Part 2- Oregon Road Trip and Pickles
For the second part of our road trip home from Oregon, Mark & I drove south west to the northern California coast to enjoy the Redwoods, the Coast and get in some mountain biking. I have to tell you, Oregon and Northern California are lush and beautiful with over grown fern, dangling moss, and massive trees. It was a magical place!
We brought our cooler with us on our trip so we could eat healthy and have our vegetarian food on the road. On our drive to the Redwoods, we were running low on snacks and lunch fixens so we stopped by a regular grocery store in a little town. It was a Sunday and the local health food stores were closed, bummer….So we made the best of the conventional grocery store.
Here’s what we still had in our lunch box/cooler and our dry bag. We needed to buy more food for lunch and dinner.
• Rice protein powder/green powder
• Raw almonds
• Raw Sunflower seeds soaked in a mason jar
• Himalayan salt
• Herb seasoning
• Oat groats
• Flax crackers
• Stevia
• Cinnamon
• Ginger (for nausea on windy roads, really helps!)
• 1-2 tupperware bowls to make salad or store made food
• a sharp knife
• disposable forks and spoons
We went hunting through the grocery store for healthy vegetarian friendly 
foods. The first place I go to is the fresh produce department. We ate healthy and light while traveling. We were only driving and visiting with family so we weren’t expending many calories.
I am so committed to staying lean and healthy, even while traveling!
Here’s what we bought at the grocery store
• fresh salsa (no preservatives)
• blue corn tortilla chips (we still love chips and salsa)
• red bell pepper hummus (no preservatives) Some may contain dairy so watch out.
• Organic celery (which I love to munch on and it’s great for strong bones)
• Organic pears
• Cherry tomatoes
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Lemon
• Mushroom
• Organic salad mix in a tub
• 2 bananas
Mark snuck some pickles in the basket on our way to the check out line. He likes the bread and butter pickles which are sweeter than regular dill pickles. I always look at labels before I buy a packaged product, especially when I am shopping at a conventional grocery store. I never trust the front of the label, you know, like if it says fat free, all natural, no trans fats, you get the idea…
So I politely asked Mark if he read the label on the pickles before he picked it and he said no. It’s so funny, I have been teaching him about reading labels since we have been dating and he still doesn’t do it! He said he assumed there couldn’t possibly have been anything bad in it, their pickles! I checked it out and wow!
I was so shocked!
These pickles were not like my grandma used to make on the farm.
Here are the ingredients.
Cucumbers, high fructose corn syrup, vinegar, salt, food coloring blue #1 and food coloring yellow #5. When was artificial food coloring & high fructose corn syrup necessary to make cucumbers? I looked at every single jar on the shelf and I couldn’t find ONE natural jar of pickles! This is very shocking! What is the world coming too?!
My point is Always, Always, Always read labels and never assume.
So we skipped the pickles. And our total bill cost us $20 each, $40 total.
Here’s how we made a super delicious lunch salad.
We had our tub of salad greens we just bought from the store, so we used the tub as our salad bowl. We chopped up avocado, mushrooms, asparagus, tossed in cherry tomatoes, and cut up cucumbers in the salad greens.
For my on the road salad dressing, I squeezed the juice of half a lemon into the salad, sprinkled salt and herb seasoning in the veggies, drizzled a little agave nectar in the salad and sprinkled sunflower seeds on top. We tossed the salad and enjoyed our salad, hummus and celery, and chips n’ salsa in the beautiful outdoors.
With the food we purchased plus the little food we had already, we had enough food for lunch, dinner, breakfast the next morning and lunch that next day. For buying $20 each in groceries, that’s $5 per meal. Woohoo! That is powerful stuff! We could have easily spent 3 times that amount, more like $60 each. I think eating out is one of the biggest hidden money pits. People justify eating out because “everyone has to eat”. Lame excuse.
That’s what a little preparation will do for you. Saves you money and you feel great physically and mentally knowing you are taking care of you body by eating healthy.
Now we were off to do a couple days of mountain biking in the Redwoods and The Big Sur. It was truly spectacular.
After our trip we both felt great, energized, and happy that we stayed true to our path.
Do you have any tips that help you stay on track while traveling or traveling foods? Post a comment!
Your Friend,
Kardena Pauza
Author of Easyveggiemealplans.com,
90 day vegetarian weight loss meal plan
Corn is not an easily digestible food. Blue corn chips are not healthy. Also, agave nectar is 100% fructose, which raises blood sugar in much the same way high fructose corn syrup does. Considering it healthy si a mistake.
2 days ago I did a google search (miso,B12) to see if Miso is still considered to provide B12.
The topmost hit was from “The McDougall Newsletter/2007/Nov”. While it appears that there is now doubt about miso containing B12, the unexpected pearl of great value, uncovered in the last paragraph is that NORI sheets used for sushi is a rich source of B12…. why this is particularly fantastic news for me, is because I have taken to eating a couple of Nori sheets on their own as flavoursome snacks inlieu of the temptation to eat anything else late at night, and I love it.
So to quote Dr. McDougall in his newsletter titled: Vitamin B12 Deficiency—the Meat-eaters’ Last Stand
“Foods fermented by bacteria, such as tempeh, and miso; as well as sea vegetables (nori),
have been recommended as sources of B12. Miso and tempeh do not contain B12.20 Nori—the dried
green and purple lavers commonly used to make sushi—has been tested and found to have substantial
amounts of active vitamin B12 and has been recommended a “most excellent source of vitamin B12
among edible seaweeds, especially for strict vegetarians.”20,21 (Nori obtains its B12 from symbiotic
bacteria that live on it.22) However, there is still some uncertainty about nori as a reliable B12 source;
therefore, I suggest if you do choose this seaweed that you should monitor your B12 levels by blood tests
now, and if adequate, every 3 years.
To repeat – Nori—the dried green and purple lavers commonly used to make sushi—has been tested and found to have substantial amounts of active vitamin B12.
Regards, Garry
Hi Gary, Thanks for that great information. It’s a confirmation to the power of sea veggies especially for vegetarians. All the Best, Kardena
Hello Kathy,
In regards to agave nectar. I’m not sure what kind of testing you have done, however, my clients who are diabetic have officially tested their blood sugar after consuming large amounts of agave nectar and found a very minimal raise in blood sugar ( only a few points in increase) where as HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) shoots their blood sugar through the roof into the dangerous zone. On most things, I go by bottom line results not just by what I read. Kardena
Hi Kardena,
You might want to consider bringing bamboo utensils with you, so you don’t have to use disposable ones. I love the sets from To-Go Ware (and their stainless steel tiffins), but I’ve seen others around for sale as well.
Great idea, thanks! I will find some