week spells bucket overflow! When I am on holiday I allow a bit more sugar into the diet but am usually majorly disappointed when I share a GF cake from a restaurant - so sweet, so fake, so plastic, so bleugh.
As a treat I like to have some GF bread with breakfast, it is usually super carby and filling and makes me happy to stick to my Paleo Bread when I get home (mainly eggs, zucchini, almond meal.) For lunch on a super hot day I chose a veggie juice, I normally advocate eating food as opposed to removing the fibre and drinking them but remember to 'do the best with what you have at that moment in time'.
The other thing I noticed on holiday is the smells! So much perfume! Perfumed soaps in the loo, perfumed air freshener squirted at regular intervals, cigarette smoke, car fumes, perfume on men, perfume on women, perfumed fabric softeners, perfumed sunscreen - it was an annihilation on my nostrils I tell ya! All of the perfume can contribute to headaches, nausea and an inability to taste and smell your food properly and is another toxic load on your old bucket. Oh and don't get me started on the crappy tap water!
Some things to let go of and accept
- Accept that the food in the restaurant probably isn't going to be organic.
- Accept that it will be cooked in crappy oils.
- Accept that most things in the restaurant will have been ordered in processed and ready made (the pesto I ate with breakfast didn't look like basil and pine nuts to me!)
- Accept that some gluten will be present maybe from cross contamination or just from innocent mistakes - did you know hot chips contain gluten?
- Accept that if it doesn't say GLUTEN FREE then it isn't.
- Accept that you will consume a myriad of artificial colours, preservatives, flavours and other toxic additives.
- Accept that you can fix it all when you get home!
How did I go?
So you know I was pretty strict, one time my husband and I fell out because it was the third café and I couldn't find anything suitable. It was hard but I felt necessary as I just can't stand those crappy feelings anymore. On the drive home I made a list of my symptoms on my iPhone here they are:
- groggy
- dry lips
- sore tummy
- bloated
- light sensitive
- irritable
- very tired
- film on my teeth
- itchy skin
- sneezing in the night
- itchy nose
I found this to be quite fascinating as I had forgotten about these symptoms! I just don't have those anymore. I also found it amazing how the offending foods had crept in anyway even though I tried really hard to choose from the primal plate. And that makes me conclude that you really do need to shoot for 100% all of the time as it will inevitably be 80%.
Apologies to my kids
It was an avalanche of pure shite for the kids. Fish and chips, ice creams, juice boxes you name it. It was practically impossible to find anything that they would eat that was primal. They will eat a plate of spag bol with zoodles and home and a zillion veggies in the sauce but not chow down on salad for lunch in a restaurant, especially now my son can read the menu! "No you can't have chicken nuggets". That's OK, it was only four days and then back to normal. I could see a change in their behaviour and mood from the different food too which is more motivation to feed them nourishing gut soothing food now we are back home.
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