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I recently spent a few weeks in Holmes County, Ohio, helping my grandparents at The Peach Barn peddling South Carolina peaches, so I thought it might be fun to do a post about how I did Trim Healthy Mama away from home. Disclaimer: I wasn’t 100% on plan, but I sure did a whole lot better than I did when I worked there in the summer of 2015! I managed to go home without any extra weight, so I definitely considered that a success. The point of this post is to show you that eating healthy can be as easy or as hard as you make it. Sometimes you may have to be a little creative. You’ll see what I mean.
(Por favor, excuse the cell phone pictures. I did not take one picture with my DSLR while in Ohio. Too much going on between taking care of the blog, working at The Peach Barn, entertaining guests, and taking advantage of all the shopping opportunities unique to Holmes County. Maybe at a later point I’ll post about some of the great thrift stores and discount grocery stores in the area!)
Welcome to my little cabin! This “tiny house”/glorified storage shed was my home for two weeks and had a glorious view of a pond – complete with ducks that woke me up with their vociferous quacking every morning. Isn’t that grass amazing??
My kitchen! I had a sink, a tiny fridge, a microwave, and a toaster. And a coffee maker, I suppose, but I don’t drink coffee, so it doesn’t really bear mentioning.
Breakfast every morning: chocolate overnight oatmeal from my survivor packets. And a little sliced banana. I found out that a bunch of bananas easily goes bad when there’s only one person eating them.
Above you see some of my discount grocery store haul. I went to 4 or 5 discount stores while I was in the area and found some super neat stuff that will definitely be featuring in some upcoming recipes! The Propel water, coffee, and trail mix weren’t for me, but those tart cherries canned in water were an exciting find. I have a very hard time finding tart cherries down south and I have so many recipe ideas in which to use them!
Welcome to The Peach Barn! I usually worked out there in the afternoons and used the mornings for blogging and discount shopping. 😉
Snacktime! Roasted chickpeas courtesy of a SC discount grocery store. They did have a little sugar on them (confession). La Croix – courtesy of one of my favorite uncles.
Need peach recipes? You can check out all mine right here!
Grandpa does an amazing job with his petunias.
I usually ate lunch before going out to work. Back at home in SC I had bought some sardines canned in hot sauce (more discount grocery store bargains), so I used them on salad with salsa as my dressing for a nice THM:FP (or an E if I added a slice or two of sprouted bread toast from Aldi).
Another THM:E lunch: sardines on toast with lettuce, salsa, and banana in a salad. Banana in a salad? The bananas were getting away from me – what can I say?
A THM:S lunch: low-carb wrap, lettuce, meat, cheese.
I typically had supper with my grandparents; thankfully my grandma LOVES fresh veggies! Above: sausage with fresh green beans and cucumber salad (THM:S).
One night she made the Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower from page 120 of my cookbook and added chicken breast and bacon for a main dish!
Peaches & Cream Bake made a yummy crossover dessert! (I had quite a few crossovers at suppertime – hard to avoid when you have fresh peaches on hand all the time. 😉 )
Another yummy peach dessert (a THM:E this time): Peach Cobbler with Biscuit Topping! Even my grandpa and uncle liked it.
One night Grandpa and Grandma went out for supper, but I stayed behind to work on blog posts and clean some leftovers out of the fridge. Chicken drumsticks, beef roast, and a pile of green beans. The drumsticks had some breading on them, but other than that it was a good THM:S.
For dessert I threw together some ingredients to make a chia pudding. There were some blueberries and coconut oil involved, but other than that I don’t remember what I put in it.
Der Dutchman’s, one of our favorite restaurants, has a great salad bar. In this particular case I got the special of the day – roast turkey – with the salad bar as my side. Can’t go wrong there!
Squash stuffed with hamburger sauce and cheese + salad
Running consistently definitely helped me stay in shape. I did 2 miles 5-6 days a week amid some beautiful scenery.
Post workout snack: cottage cheese, banana, sunflower seeds (just a few) – THM:E (or crossover if I had more than 5g fat from the seeds)
One night I really wanted a fried taco, but the only applicable ingredients I had in my little cabin were a low-carb tortilla (tomato basil flavor, no less) and some peanut butter. No cream cheese, no berries, no sweetener. Not daunted, I spread some peanut butter on the tortilla, added a dollop of cottage cheese, folded ‘er up, and tried to put the whole thing in the toaster…but it was too thick. So I put it on top of the toaster (see above). Didn’t work. So I microwaved it. For way too long. I ended up with a very soggy tortilla, dry peanut butter, and cottage cheese that looked like someone threw it up all over the inside of my microwave. Not one to waste food, I put the mess in the fridge where it solidified and became slightly more palatable by the next day. But I still wanted my taco (at 11 PM)! This time I ditched the cottage cheese and only spread a thin layer of peanut butter in a tortilla, then folded it up and put it in the toaster (it was thinner this time). Voila. Nothing stellar, but I ate it and went to bed fondly dreaming of my blender, my Super Sweet Blend, and my ice cream maker back home.
