I went camping this weekend -- just me, my dog, a tent, a cooler, my car, and a reservation at a state park. I ended up cutting the visit short due to an infinite number of bites from infinitesimally small insects which never should have made their way to the Ark, but that's another tale for another blog.
I was close enough to town that if I'd needed to, I could have gone back for meals, but what's the fun in that? Half the joy is in living off what you can bring with you. So I brought a propane campstove (borrowed from some friends), a whistling kettle from my kitchen, some oatmeal and some dehydrated egg cups for breakfast, and stopped on the way for other things I'd need for the long weekend: salad mix, chunk chicken, lo-carb tortillas for wraps, a small veggie tray (tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli florets), almonds for snacks, and baggies of dogfood for my pet. And when I got nearer to the state park, I stopped at a grocery store for some deli turkey and some cheese slices..... odd, since I hadn't really planned on that, but something told me to get it. I had packed some healthy chips and Starbucks Via packs as well. I'm not a Starbucks fan, but one does what one has to. I had some Better'n Peanut Butter as well, so I felt I was pretty well stocked.
It took a while but I got camp set up, and boiled some water for coffee to enjoy by the fire..... I ended up enjoying it while staring out into the darkness because I couldn't get the fire going..... and a migraine was trying to make a comeback. UGH! So I went to bed much earlier than planned -- and if you want the funnier details, please check out my "real" blog Meanderings & Musings....
Anyway, the next morning I got up to make coffee and ..... the campstove refused to light. At all. So I grabbed a second propane bottle (thinking the first was empty). Nope. Nothing. Went to the park store to buy another bottle. And STILL nothing. At this point, I was ready to go into town to search out more information from the hardware store or other knowledgeable source. And to round up some breakfast. Without the campstove, no water for coffee or oatmeal, or egg cup, or anything else. AAAAAGH! So at this point, it was nearly 9:30 AM and all I wanted was ANYTHING.
Believe it or not, Mickey D's has some pretty darn healthy breakfast options -- specifically, if you get the fruit & nut oatmeal or the Egg White Delight McMuffin. Heck, for that matter, a real plain Egg McMuffin is a good choice too! So I got the Egg White Delight McMuffin meal -- which I thought was just the McMuffin and the coffee. But OOPSIE, I opened the bag and there was a hash brown patty. But I decided to eat it anyway, and know that I could make adjustments later in the day. And I knew that I would be getting in a lot of activity. So I didn't sweat it too much.
Around 1:00 I ate a very light lunch -- a wrap with some of the turkey and cheese, along with some of the veggies from the veggie tray, an apple, and some healthier chips. Friends came over and we got more walking in. I didn't eat dinner again until nearly 8:00 PM -- and that was just salad mix with some of the chunk chicken, and a container of shelf-stable low-fat milk (yay for TruMoo tetrapaks!) And again, I wasn't starving. By the time I went to bed, having tracked everything, I still had just a few Points in my target left. But I left them. I wasn't hungry.... no need to
Sunday was pretty much the same routine, except by 9:00 AM I was covered in enough bug bites to decide I'd had enough. I packed up and headed for home, again stopping at Mickey D's around 9:45 AM for a brunch meal (this time, without hash brown!) and milk instead of coffee. And I did not eat again until last night's dinner around 6:00.
But here's the really interesting thing....... when I got home and was surrounded by food choices, I found I wanted to eat. We joke about food calling our name.... but it was almost like that. When I didn't have (whatever) anywhere near me, and it was too much trouble to go into town for (whatever), then I didn't think about it, didn't even have it cross my radar, and I didn't miss it. Having it in the same house or sometimes in the same room ..... and I suddenly HAD to have it.
So over the next couple of weeks, I'll be taking stock of what I really have, what I don't need to have on hand, and doing a little something I call, "EATING WHAT I HAVE!" Getting fresh fruit or frozen veggies or getting more milk is one thing. But picking up something just because, "ooh, I might want this soon..." or "hey, I wanna try this and today's the day!".... no. Just no. And guess what, I bet I'll find after a couple of weeks that I suddenly have room in my section of the freezer and pantry. WOW. There's a novel idea.
