Friday, March 23, 2012

Oops


We're home!


Today was a total failure (our first!) in staying Primal. I hate Fridays anyway because they have to be meatless, but traveling and Fridays? Forget about it.


I hesitated to even post what we ate, because I know it will inspire many "you could have just..." comments, but then, I thought "surely there are other Primal people out there who totally fail every once in a while."  And I'm honest to a fault most of the time, so... I'll tell you, but don't yell at me. ;)


Breakfast was at the hotel. The eggs looked like ... that yellow insulation stuff they put in houses. So I passed. And I couldn't have the breakfast meats. So what was I left with?  An apple. I knew I needed some protein, and all I could find was... peanut butter. D'oh.  Hey, at least I didn't grab the prepacked cream cheese pastry (which I would have killed for).


Tom had (yes, dear, I'm telling on you, too) an English muffin and some fruit. I'm not sure what the kids had, since Tom is awesome and made up their breakfasts.


Then we headed out of the hotel, and went to say goodbye to my grandparents. It was all fun and games until the baby stood in an ant pile and had about 100 ants swarm her. Thankfully only her feet (mostly the left foot) were bitten. The left foot was pretty red and swollen. Poor thing.


Soon after we headed out. After driving about 40 minutes both Tom and I were fading fast. I knew I needed more protein, but we were stuck. There is very, very little between Oklahoma and Kansas, so finding foods that fit into our Primal diet is almost impossible. So we finally stopped for lunch when we saw a road sign for... wait for it... Dairy Queen. 


The kids had hamburgers (without the top bun) and water. Tom and I had... um... ice-cream. Calcium, some protein, and sugar. Yum. Really, though, I was completely jealous of Elizabeth's cheeseburger. I really would have much rather had meat. Plus, sugary stuff now has this annoying after-taste that just stays in your mouth. Blah. 


Anyway, the "lunch" helped to perk us up, but not for long. After another twenty minutes, I felt like I could sleep for days. I don't know if that had to do with sugar or just the general lack of protein (or both), but it was really not fun. I was going to switch with Tom and drive the second leg home, but I was just too lethargic. 


We finally arrive in Kansas, and dropped the kids with Grandma, and then headed to eat at Jason's Deli. We had a bowl of soup and the salad bar.  Waaaaaaaaaahhh!!  I want steak, darn it! 

Poor Tom has had stomach issues for the last four or five hours now. He is FINALLY (I'll have to mark the calendar) admitting, after years and years of me saying it, that he is, indeed, allergic/intolerant to milk (I know some people say you can still drink raw milk and not be bothered but he isn't interested). Kinda sad. :(

Now we're sitting on the couch. Talking about meat.

20 comments:

  1. I eat ice cream about every two weeks, but I have a weekly scheduled cheat day. Of course, you didn't really eat ice cream, you ate soft serve. You probably would have felt much better if you had eaten real ice cream. I'm greatly in favor of the 80/20 rule, but I've gotten much more particular about my "20" because I don't want buyer's remorse. I'm making a cheesecake today. The leftovers will freeze nicely until next Saturday when I cheat again.

    I'm surprised that you couldn't find a dry rub bbq place, but I guess I'm not all that familiar with KS and OK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure there were plenty of BBQ places, but there was a meat restriction for the adults!! :/

      Delete
    2. Yes, we had bbq on the way TO Oklahoma, since it was a Tuesday. But there was nothing on the way BACK to Kansas that was not meatless. And Dairy Queen (which IS soft serve, blech) was the only option... unless we wanted McDonald's at a gas station. Ew.

      Delete
    3. Yes, I forgot. I gave up fasting for Lent.

      Delete
  2. Those are totally awesome cheats!! Peanut butter - come on, not so bad! And Ice cream? One of the best choices if you're going to have sugar!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am not yelling at you at all, just sympathetic that you ended up not feeling well. We always keep in the car a couple foil pouches of tuna and a couple tins of sardines, and some nuts. Also, in a pinch we do a search on the Garmin for any grocery store. We'll pick up some sliced roast beef or turkey. We eat full fat Greek yogurt and cheese so those are also options for us. Most stores have prepared veggie trays. The grocery store works for emergency rations if you don't feel like doing a sit down restaurant or can't find one with primalish choices. Usually there is something like a meat, potato and salad or vegetable plate at any major chain restaurants like Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Perkins, Denny's, Applebees etc. We just switch out the potatoes for more veggies. And there's also the Breakfast All Day type options.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My grandmother was just talking about sardines. And I think I'd rather be vegan than eat sardines. haha

