Rhew The Nation -- Days 1 and 2

Deek and I had been planning and saving for another cross-country trip for a while. We planned and replanned our route, plotted our hotels (dog-friendly, of course, since Guster would be with us), and organized our car and keto eating for the big trip. Finally, the time came to head out.

First leg of the trip was from the South to the Pacific Northwest via the northern route. Now, we've been the northern route *several* times already, by train and car. So, we wanted to see something we hadn't gotten to see before. In the past, we've missed Mount Rushmore due to snow (in May and June--what?), so we were excited to be going in July sans snow!

Also, on year for my birthday, Deek got me a Shakespeare bobblehead for my dash, which I adore. We call him Shakey because he bops up and down to car movements. Since we love him so much, we decided to do Shakey across America!

First Day (North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia)

Virginia is for lovers. Perfect that I went there with Deek then! <3

West Virginia has some of the coolest bridges!

But also some of the *slowest* "fast food establishments we've ever encountered.

This is our second or third time in WV, and we always get super slow service.

Keto eating: 2 Jr. Bacon cheeseburgers with no bun or condiments

I got you, babe!

There's no one I'd rather adventure with than Deek! <3

Apparently some hotels have a hotel bird.

Second Day (Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri)

Shakey, looking impressed as always. LOL!

Gus, looking car terrified as always.

Long hours in the car call for read alouds and fun things like a chat pack.

Y'all know I had to bring Percy Jackson because...Percy!! <3

St. Louis Arch--been there (on another trip), done that, got pictures. ;)

We altered our travel plans a little, specifically so we could stay at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center in Independence, MO. On one of our cross-country northern route trips, we stumbled upon this place, just weeks after it had opened. It was one of the nicest places we'd ever stayed, and the rates were really reasonable. We assumed the low rates had to do with it's recent opening, so we didn't expect to be able to stay there again. 

But...good news! The rates are slightly higher now but still completely reasonable considering what you get here. The place is SO, SO nice. I can't even stress it. And it's pet-friendly, but you'd never know pets stay there. It's that quiet and clean! If you're ever in Independence, MO, definitely check it out!

We got in to the hotel in time for dinner, so we researched some keto-friendly places and discovered The Salty Iguana. Through some inside joke, Deek and iguanas have become forever associated in our family, so when we saw the restaurant was iguana themed, we *had* to go.

YAS!! They took the iguana theme and ran with it!

Awesome, keto-friendly food! YAY!

Y'all, we had this thing called a Hot Pot (sans the shrimp because we don't like seafood and sans rice because keto), and it was simply amazing! I mean, I would drive back to Independence, MO just to stay at Stoney Creek and eat that Hot Pot meal again. Holy crow!

Stay tuned! On my next post, I'll tell you about the surprise amazingness that is South Dakota and how we finally met a member of our critique partner group, Meradeth Houston, *in person* after years of working with her! 

If you missed it: Here's my blog on ketoing across the nation and about how to organize your car for a long road trip! 

Rhew The Nation -- Keto Trip Planning

Y'all, Deek and I just got back from the most amazing cross-country trip ever!! Be prepared for posts on cool things to do and things to skip if you're planning a trip across the nation! Oh, and pictures...lots and lots of pictures! ;)

South Dakota -- a surprising "must see" place

Despite some financial randomness that has sprung up over the past year, Deek and I were able to squirrel away money specifically for this trip. It's very important to us that all vacations be paid for upfront and never be put on credit (we adhere to Dave Ramsey's Financial Freedom method). After spending years (before me) with a credit card addicted person who nearly drove him into the financial ground, Deek can only enjoy vacations knowing they're not being put on credit. And I'm an uber budgeter, so it's another way we're a perfect match!

We keep getting the question, how did you stay keto and LOSE weight on vacation? So, I thought I'd start this blog series by answering that burning question. First, it required a lot of food planning. Second, we packed exercise clothes and made reservations at hotels with fitness centers. Though no one enjoys exercising on vacation, we made a point to do it on days when we weren't walking/hiking to explore things. But I'll go into more detail on the food part since that's the element most people have asked us about.

