Lately my body’s telling me I’ve been off the Whole30 too long. I’m uncomfortable in my own skin (sometimes my body’s even downright painful), and my clothes don’t fit. But since I was headed out for a week at church camp, I started wondering…could I do the Whole30 at camp?
Yes, with a little planning and pre-cooking, you CAN do the Whole30 at camp if you want. I need to get back on it and figure out specifically what’s causing me these problems. Then I can move into my new Food Freedom and eat a less restrictive diet without the side effects I have now.
Planning for Whole30 at camp: Lunch
Of course, if you have any single servings of meals left in the fridge (we kinda let supplies in the fridge dwindle just before camp week), take those for sure. But chances are you won’t have many (I had just one). Which means you’re gonna need to cook something.
Summer is the best time for a chicken salad! So, I immediately thought of my favorite Fall Protein Chicken Salad (in Melissa Urban’s book The Whole30) and how I never seem to get enough when I make it. I knew it wouldn’t be a problem for me to eat it each day for lunch over spinach. So, that went on my list to make.
Planning for Whole30 at camp: Supper
Because I would need to cook chicken for the chicken salad, I wondered what else I could do with cooked chicken if I just made one large crockpot full (so easy it evened cooked without any attention from me overnight).
Thinking about my food prepper friends (like MBWellnessCoaching), I thought about things I could put chicken over or with and sauces I could use to make those combos unique. I settled on Roasted Potato Chunks (I used just russets this time but used the same recipe) and spaghetti squash.
A fridge dive gave me some ethnic ideas. I found part of a jar of compliant pasta sauce, my compliant salsa, compliant BBQ sauce, and compliant steak sauce. Mixing and matching these sauces with the chicken and potatoes or spaghetti squash, I’ll definitely have some variety.
What are they serving that I CAN have?
I knew the camp kitchen staff would be having green salad, so that and some fruit would round out my supper as long as I made my own salad dressing. I found some green onions and an English cucumber to add as well. Looking good! (shown in the first photo above with the chicken salad)
Then I remembered hamburger night! Ah yes, that steak sauce would work nicely with a clean burger or two. The cooks set aside 2 plain burgers just for me plus grilled my marinated mini sweet peppers on request (my friends like to see me feeling fit and well, too).
Planning Whole30 for camp: Breakfast
Honestly, this was easiest of all. I already know my compliant pork sausage makes 5 servings. So, I just added a dozen eggs to the pan after removing the grease and scrambled them all together. Add a banana for each day and I would be set.
Shopping and pre-cooking
I pulled together my shopping list and a list of cooking/preparation needed. Then I set out to conquer it. A couple of hours on Saturday and again on Sunday, and I was ready to go! The hardest part was letting things cool before packing them to go.
Yes, you CAN do the Whole30 at camp
I used to wonder whether we would run out of food at camp, and sometimes we did (not very pleasant). This time, my food is simply up to me, and I think I’ve got it covered. I do need to use the microwave for supper, but I never have to wait in a serving line – another plus! I simply keep my own food separate in the cooler, and that’s it! The dishwasher is even cleaning those dishes as I empty them!
Success at camp Whole30?
I’m only halfway through, but I feel certain I will succeed. A little thought and planning, a little precooking, packing and unloading. Well worth it to start my Whole30 seven days earlier. What would be your “go to” food if you wanted to take your Whole30 to camp? Drop it in the comments below!
Want more ideas on how to be successful with your own Whole30? Check out these articles…
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Great job!
Thanks! Once I put about two minutes of thought into it, it was really easy! So proud I made it the whole week and already the abdominal bloating is almost gone!