Eating to Live in an RV

I spent 3 weeks in an RV with my husband and 4 kids. It was the best thing ever! I loved the small space, or should I say, I loved the small space to vacuum. I also loved that we had a plan. We knew where we were going each day and how many miles it would take to get there. My sweet husband is an Excel wiz and he prepared a chart of all of our meals and what we would need to bring and made sure in his planning that all of it would fit in our small storage and the small fridge. He was so diligent to make sure I had enough room to fit 18 baggies of soup in the freezer. On top of making sure I had freezer space, he made room for 15 cans of beans and 5 cartons of almond milk and my Vitamix and all the nuts I brought. He spent a while trying to figure out a container for my salad makings in the fridge too.

On this journey, God has shaped my husband's heart as well. He has always been open to trying new things and supporting me on whatever adventure in food I take. This eating journey is no exception. He loves the changes in me. He loves my new confidence and he really loves my (for the most part) constant, peaceful mood. So to have him plan so well for me was no surprise, but a sweet treat none-the-less.

We hardly ever ate out on our trip, but the times that we did, I'd eat my food that I brought. That is the benefit of an RV, we always ate in the RV, so my food was always there. Walmart was a huge help. I wasn't expecting that. The Walmart I shop at doesn't have any organic produce, but the ones we found on the trip did!! I was so excited to have a resource for organic fruits and veggies. Thankfully, my family doesn't eat a bunch of junk, so there wasn't any temptations staring me in the face, plus my body was so nourished from my healthy diet that I wouldn't have been tempted anyway.

I said before that I brought my Vitamix. I also brought two bags of frozen bananas and kept refilling those bags with fresh bananas as I used them to make sure I was never out of them to use for Strawberry Ice cream* or Chocolate Banana Ice cream. Eating treats with the family is fun and I didn't want to miss out on any of it. I packed some brownies that I baked and froze them for the kids to have a non-processed treat. I'd eat my Ice cream right along with them. Most nights, they want my Ice cream instead. I love that!

We planned for the worst. We made sure I had enough soup to last in case we couldn't find a source for good veggies to cook. Walmart took care of that, but I knew I was taken care of, just in case. I kept my expectations very simple. I knew I'd have a cooked meal (soup) and a raw meal (salad). Another reason I brought my Vitamix was to make salad dressing. I pre-measured all the ingredients for the vegan ranch that I love. That was a huge relief to know that I had dressing. I do not like a dry salad, so dressing is a must for me!

We took a Rhino tour of Bryce...I didn't worry about not fitting in the seat!

The trip was amazing. We hiked for miles and miles in beautiful country. We hiked Zion, Mount Rushmore, Grand Tetons, through caves and the finale was Bryce Canyon. I thanked God the whole time that I was able to do the hikes. 100 pounds ago, it would have been a very different vacation. That finale at Bryce was so hard, but I was able to do it with no problem! We went on a 3 mile hike down into the canyon and you know, what goes down, must come up and for about half of the up part, I had my 40 pound daughter on my back! What a blessing to be the leader of my pack and finish strong with energy to spare. I'm still in awe of coming this far and accomplishing so much. Thank you, Lord!!

*Strawberry Ice cream
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 banana (not frozen)
3 dates
1/2 cup almond milk (more or less for desired consistency)

Blend all ingredients in high powered mixer until smooth.