Campfire Cravings: RV Camping On A Diet
If you’ve been diligently cutting carbs and counting calories on a diet, traveling can sometimes put a bump in your otherwise smooth road to healthiness. When a camping weekend, or a longer trip, is quickly approaching you start to wonder if your diet will be brought along with you. You don’t want to have the “calories don’t count on vacation” mentality, because you’ve made such great progress. We’re here to tell you that it is totally possible, and sometimes easier, to eat healthy while you’re on the road in your RV than before! Here are our tips to keeping up that diet of yours when the s’mores are looking great off the hot campfire.
Tip 1: Fruit is your friend.
As it turns out, fruit is one of the most low maintenance snacks you could bring along camping anyways, whether you’re on a diet or not! Pack a few extra apples, oranges and bananas than you would typically bring along, and have them as a snack while fellow campers dig into more carb-loaded camp snacks like granola. Obviously, you don’t want to go overboard with fruits, as they contain complex sugars, but they’re a great healthy alternative that are ready to travel in their skins!
Tip 2: Plan ahead.
One of the biggest parts of sticking to your diet simply relies on taking a little time to plan ahead. Using your portable grill or a campfire grate makes it easy to dine on some top-notch grillables, like steak or pork chops! Wrapping up some veggies in foil and seasonings and throwing them over the open flame also results in a delicious healthy side dish!
The fact of the matter is, when you’re out camping, you can easily cut down your diet to the basics and you won’t get many complaints from your fellow campers who are not watching their waistline like you. Think about all of the healthy items you can throw on the grill! Be sure to load up your fridge with plenty of vegetables and meat, so that you get enough protein and nutrition.
Tip 3: Have snack alternatives.
Even though fruit makes a good snack, you might be craving something salty when everyone else busts out a bag of potato chips. Never fear! Lightly salted almonds, cashews and pistachios are a great salty-snack filler, and are also a trail mix favorite! With this tip, you’ll fit right in.
Tip 4: Bring a fancy drink.
If you’re at a campground where your fellow campers are drinking alcoholic beverages, but you don’t want the empty calories, you could prepare ahead of time by bringing a fancy drink of your own to have! Flavored carbonated water is a fan favorite (especially when it’s in cans, because then you can still use a coozie!) and you won’t have to worry about caving and ruining your diet when you’re already holding a drink! Even if you do choose to indulge with a drink or two, it’s great to have another non-alcoholic beverage option so that you can make the switch to a less calorie-packed when you need to.
Tip 5: Take care of your sweet tooth.
Remember those fruits we were talking about before? Well, when everyone else is making a s’more, you could try slicing up an apple, adding some cinnamon and putting that over the fire! This warm sweet treat will satisfy your sweet tooth craving, and you’ll have something to do too while everyone else is masterfully making s’mores!
Tip 6: Have fun!
Don’t let your diet take away from an RV experience. The food while camping is just a small part of the experience, and if you can ward off the cravings by having healthy alternatives ready to go, you can definitely stay on track! And, as an added bonus, you might find yourself hiking a few trails, biking or boating while on your trip. Nothing like a little cardio to get the heart pumpin’ and make you feel even better!