So you just started a Low Carb or Keto Diet and now you have to go on vacation?! Ack!
Been there… done that… and you can do it too!
There IS a way to stay on track and still eat a low carb or keto diet while on vacation. This will test your creativity and dedication to your health choice, but you can make it a fun challenge while you’re on vacation!
There are a couple things to keep in mind:
- The first is that you are not the first person to ask a food server or counter person for a special order that’s low carb.
- Secondly, keep in mind that you are doing this for your health. You are worth asking a couple extra questions and making a special request when ordering food.
I remember one of the first times I asked for a special order in Dunkin Donuts. I ordered a breakfast sandwich and asked if they could hold the bread and just put the insides of the sandwich in a dish. The cashier said to me, “you’re eating low carb right?” I said I was and the cashier said you’re the 5th person this morning to ask for something that comes without bread. I felt so validated for just asking! There are way more people than we think that are trying to eat a low carb diet.
On our last vacation, I took pictures of my meals where I had to make special requests, or meals where I prepared ahead to stay on plan.
These are some ideas and examples for adapting your meals to a low carb version when you are on vacation!
Hotel Breakfast Bar
The breakfast bar was pretty typical, so there were lots of high carb options, but they also had scrambled eggs, ham and sausage. I can totally work with that!
Egg scramble with ham and sausage, and yes I took a Pyure packet with me so I could make coffee that was on plan too.
Keep in mind that at certain places the cooks will add milk or cream to make scrambled eggs, so you may want to ask specifically, but in general eggs are a pretty safe bet. With the ham and sausage, it’s a little more dicey. There are a lot of versions of breakfast meat that are packed with carbs, so my fix is to just a have a little.
Ruby Tuesday’s
Hamburger-no bun & Salad Bar (Our table also ordered Bacon Deviled Eggs)
You could either wait until you get the whole meal brought out and make a hamburger salad or eat your meal separate. This time, I ate a salad and then the burger without a bun when it came.
A special note about salad bars is that it’s not the lettuce that has a ton of carbs, it’s all the toppings you add to the salad.
Some things that I avoid putting on my salad are corn kernels, soy beans, garbanzo beans, and croutons. When it comes to dressings, I use it sparingly. Many of the commercial dressings in restaurants have upwards of 5 -10 carbs per tablespoon. You can easily eat a 20 carb salad and not even realize it.
By the time you add shredded cheese and some of the other low carb options to your salad, it has plenty of flavor so having no dressing or minimal dressing isn’t a problem. You will still enjoy it, and feel good for sticking to your low carb way of eating.
Fudpucker’s
Hamburger-no bun & Fresh Veggies
Any time there is a fresh veggie option and it’s broccoli – Count me in!!
How appetizing is this?! That bright green broccoli is so pretty!
I will usually add some mayo to any hamburger I get so there’s some extra fat in the mix. There are certain brands of mayo that are higher in carbs than others so just be cautious not to overdo it since you don’t know what brand the restaurant uses.
We aren’t striving for perfection, we are making what’s available work for us.
Movie Snack
Macadamia Nuts, Lilly’s Chocolate Chips and Lilly Bar Pieces
This is a great example of making a lifestyle out of eating low carb. We have all probably enjoyed popcorn with movies for most of our lives. There are lots of options available for movie snacks. Don’t make yourself feel deprived, take something you enjoy to snack on while others may be eating popcorn.
Johnny O’Quigley’s
Hamburger-no bun & a side salad that happened to come with half of a hard boiled egg.
Okay, I obviously like hamburgers… but if you don’t like hamburgers or just want to switch things up, there is usually always a chicken sandwich option available as well. You can do the same thing no bun and make a very nice chicken salad.
TIP- You can ask for extra lettuce in order to add some more salad building material when you are ordering sandwiches without the bun. I make “hamburger salads” a lot when I eat out in restaurants.
Breakfast
Egg Scramble, Carbquick Biscuit & Jelly
This meal option requires being at a location where you can cook. We stayed with family and were able to fix some low carb meals for everyone.
We planned ahead and ordered some Carbquick mix to take with us knowing that we would probably love to enjoy some biscuits and jelly one morning.
Carbquick is a baking mix available on Amazon or from Netrition.com – We buy it on occasion when we need a biscuit and gravy fix, or just in the mood for some biscuits and jelly! Check out my Sausage Gravy Recipe here.
The jelly is made by Nature’s Hollow and it’s available online from Amazon and from Netrition.com. If you have a Whole Foods near you, it is also available there. There are lots of yummy flavors. (It is NOT pet friendly though – It is made with Xylitol – So beware not to let your pets get any)
I love these spatulas with meaningful sayings on them. There are a few I’ve seen on Amazon that are definitely on my wish list this year! Check out some of them here on Amazon.
Five Guys
Burger in a Lettuce Wrap (and I packed a Zevia to drink)
This is a personal favorite and an easy go to meal that I know is safe. I will never admit how much I eat from Five Guys. lol
If I need a break from water, I will also pack a Zevia with me. There are lots of different flavors available, and a variety pack is made available too so you can try most of the flavors in one case.
The options that I mentioned above are pretty common at most restaurants. Keep in mind that as you vacation and need to eat at various places, there is pretty much an option to make any dish low carb. Just be creative and think of it as a challenge!
I have one more story about low carb requests. While getting coffee one afternoon on vacation, me and #KetoHusband went into a Starbucks location and a worker who was following the Keto diet herself, asked us if we were doing keto. She suspected because of the way we ordered our coffee and our questions about the kind of cream Starbucks used. The world is filled with people who know about low carb diets and the Keto diet so it makes going out to eat and vacationing not so scary.
You can do it!!!
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