And so from the sand-flea, sand-gnat, mosquito-infested woods and sand of the Carolina coast comes some much needed insight.....
I was close enough to town that if I'd needed to, I could have gone back for meals, but what's the fun in that? Half the joy is in living off what you can bring with you. So I brought a propane campstove (borrowed from some friends), a whistling kettle from my kitchen, some oatmeal and some dehydrated egg cups for breakfast, and stopped on the way for other things I'd need for the long weekend: salad mix, chunk chicken, lo-carb tortillas for wraps, a small veggie tray (tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli florets), almonds for snacks, and baggies of dogfood for my pet. And when I got nearer to the state park, I stopped at a grocery store for some deli turkey and some cheese slices..... odd, since I hadn't really planned on that, but something told me to get it. I had packed some healthy chips and Starbucks Via packs as well. I'm not a Starbucks fan, but one does what one has to. I had some Better'n Peanut Butter as well, so I felt I was pretty well stocked.
It took a while but I got camp set up, and boiled some water for coffee to enjoy by the fire..... I ended up enjoying it while staring out into the darkness because I couldn't get the fire going..... and a migraine was trying to make a comeback. UGH! So I went to bed much earlier than planned -- and if you want the funnier details, please check out my "real" blog Meanderings & Musings....
Anyway, the next morning I got up to make coffee and ..... the campstove refused to light. At all. So I grabbed a second propane bottle (thinking the first was empty). Nope. Nothing. Went to the park store to buy another bottle. And STILL nothing. At this point, I was ready to go into town to search out more information from the hardware store or other knowledgeable source. And to round up some breakfast. Without the campstove, no water for coffee or oatmeal, or egg cup, or anything else. AAAAAGH! So at this point, it was nearly 9:30 AM and all I wanted was ANYTHING.
Believe it or not, Mickey D's has some pretty darn healthy breakfast options -- specifically, if you get the fruit & nut oatmeal or the Egg White Delight McMuffin. Heck, for that matter, a real plain Egg McMuffin is a good choice too! So I got the Egg White Delight McMuffin meal -- which I thought was just the McMuffin and the coffee. But OOPSIE, I opened the bag and there was a hash brown patty. But I decided to eat it anyway, and know that I could make adjustments later in the day. And I knew that I would be getting in a lot of activity. So I didn't sweat it too much.
Around 1:00 I ate a very light lunch -- a wrap with some of the turkey and cheese, along with some of the veggies from the veggie tray, an apple, and some healthier chips. Friends came over and we got more walking in. I didn't eat dinner again until nearly 8:00 PM -- and that was just salad mix with some of the chunk chicken, and a container of shelf-stable low-fat milk (yay for TruMoo tetrapaks!) And again, I wasn't starving. By the time I went to bed, having tracked everything, I still had just a few Points in my target left. But I left them. I wasn't hungry.... no need to
Sunday was pretty much the same routine, except by 9:00 AM I was covered in enough bug bites to decide I'd had enough. I packed up and headed for home, again stopping at Mickey D's around 9:45 AM for a brunch meal (this time, without hash brown!) and milk instead of coffee. And I did not eat again until last night's dinner around 6:00.
But here's the really interesting thing....... when I got home and was surrounded by food choices, I found I wanted to eat. We joke about food calling our name.... but it was almost like that. When I didn't have (whatever) anywhere near me, and it was too much trouble to go into town for (whatever), then I didn't think about it, didn't even have it cross my radar, and I didn't miss it. Having it in the same house or sometimes in the same room ..... and I suddenly HAD to have it.
So over the next couple of weeks, I'll be taking stock of what I really have, what I don't need to have on hand, and doing a little something I call, "EATING WHAT I HAVE!" Getting fresh fruit or frozen veggies or getting more milk is one thing. But picking up something just because, "ooh, I might want this soon..." or "hey, I wanna try this and today's the day!".... no. Just no. And guess what, I bet I'll find after a couple of weeks that I suddenly have room in my section of the freezer and pantry. WOW. There's a novel idea.
And so from the sand-flea, sand-gnat, mosquito-infested woods and sand of the Carolina coast comes some much needed insight.....
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