Issue #09: My go-to, healthy Trader Joe's camping food
Also good for a quick desk lunch. Plus, a bevy of links!
Hello to all the new folks! This week’s post is part of my summer of experimenting with topics and formats. To get a feel for normal programming, check out this one on the realities of rest, or this one on a tool for working better, together.
Also: this is a long post and might get cut off in email. Here is the web version.
Happy 4th. I hope you’re on the water, or barbecuing with friends, and that this email finds you on Monday morning. We’re hosting friends for breakfast, then walking to town for the parade and the Pig War picnic.
Because it’s summer, and because nature and good food are cornerstones of wellbeing, today I’m sharing my favorite, nourishing Trader Joe’s staples for adventures outside.
Earlier this year, I did an elimination diet that transformed my understanding of food. I don’t count calories, and never restrict what I eat. I will be enjoying biscuits and gravy today.
But I do consider portions, try to avoid foods that make me sluggish (gluten, sugar, preservatives, alcohol) and fuel up with foods that give me energy (kimchi, beans, greens, fish). I’m just far more aware now of how food impacts me.
I really believe this shift has boosted my capacity for the hard parts of being a solopreneur. My energy, mental clarity, and emotional stamina are better able to handle the ups and downs.
And a key part of success, as with so many things, is consistency! Whether you’re home, at a hotel in Chicago, a gas station in eastern Oregon (true story), or sleeping by a river in Washington.
My criteria for assembling this list were as follows:
Low sugar
Ingredients I can pronounce
Very few of those ingredients
No refrigeration needed
Can survive jostling in a backpack
Disclosures and credentials: I’m not a dietitian. But I learned a lot during my elimination diet. Plus, I’ve taken 30+ roadtrips over four hours in length in the past five years. One time, my partner and I rented a van for two weeks in the dead of winter to chase sunshine, and ended up at the Salton Sea. For good measure, I also recently spent an afternoon scouring labels at Trader Joe’s and did a taste test.
Read on for:
My top picks for nourishing Trader Joe’s food for outdoor adventures
Two healthy-ish, easy camping meals
An astonishingly interesting article on Taco Bell’s innovation kitchen
A look at AI’s impact on media
Two veggie-forward meals I cooked this week
A funny reminder to be authentic, in work and life
A neat fact about nature and Jackson Pollock