Wholesome Food for On the Move
by Paulette Millis

On a cold winter day, a day trip to Regina and back! A friend and I decided to share six hours of travel and five hours of several planned business activities. The energy and clear thinking of good nutrition, low expenses, and no time wasted were our goals. What to do?

Take two wide-mouth stainless steel thermos containers and pack with a hot soup and a hot casserole made from leftovers in the fridge or the freezer. The choice this particular day was Chili Beans and Mom’s Potato Leek Soup (see recipes below), both previously cooked. These take about five minutes to heat slowly, and then pack in the thermos containers. Any soup, casserole, or salad will travel for a day in a stainless steel thermos. Add a bag or container of sliced red and green peppers, turnip sticks, or your choice of veggies, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and a dash of Celtic salt if desired, a few apples or other fresh fruit, and filtered water or herb tea. Include a few snacks such as fruit leather rolls from the Farmers’ Market, chunks of fresh coconut or coconut bars, Rebar fruit and veggie bars, and a container of raw nuts such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts mixed with dried blueberries and cranberries. Don’t forget a cloth bag of utensils, napkins, and serving dishes if necessary. Voila! A meal and numerous snacks for the whole day, if necessary.

Consider the expense of a family with four children planning an overnight in a hotel and just one day on the road with three meals and numerous snacks. Eating out would be almost prohibitive for the average family. Consider the convenience of having wholesome food available at your fingertips when children suddenly become hungry, and the time saved for everyone, rather than sitting down in a restaurant (even a fast food one), with the need to find the restaurant, the parking, and then making arrangements for all to go in. A fact of family life is that not all members are hungry at the same time and not all want the same foods. Consider the quality of nutrition for the family with choice foods, lovingly prepared and packed, as opposed to fast foods prepared with questionable ingredients such as white flour, white sugar, and bad fats.

To avoid fast food places while travelling, plan ahead. Purchase a cooler and a few ice packs. Keep a zippered cloth bag with unbreakable plates, cups, bowls, plastic cutlery, a can opener, paring knife, napkins, tablecloth, and washcloth inside.

Purchase a mini blender or a hand-held blender to make fast smoothies in the morning with a choice of milk, fruit, yogurt, oil, and/or protein powder supplements.

Pack perishable items like cleaned, sliced veggies such as sweet peppers, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips etc. in ziplock bags in the cooler, along with any fruit that needs to be kept cool. Pack plain yogurt, cheeses, butter, peanut butter or other nut butters, raw nuts and seeds, as well as essential fatty acids like Hemp or Udo’s oil, if desired, also in the cooler.

Purchase boxes of milk substitutes, for example Almond Breeze, brown rice milk, hemp milk, or canned coconut milk to use on cereals and for snacks, and some good quality juices such as organic Just Juice or Bolthouse juices.

Non-perishable items such as granola, bags of whole grain cereal flakes, stevia, crackers such as Ryvita and Holgrains, cans of salmon and sardines, protein powder supplements such as Whey Protein Isolate and/or Naturade Soy Free Veg, and Vega meal replacement, dried fruit such as Medjool dates, figs, boxes of herb tea bags, and coffee substitutes such as Bambu and Caflib all of which can be packed in zippered bags or in the cooler if room.

Make ahead snacks. Some ideas are Savory Pepitas, Teriyaki Almonds, Oatmeal Date Cookies, Wonderful Nut Muffins, Gorp, and many more. Check my books for these and many more nutrient-dense snacks that travel well. I take a huge batch of Special Popcorn (from Eat Away Illness) with me wherever I go as it stores well in a sealed container.

Make ahead full meal salads such as Take a Walk on the Wild Side Salad (from Cook Your Way to Health) and cooked cold legumes (beans) and grains with chopped veggies and healthy dressing are great for the first day out.

Most hotels will supply a small fridge for no extra charge; be sure to ask for one when making reservations.

Some or all of these ideas will make travelling easier, and will help you enjoy your holiday by keeping your energy up with wholesome food, while minimizing expenses and saving time. Enjoy the following recipes, either at home, or during your journey.

RECIPES

Chilli Beans

1 large chopped onion
1 chopped sweet pepper
1 large clove garlic, minced
cold-pressed olive oil
4 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
5 cups cooked beans e.g. kidney, pinto, lima
Celtic sea salt to taste

1. Sauté onions, pepper and garlic in olive oil until transparent.
2. Add tomatoes and simmer until tender.
3. Add herbs, and cooked beans and simmer or bake one half to 1 hour at 350°F.
4. Add Celtic salt to taste and serve.

—from Eat Away Illness, Paulette Millis

Mom’s Potato Leek Soup

1-1/2 cups sliced leeks (about 3 medium leeks)
1/2 cup butter or ghee (for dairy-free), divided in half
5 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
2 tsp chicken-like seasoning
2 cups filtered water
4 tbsp whole grain flour (use buckwheat or brown rice for gluten-free)
4 cups milk (use Hemp Milk or unsweetened Almond Breeze for dairy-free)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
sprinkle of dill weed for garnish

1. Sauté leeks in one quarter cup butter or ghee.
2. Add potatoes, celery, 1 tsp. salt, chicken-like seasoning and water. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Blend the remaining butter or ghee with the milk and whole grain flour to make a cream sauce.
4. Add to potato mixture. Stir to combine or blend entire batch in blender, using small portions at a time, if a puree is desired.
5. Return all to soup pot and simmer until desired temperature. Add cayenne and adjust seasonings.
6. Sprinkle with dill weed and serve or freeze in individual size containers for future use.

—from Eat Away Illness, Paulette Millis

Toasted Sesame Seeds

A Wonderful Taste Treat!

1 cup unhulled sesame seeds

1. Place large sauté pan on low heat.
2. Add sesame seeds to pan, and shake to distribute evenly.
3. Toast, shaking and stirring often, for several minutes or until seeds begin to pop and turn a slightly darker colour, being careful to avoid burning.
4. Cool and store in a glass jar.

Shake on everything possible as sesame seeds have a high content of easy to assimilate calcium.

Oat Cookies with Date Filling

Wow! The best cookie ever!
(contains gluten)

Date Filling:
Combine in a small saucepan…
2 cups of finely chopped pitted dates (preferably organic)
1-1/2 cups of water
1 tsp lemon juice

Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, remove from heat and let cool.
1 cup of butter (use ghee or coconut oil for dairy free)
1/2 cup of honey
2-1/2 cups of rolled oats
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups spelt or kamut flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (use Almond
Breeze for dairy free)
date filling

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter or oil and honey, then stir in rolled oats and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, flax, soda, and salt. Add alternately with buttermilk or milk to creamed mixture and stir just until it’s all mixed. Form into a ball, wrap in wax paper and chill if necessary for up to an hour.
2. Working with a small amount at a time, roll out dough between two pieces of waxed paper to no more than a 1/8 inch thick. With a 2 to 3 inch cookie cutter, cut into rounds. Using a floured metal spatula, transfer to lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 6 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.

When cool, generously spread the date filling over the undersides of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, right side up, to make sandwiches. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
*Note: spelt, oat flakes, and kamut contain gluten.

—from Cook Your Way to Health, Paulette Millis

The above information regarding nutritious food is not intended to replace any instruction from medical or health professionals.

Paulette Millis is a speaker, author, and nutritional consultant. To contract her for speaking engagements call (306) 244-8890 in Saskatoon, or email eatingforhealth@sasktel.net. Website: www.healingwithnutrition.ca. Her books, Eat Away Illness and Cook Your Way to Health, are available at health food stores and at McNally Robinson Booksellers.