Plant-Based needs a U-Haul

We spent the weekend visiting my mom and then our son Zack. Both live within two hours’ drive. Should be an easy getaway, right? Not when you’re eating PB, baby. The only way to eat PB, guaranteed, is to bring your own food. And so, we did.

It wasn’t easy. But we learned quite a bit for the future.

It’s embarrassing when your food bags are bigger than your suitcase.

I LOVE to pack light. This trip was like packing up our whole fridge and stuffing it in our backseat.

Here’s a partial list of what we brought:

Coffee.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, jalapeños, limes, avocados, granola, oatmeal, bananas, Ezekiel bread, heart of palm, chick pea spread, brown rice spaghetti, green juice, organic chips, various containers, garlic press, Igloo cooler...

You’d think we were heading out with Lewis and Clark for their expedition.

Turns out, we didn’t need all of that. Zack & Claudia made some incredible vegan chili. But, we did need some, starting with lunch with Mom.

She had DQ. We did not. Processed chicken strips were never so tempting.

Here’s what we learned:

Be strong. It’s really hard to watch your mom eat DQ while you’re gnawing on a chick pea- and alfalfa-filled pepper. It’s also hard to smell that fast-food fried smell (you know the one) and not want to eat it. No, not fun at all. But we didn’t cave! We ate what we brought.
Be prepared. We checked restaurant menus ahead of time. Apparently, the PB fad hasn’t quite caught on yet here in central Ohio. It was critical to know that before we showed up. There was nothing on the menu remotely PB.
Be flexible. Respectfully suggest we go out for a drink and eat at home instead.
Expect less success. I didn’t exercise like I planned. But, we took long, wonderful walks with people we love instead. Worth the trade.
Expect the need for refrigeration. Some of our stuff needed to be kept cool. That was a hassle.
Bottom line? Planning ahead is critical. If not, we might have eaten DQ and restaurant food.

Most important? Friends first.

Unless you must be PB for health reasons, I recommend being flexible. Decide on your priority. Is it more important to be Pure PB? Or is it more important to plan, and adjust as needed? In my opinion, food choice shouldn’t add a barrier to your time with friends and family. In the end, we ate a little too much. But it was all PB! I’ll pay for it when I weigh myself. I know I won’t end the PB Challenge as thin as I want. But it was a compromise that worked.

I wouldn’t trade our time with my mom and Zack and Claudia, laughing and talking over food and drink, for anything.

Bonus Good News!

We are very happy right now. As you may know, dark chocolate is PB. But it still contains some dairy. We happened to find this non-dairy chocolate at a surplus store. For fifty cents. It’s $5 a bar on Amazon! And it. was. so. good. I’m no chocoholic, but, man, this is tasty.

It’s probably the best news I’ve had since we began this journey.

There is a God, and He makes great non-dairy chocolate.

Final update before the end

We only have a few days left on this 22-day journey. I hope to finish strong and try and make up for the extra food we ate while on the road.

Like I said, I think it’ll cost me on the final weigh-in. But life gets in the way of perfection. Stay tuned for one more post.

Day 19: What's PB Travel like? (Hint: Hard.)