Breakfast of Champions

I’m not into food dogma, the “rules” that say if you eat this you’ll be healthy and live longer and if you don’t eat it you’ll live a miserable, disease-ridden life. And sadly, I’ve heard nearly those exact words.

What I am into is “instinctual” eating: tuning into your body and eating what makes you feel best at any given moment. Unfortunately, I think many of us lose those instincts amongst the myriad of fear-based teachings, blatant misinformation and cultural bias (as well as upbringings that taught us tings like The Clean Plate Club and extrinsic control of our bodies). I’ve found it important to research all sides, try things on for size and choose what makes sense to me.

I also feel within the bigger picture of Life there is no “right” or “wrong” and I often wonder if we’re all so determined to find a fountain of youth because we’re really just afraid of death.

All that being said, the three of us instinctively gravitate towards what is commonly referred to as “real foods”. The definition of that is somewhat obvious: no processed or genetically-modified foods, but also lots of fruits and veggies, pastured meats, fermented foods (like sauerkraut) and so on. On top of that, I personally feel fantastic when I avoid gluten the it’s Black Death (which it tends to feel like) and eat enough grass-fed beef to keep my joints feeling fantastic.

We also tend to eat seasonally. Summertime means mostly raw fruits and veggies with a small amount of pastured meats and very little dairy. In the winter I crave heavier meals, more meats and potatoes and lots of raw dairy. Zeb and Justin are fairly similar to me, but their meat consumption stays about the same year-round and Justin’s body never wants dairy.

I do feel there are foods that have been created to warp the hell out of our instincts, things like appetite-enhancers, sugars and bad fats can confuse us into wanting more initially. But I’ve found that if we indulge those cravings with both good and bad sources, our bodies will learn from the contrast and naturally desire the best versions for our needs.

Some things that make sense to us:

• We need fat: Kids especially need a lot of fat, but so do adults. It’s good for our brains, our joints, cell production and our reproductive systems. Not all fats are bad.
• Sugar is not the enemy: Sure processed sugar leaves us craving more, but that doesn’t make things like honey bad. And I do think our bodies can tell the difference between real and processed sugars given the opportunity to learn.
• It’s as much in our heads as our stomachs: Things like fear, judgment, and personal issues around food – or gratitude, enjoyment and consciousness – create and prevent more disease than any one way of eating.

Yes, I feel we’re omnivores by nature. Yes, Real Foods make sense to me. Yes, I totally respect when something completely different makes sense to other people. Diversity is beautiful! What I don’t respect (and don’t tolerate on my blog) is the bullshit condemnation thrown around by certain foodie groups. Seriously, that kind of hatred or judgment is going to kill you long before the worst of foods possibly could.

Real Food On The Road

Now on to the topic at hand: Finding real food sources while traveling hasn’t been easy. Sometimes we’re stuck with a local supermarket (or ::gasp:: Walmart Supercenter).

We especially enjoy eating locally, like trying crawfish in Louisiana, eats brats in Wisconsin and Tex-Mex in New Mexico. And we do what we can for the rest:

• Local Harvest hasn’t been as helpful as we had hoped. CSA’s aren’t usually open to transients and farmer’s markets keep falling on the days we’re not passing through. But it’s a resource, regardless.
• Farmer’s markets are our best bet when we can find them. We stock up on things like freezable meat and cheese when we can.
• Green People helps us find local (and sometimes tiny) health food stores, especially useful for resupplying things like gluten-free items.
• Connecting with locals has been key. They know the farms and farmers and neighbors with an abundance of backyard chickens.
• When we have no other option but a nearby Walmart, here’s what we choose:
  • avoid the Dirty Dozen
  • avoid any animal products
  • choose lots of fruits and veggies (occasionally we can find organic items, like greens or tomatoes)
  • choose unprocessed grains, like rice or quinoa
  • Zeb and Justin have found the few loaves of bread free of HFCS (Nature’s Own and Oroweat)
  • comb the aisles for the occasional display of organic or gluten-free “specialty” items

Of course we also have to meet the needs of a very selective 11 year old, a gluten-free eater and, well, Justin will eat whatever. Some examples of our most common meals:

• Rice and veggies (can’t get much more simple than that)
• Salads with pastured chicken
• Gluten-free pasta with either spaghetti sauce and grass-fed beef, or my personal fave, cooked greens, cooked cherry tomatoes and feta cheese.
• Grilled cheese and tomato soup (I tend to just eat the soup)
• Tacos! Everybody loves tacos and they can include beans or pastured meat depending on availability

There are some things we have little option over with such a small space. We obviously don’t grow our own food. We don’t make a lot of soups or stocks, soaked grains or sprouted items. Perhaps if our kitchen space included a real counter we would.

It’s not as though any of these things would be impossible in an RV, even in our tiny RV. It’s that we’ve found we can eat whole, pastured and mostly unprocessed foods without the extra time or energy by keeping things simple. And with so much going on while we travel, we like simple a lot.

Do Real Foods Interest You?

Did you know that certain veggies shouldn’t been eaten raw in excess or things like tomatoes and other veggies can exacerbate joint issues? Are you interested in learning why meat should always be pastured, cholesterol and saturated fats are good for you and what constitutes Living Foods and Superfoods?

Food Renegade has a phenomenal learning tool for self-education. It was created with homeschooling kids in mind, but I found it useful for myself and learned so much I hadn’t known before. It really reaffirmed a few things I had been feeling, like why my body didn’t seem to like raw spinach. I don’t support it as a curriculum for kids who aren’t interested in learning about it, but I wholeheartedly support it as a resource for anyone wanting to know more about traditional foods, preparation and even how to eat real food on a budget.

Food Renegade is also offering a Fall E-Course for those interested in learning even more. Full of videos, materials and activities to engage you, the course promises to leave a lasting impression in a fun, dynamic way. Here’s a sneak peek:

Again, it was originally designed for homeschooling kids in mind, but it’s open and welcoming to interested adults. Remember, Real Food advocates can be dogmatic, too! Read, research and learn for yourself and apply what fits your body.

And please: If you’re interested in having your kids learn this, but they aren’t interested, don’t force it. We all do what makes sense to our own bodies in any given moment and I find it crucial to validate our children where they are. But I highly recommend learning yourself! Be a life-long learner, soak up the information that is valuable to you and integrate it into your lives in a passionate (but not forceful) way! Be a conduit of information for your kids, bringing knowledge into your home and allowing them to gravitate toward it if it makes sense for them.

*These are affiliate links: resources, products or services I enjoy and recommend based on my personal standards. If you purchase from these links, you will help to support my family and my love for blogging at no additional cost to you. Thank you!