What do you guys do when you travel?

[CHK91]

Do you guys try to seek out good sources of meat when you travel, or do you say "F*** it!" and deal with "normal" food temporarily? I want some suggestions on what I should do when I travel far from home.

I would think that eating cooked seafood would be the best option if one had to eat in a restaurant. Maybe I would go much more vegetarian than I usually would. I really would like responses because I want a realistic way to be "okay" while traveling. Of course I would avoid the obvious like grains/milk.

[CitrusHigh]

I have various strategies. If I'm traveling out of the country that automatically makes it easier to get ahold of quality foods. Most other countries are significantly better than the US and canada in that respect. In mexico and indeed most latin countries grass fed organic meat is the rule, not the exception unless you go and do something foolish like buying your groceries at a chain. Meat in other countries should ALWAYS be purchased from a small locally owned butcher. In mexico my wonderful butcher at the local carniceria told me where the cows were that I was eating. Each day I was able to wave at them from the bus on the way in to town, and see them eating some of the most lush grasses ever (which is probably why the meat was purple, it was sooo dark and some of the most delicious I've ever had)

Also increasing seafood intake is a good way to avoid crap foods as long as you're buying wild caught.

Switching over to other fats like avocado's can get you through some tight spots when there is just no alternative.

Packing along food is an option too. Fortunately we don't need to fear microbes so its even ok if the meat gets a little ripe (high meat anyone?)

If the trip is short you can rely more on veggies than normal, which are easier to get organic than it is to get pastured meat.

If you're able to do research ahead of time, that's awesome, locate some local food sources around your destinations. Also an excellent way to locate real food in other places is to look up the local Chapter leader for the Weston A Price foundation, if you're fortunate enough to have one where you're going. They are almost always thrilled to help you locate some good foods that are pastured and organic.

If you're in to dairy (holla!) then bring a ton of raw pastured butter with you, a very stable and high quality raw fat.

If you're traveling in the US then farmers markets and co-ops are your best starts. If you're traveling abroad then it should automatically be a lot easier to get real food, as long as you don't mind doing a little looking.

Also harvest foods if you can. When I was in mexico the sea urchins were right there on the rocks, all you had to do was wade over, pry them off crack them open and suck them out. You could also fish from shore, which is both relaxing and productive. In hawaii there were goats and free range chickens everywhere. The coats you could catch by hand if you were fast enough, with a spear if you were capable or a bow if you were lazy.

[Iguana]

I would think that eating cooked seafood would be the best option if one had to eat in a restaurant.

Why cooked? If they have cooked seafood, they necessarily have also raw seafood!

I traveled several time including twice during 8 months around the world and never had to eat any cooked food.

[raw-al]

There is another thread on this subject somewhere on here.

Personally I got a travel container about a cubic foot inside with a solid leakproof interior and a travel strap. I fill this with ice and various and sundry foods.
I freeze the milk before so it acts like a cooler.

Most hotels have a fridge and ice available. I simply throw it in the baggage compartment. (unheated and unpressurized) I brought back a large cooler of seafood from Houston last year. I vacuum bagged it and froze it in the hotel.

Putting newspapers around something will also act like a cooler.

But aside from this, all best laid plans of mice and men sometimes are for naught and if it's unavoidable well what the hey, I just eat whatever they have. No point in getting an ulcer worrying about those things that you cannot change.

[TylerDurden]

I have no problem with eating raw, nonorganic fruit, (though I prefer organic/wild) so, while travelling abroad, I just eat raw fruit on the way. If I were staying in a country, as opposed to just passing through, I would do the following:-

 Seek out as many farmers'  markets as possible in my foreign city. I try to find out beforehand which are the ones most likely to be high-quality. There I can get raw wild game, sometimes very cheaply, but usually not significantly more expensive than nonorganic, non-grassfed meats. I also get my raw wildcaught seafood from such farmers' markets, as they are of a much higher quality than found in standard fishmonger's.

 Buy raw jerky. I haven't done so yet, but others have found it useful to make some raw jerky before a trip.

I would avoid Weston-Price chapters unless one is in the US or Canada. I tried asking for advice re grassfed meats from the only Weston-Price chapter I had heard of within the UK, and the guy in charge was absolutely incompetent, being only able to provide information on raw dairy sources and having no idea, let alone any interest, about grassfed meats.

[CitrusHigh]

TD I would have to strongly disagree with you. I'm deeply involved with WAPF, though I'm not a member, and have found most of them to be knowledgable and helpful. Recently I contacted the leader for Uruguay, because that is where my mom grew up. She, the local leader is from Nebraska and was very knowledgeable about the status of grass fed meat in that country and in Argentina, as well as up to date on sustainability happenings around the world.

I would not condemn an entire group that has done so much for pastured farming and real food, based on one isolated occurrence, that is rather narrow thinking.

[CHK91]

TD I would have to strongly disagree with you. I'm deeply involved with WAPF, though I'm not a member, and have found most of them to be knowledgable and helpful. Recently I contacted the leader for Uruguay, because that is where my mom grew up. She, the local leader is from Nebraska and was very knowledgeable about the status of grass fed meat in that country and in Argentina, as well as up to date on sustainability happenings around the world.

I would not condemn an entire group that has done so much for pastured farming and real food, based on one isolated occurrence, that is rather narrow thinking.

Is grass fed meat readily available in Argentina and Uruguay? I have great interest in going to these countries.

A question I have for others is: How is the food supply chain in Europe? (Quality of produce/meats, restaurants, etc). In America cooked food in restaurants is especially unhealthy because it is almost always cooked in highly unsaturated vegetable oil (corn, soy, canola, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed). Do they still primarily use olive oil/tallow/lard over there? I'm going to try to find raw foods while traveling, but I realize that this could not be realistic in some cases. I don't know how easy it would be to learn about the locations of natural food stores and farmer's markets in foreign countries. Spanish speaking countries would be easier for me since that is the only other language I somewhat understand.

[TylerDurden]

Yes, Argentina still has grassfed meat operations there. However, I have heard that feedlot operations are now becoming popular, unfortunately. Not sure Uruguay as it's so small a country, and no doubt highly urbanised?