So there you have it, folks. If I can do it, you can do it. Eating healthy even when you’re not in your normal environment can have its challenges but is definitely not impossible, especially not if you use a little ingenuity, do some prep work ahead of time, stick to quick and easy, and allow yourself some grace and flexibility (like eating a few crossovers once in awhile). Any progress is still progress. How have you done THM away from home? Got any tips to share? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!
You may also enjoy:
- Starting THM
- my recipe index
- my recipes grouped by fuel type, allergy info, and theme
- all my peach recipes
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Adriane says
Love your ideas. Kuddos for eating sardines-not something that i can eat!! ? You managed to run also!!!??? Way to go!
Ina says
This blog comes at a great time for me, as our family will be in Walnut Creek and Berlin, next Thursday through Monday, as my mother will be 90 yo. on the 30th, so we are going to celebrate…we do like Der Dutchman, although I’m not sure we will get there…actually my favorite spot is across the road from the Der, and to the left, at Rebecca’s Bistro. I’m sure it will be difficult for me to stay on plan.
Carolyn says
the peaches look lovely,
my parents had a apple/peach orchard and made apple cider.
i used to help my parents at the roadside stand selling peaches. and my husband and i love going to Holmes County, Ohio.
Briana Thomas says
How neat! You know all about being a peach saleswoman, then! 😉
Lynn says
Any recommendations for eating out while away? In the last three months I have found that I have to be gluten-free, nearly salt-free, and I choose to be THM. Food has gotten so complicated. We have two trips for grandbabies’ births and one for a 10 day vacation, in the next six months. That is a lot of time on the road and without food cooking options. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Briana Thomas says
Hi Lynn! It definitely can be difficult! I don’t have any blog posts specifically written on that subject, but a few of my friends do!
http://www.grassfedmama.com/2014/01/16/eating-trim-healthy-mama/
http://www.ahomewithpurpose.com/eating-out-with-a-trim-healthy-mama/
Lynn says
Thank you.
Rachel McLaughlin says
Hi Briana. I have recently arrived in the USA from Australia and am traveling around in an RV with my family. I follow the THM way of life and I am planning to leave enough room in my suitcase to purchase your book to take home.
Just wondering if there is a list of shops where I can access THM style foods eg. Where can I buy Joseph’s Pita from?
Briana Thomas says
Hi Rachel! Welcome! I’m not sure what section of the country you’re in, but in the southeast US we have a grocery store called Publix that carries the Joseph products. Some Walmarts have them as well. Honestly, I do most of my special ingredients shopping online. This page gives a lot of links to my favorite products from several different online companies: https://www.briana-thomas.com/starting-trim-healthy-mama/
Here’s a list of the stuff we buy locally: https://www.briana-thomas.com/brianas-list-of-thm-staples/
Kathy says
Great suggestions. On our recent trip to Disneyland, I made sure we had a fridge in the room. Once in Anaheim stopped to buy Triple Zero, lean deli meat, string cheese, fresh fruit and large bag of mixed salad greens. I had yogurt and fruit for breakfast, string cheese for snack, salad with deli meat or a sandwich in Joseph’s Pita for lunch and dinner. Had 2 meals in the park and a few spoonfuls of Dole Whip. It was easier than I had imagined and after a week on vacation I managed to lose a pound.
Briana Thomas says
Wow – great prep, Kathy! Thanks for sharing!
Sheila Gattis says
Congratulations. You did great?
Paige Farrish says
Thanks for the encouragement. I’m currently away at in laws. I brought with me your overnight oatmeal and cooked ahead some of your S waffles/pancakes. For lunch I made chicken salad ahead and ate on wasa crackers and the Italian salad for another day. Dinner is the hardest and I usually go into crossover. My family doesn’t seem to know the different in fats and carbs and likes to pile them all on at the same time in large quantities ??
LJW says
yes! it can be done! …IF you WANT to!
i take collagen along in a baby formula travel dispenser. n add a pinch of stevia to each compartment. i can grab a motel coffee, or one at a travel center anywhere. add several half n half creamers and a good dose of collagen, and be totally on plan, (saving room for calories at a buffet later in the day:) sometimes i have a special dark mini chocolate bar in the car… given by somebody! makes a nice mocha n melts quite well in a coffee… or in the car.
dont like coffee? tea bags have a long shelf life. keep your purse stocked. i love the choc mint oolong tea. hot water can be gotten from a perker almost anywhere. then your breakfast was almost free, n super easy! not in the mood for hot drink on a hot day? iced works too!
not enough ‘grub’ for breakfast? take along some homemade e granola bars or s protein bars.
Briana Thomas says
Good tips – thanks for sharing!
Melody Lietzke says
Like you, prep work has helped me be successful away from home. I make sure I have wraps and luquid stevia on hand. I tend to eat mostly S meals away from home and end up over doing nuts. But like you, i have found THM is very doable away from home:) Great job! Keep shining for the Lord!