Before we went on the trip, we did a ton of planning. As I mentioned before, Deek and I are doing keto, and we're having *major* success. I just did a side-by-side comparison of myself before starting and now, and WHOA! I can't even post it because the before is just too embarrassing. Anyhoo, we knew we didn't want to get off this keto train, not even for an epic vacation. So, we planned and planned.

Our daily snack packs

Here are some of our helpful "staying on keto" tips for traveling cross-country:

1) Get a cargo rack for your food storage. I'm short, so we needed something on the back of the car instead of on the top. We got one like this (used the "trip prep" part of our budget for it)...

2) Get a great storage bin to put on the storage rack. I got this fabulous one at Walmart for only $12, and this sucker kept our food in good condition despite dust and rain storms.

3) Think about where you will be going. For the first leg of the trip, we took a northern route, so we decided to pack cold items in a cooler. On the way back, we took the southern route. We'd been warned of temperatures potentially in the 110-115 range (though it actually never got above 90), so we elected to do shelf stable food only for that leg of the trip.

4) Pre-pack as much food as you can. It saves you money, and you have snacks right at your fingertips. I broke everything up by day. We had breakfast, lunch, and snack bags for each day (we budgeted to eat dinners out). In the morning, we'd pull out that day's worth of food. We'd put the cold stuff in the inside cooler and the shelf stable stuff in the door for easy access.

If you can tear your eyes from the incredibly sexy man in the picture, note his shelf stable collection of food in the door.

5) Measure, measure, measure. We packed a lot of macadamia nuts and pecans since they're high in fat and low in carbs. But we measured out each portion. That made tracking our macros (in My Fitness Pal) super easy. 

6) Stay hydrated! We personally love electrolyte water (Whole Food's 365 and Life Water are our favorites) and Bai drinks.

Strawberry Lemonade is my favorite, but Deek likes the blueberry.

7) Research shelf stable foods because they're so much easier than dealing with a cooler. You might not think there are a lot of options for keto, but there are! Here are some we found:

--F Bombs (love the name, and the flavor is exceptional!)

--Duke's Smokies. We found these at New Seasons in the PNW, but we were pleased to find out you can order them online too!

--Heart Healthy Nuts by Planters

--Pistachios by Wonderful (my favorite is the salt and pepper) 

--Pepperoni Stix by Hormel

--Epic -- There aren't a lot of Epic products I like, but I *did* like this one!

-- Premier Protein Shakes -- I'm allergic to the proteins in milk, but Deek loves these!

7) Know what you can eat if you decide to eat out. Deek and I had pre-planned places we could eat and what we could eat at those place. But we did leave room for spontaneity. For example, in Independence, MO, we ate at a charming little place called The Salty Iguana. Deek is semi-obsessed with iguanas, so we know it was the perfect place to eat! For the record, Iggy's Hot Pot is all that and then some. Mmmmm!! I would consider a trip back to Independence just to stay at the awesome Stoney Creek Hotel and eat at The Salty Iguana again! 

Examples of food you can pre-plan to eat out:

--Wendy's -- 2 Jr. Bacon cheeseburgers without the bun and condiments

--Subway-- Italian Hero (meat and cheese only), Italian BMT (meat and cheese only), Subway Philly cheesesteak (meat and cheese only)

--Mexican -- Fajitas without the wrap

8) Have fun. Now, please know, I'm not saying you can't have fun on vacation too! Like I said, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at The Salty Iguana, and it stayed within our keto guidelines. But as I mentioned in another post, I am hypothyroid. Because of that, I have to be careful with keto and have a high carb day once a week to keep my T4s and T3s doing what they're supposed to be doing. Our vacation allotted us two high carb days, so we strategically planned them for the PNW (at Deek's favorite restaurant) and Vegas. We ended up eating at Pinup Pizza in Vegas and getting the largest slices on the strip!

Deek's back home and eating with his family at his favorite place!

Pinup Pizza--biggest slices on the strip!

If you're thinking of traveling while on a specific eating plan, it CAN be done. Deek and I both LOST weight on this trip, and we came home feeling great. Keto gives us tons of energy, so we were able to fully enjoy this vacation. We didn't come back with that vacation bloat and fatigue that so often happens from too much indulgence. 

Even on a long, cross-country trip, you can stay keto, make room for some special treats, and return home with a great sense of accomplishment!

Stay tuned for more about our epic trip!