Whole30: Gearing Up to Travel

When I decided to do the Whole30, I knew that I would be leaving home for a week in the middle of it. Yes, I realize that this was not the best planning, but let's be real here--there is no best time to do the Whole30. If I waited to have a clear month to do it, I would never do it. So I picked the summertime trip that I thought would be the most manageable for my Whole30 and went with it.

I leave home on Sunday for a week of Master's class in Wyoming's favorite college town. Today I suffered from some "food fatigue" and felt a little overwhelmed by the task before me. So, in typical Type-A fashion, I decided to sit down and make a plan.

My awesome Whole30 plan for a week away from home

While I am away from home for this class, I am staying in this adorable little one bedroom apartment, which provides me with a kitchen. Since I have resources at my disposal, I am taking a kit of supplies and food from home, which I will then supplement with fresh fruits and veggies from the local grocery store.

Here's a handful of things from my packing list:

• canned coconut milk
• olive oil
• jar of homemade Whole30 ranch
• jar of homemade mayo
• farm fresh eggs (from our coop)
• pork chops, sausage, bacon (from our recently processed pig)
• mason jars--for mixing of saving food
• my Thirty-One Lunch bag

There's much more to my list, including a meal plan for the week. I have no doubt that I will tweak the meal plan and have to adjust accordingly as things come up. But having it all written down makes it all feel much more manageable! 

I have also been giving a lot of thought to how to handle my social interactions while away from home. I am a little bummed to know that I am heading back to my old college town and hanging out with the other awesome people in my Master's cohort while not partaking of the delicious food and drink that will be available to me.

One of the first tough social moments for me has already happened, in fact. We have a welcome dinner the first night in town and the email regarding that went out with a request for food restrictions or needs. YIKES!!! What do you say to that?

I debated for a while before I emailed back. I can hardly email a list that says: no dairy, no sugar, no rice, no wheat/gluten, and no legumes. So, I tried a different tactic. I said that I have some odd dietary restrictions and asked if they wouldn't mind letting me know what was on the planned menu, and then I can plan accordingly for myself.

Now that I have my Whole30 plan down on paper, I feel better about next week. Travel always throws you curveballs, whether it be from a schedule change or just plain old fatigue, so having a plan makes me feel like doing the Whole30 away from home is actually achievable.

Cheers,

R-Lib