Primal Vacations

Primal vacations?
This might conjure up visions of makeshift shelters, caves, woods and loin cloths.  However, as we all know, the primal analogy is a guide for food choices and simpler living, not a return to complete ancestral ways.  We have been on two trips recently, one being a trip to Lake Placid and the other a camping trip.  On both weekends we had no trouble eating primal and incorporating plenty of activity.


Scrambled eggs in a cup.
We spent two nights in Lake Placid in a cabin with a microwave and fridge.  This allowed for some grocery shopping and meal prep in the cabin.  By purchasing some of our own food we were able to have easy and tasty primal meals.  One neat trick we used was to buy a cooked chicken from the grocery store for dinner on the first night, then used the microwavable bag to hard boil some eggs for snacks and lunches the rest of the weekend.  We were also able to use the paper coffee cups in the cabin to make scrambled eggs – just crack the eggs into the cup, add chopped veggies, stir and microwave until done.

There were two restaurant meals and, with a decent selection of restaurants to choose from, we had no trouble eating out by looking at the menus before going inside.  The first restaurant offered huge salads with meat and seafood.  The second one served local grass fed meat and organic vegetables.  A polite request to drop the starch and double the vegetables led to meals of bison steaks and chicken with local asparagus, carrots and turnips.

As Ironman training was the goal for me, activity was built in.  Jen brought her bike too as transportation into town and back (the cabin was a few kilometers out of town) as well as to come along during my run.  We also did a hike up Big Slide Mountain (4200 foot elevation) where we had to plan and carry our food for the day — leftover chicken, homemade trail mix, hard boiled eggs, beef jerky, chopped vegetables, bananas and lots of water.

The May long weekend was camping at Frontenc Park.  Primal menu planning for camping was fairly easy. The only substantial difference was the replacement of bacon and eggs for the camp standard of oatmeal (no-oatmeal would have been an option too).  By bringing frozen meat and lots of pre-chopped veggies, dinners were as easy as they normally are at home.  The cooler also contained the prerequisite homemade trail mix, chopped veggies, hard boiled eggs and fruit.

After cycling up to the park from home, the rest of the weekend involved canoeing, portaging, swimming and hiking (a 21k loop through the park).  It felt very on point with the goals of a primal lifestyle.  It is nice however to have a Kevlar canoe (52lbs), a light tent that is quick to set up, a propane camp stove and red wine in a bag that is perfect for the campsite.

Good food, lots of activity and healthy doses of sunshine for vitamin D – a perfect recipe for a weekend away.

How do you keep living the primal lifestyle when you know you’ll be away from home?