On Preparation...for the WILD!

So I'm really excited right now because I leave on Thursday to go camping with my favorite Canuck, Rachel! And although I've been "cheating" a little with this paleo challenge because I wanted to take advantage of Minneapolis/St. Paul Restaurant Week, I plan on keeping it very paleo out in the wild. Just like our caveman ancestors, right?

This past Saturday at our CFSP check-in meeting, Mike touched on the topic of preparing. I think this is a key success factor when deciding to go paleo. I spend about an hour a week just PLANNING out my meals for the week, then add to that shopping for ingredients and cooking. Yes, it takes a while, but with all the energy you'll have from eating good, clean, nutritious food, you won't even notice how long it takes! Sounds cheesy, but it's true.

Proper preparation goes beyond just planning what to cook and making sure you have enough meals to take to work. I extend my planning and preparation to include NOT keeping very many (or hopefully ANY!) non-paleo items in my apartment. If you don't have Wheat Thins to snack on, you're less likely to snack on them. Being prepared with healthy alternatives is also essential so that you stay on track with your diet and nutrition goals.

With that being said, I've had to prepare what I'm going to take on my camping adventure with Rachel. I hit up the local REI today and found these pretty decent buffalo jerky bites called Tanka Bites. The only negative is that they have cranberries and sugar, but I'm going to be moving around so much and constantly, that the carbs will do me some good. I also picked up a few Larabars (again, for the carbs) and I'm hitting up the grocery store tonight for deli meat, fresh veggies, and nuts to make my nut granola. I think that should have me pretty set for 2.5 days of hiking and camping out.

Just don't tell Mike I'm also getting S'Mores materials...cavemen ate those too, right?