      Again, we couldn't eat meat, and there are dairy allergies, so even a grocery store wouldn't be much help, but even if I could find one (which is doubtful along our route) I was not about to take four tired, cranky kids into a store. ha

      Delete
    2. Tuna is always a good option, as well as smoked salmon (though, it is usually a little high in sodium). Sardines aren't that bad as long as you get good quality sardines. I prefer Crown Prince brand sardines. Also, if eating bones and scales turns you off, then opt for the skinless and boneless version. They're awesome!

      I put a can of Crown Prince boneless/skinless sardines on my salad at least twice a week. The best part is that they have a full 2 grams of omega 3 EFAs per serving!!!

      Delete
    3. I don't think I could be this penitential even during Lent. LOL I will pass along your idea to my grandmother! :)

      Delete
  4. Sorry to get on my high horse for a minute, but it seems strange to me that you're willing to violate Primal instead of Lent, given that the church is forgiving when it pertains to health. Giving up meat is like giving up water, and I generally don't allow people who are ignorant anout nutrition to dictate my diet for nonnutritional reasons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People can go without meat for one day at a time. You don't think the human body is resilient enough to survive (gasp!) a single day of seafood, vegetables, salad, etc.?

      Delete
    2. Perhaps. But I don't see being Primal as being more important than my religious beliefs.

      Delete
  5. Actually eating sardines is a lot like eating tuna. I thought it would be icky,too the first time I opened a tin. Then I discovered it tasted like mild tuna. We buy the skinless and boneless variety. Give it a try at least once. You may be pleasantly surprised.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm having a hard timt dealing with Lent tis year as well. I can appreciate that being on the road makes it hard.

    Planning is the key. Cooler, ice food. You knew you'd be traveling on a Friday. One of you could have gone to the stoe before setting out. One of yor relatives would have hard boiled some eggs. Cold boiled shrimp. I'm just sayin'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's quite easy to make these assumptions when you're not there.

      Delete
  7. If it makes you feel any better, I totally cheated today as well. We had a rough week with sick kids and yesterday the doctor told my son I owed him a milkshake... so I couldn't get one for him and not myself!!! Then my husband came home with some chips and asked if I would make some nachos for a Saturday treat. He's not totally primal, hasn't had any food/health issue so he just basically eats what I do, so he is primalish by default! Needless to say, I am suffering with bloating, a sore stomach and generally feeling blah! So, to put an optimistic spin on the cheating... we need to think of it as increased motivation to stick with it. We are human, we are not perfect. :)

    As for the car and road trips, Nuts are a great snack to keep on hand. I usually mix up a big container of mixed nuts and bring some dried coconut for the sweet tooth! I am also a big list maker, so after a road trip, I usually make a list of things I "shoulda done" and then try to refer to it for the next trip. I also keep a bag of things like wipes, plastic forks, spoons and bowls, cutting board and cutting knife (with a cover) and a few cans of tuna and water on hand and ready packed so I can just grab it. Life is learning, so don't beat yourself up about the cheat, it happens:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can totally see that happening with the milk shake and nachos! Totally makes me smile.

      What an awesome idea with the prepacked stuff! I can probably have those things ready and packed in a cooler, store it in my pantry, and then pack it into the car when needed.

      You're my new best friend.

      Delete
    2. Ach! I am with you - I HATE it when people try to verbally punish me for something I've done. It's about choices, folks. Until you invent a time machine and go back and live in my moment, I don't know that I need input about what you "would have done."

      I would add that you might find it handy to make extra treats, like the brownies you posted or other muffin/bread/cookie type primal items and freeze them, along with dried fruit, seeds (peppitas, sunflower, etc) in baggies or Foodsaver bags in the freezer. Then you have a nice supply of good for you, satisfying things to grab on the go. You can even make your own Larabars -
      http://www.damyhealth.com/2011/03/how-to-make-homemade-lara-bars/

      If you want to keep a car survival kit, you could do worse with a camp/hunting set. They usually have knives, cutting board and some space for forks/spoons. Like so -
      http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Life-Field-Dress-Travel/dp/B000BRBCSG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1332793786&sr=8-4

      Delete