In my refrigerator: summer 2019

Part of the trick of staying well while traveling is staying well while at home. Trying to get everything done before you leave for a trip can leave you busy and exhausted, which can mean you let your eating plan go. This is a mistake. Prepping for a trip with stress and poor nutrition only increases your chances of getting sick while traveling. Instead of letting good self care go, it’s time to dig in.

I used to fall into this trap, eating whatever was on hand, sometimes even succumbing to “dinners” of potato chips and a few bites of cheese. I left stressed out, my stomach gurgling and on the edge of exhaustion. These days eating well is a part of my every day life, even between trips. This is especially true when I have a big travel sprint with multiple trips stacked up in a brief amount of time. My travel always seems to come in clumps. I didn’t travel at all from early February to late May. Then in the span of the month I had three trips to very different locations: Colorado, Mexico and Ireland. Travel sprints like this make eating well harder but also more important. When I’m home I focus on eating really well. I’m in between travel sprints right now, preparing for my big trip to Asia this fall. I thought I’d give you a little refrigerator tour to see how I’m eating to fuel myself for my upcoming trip.

Refrigerator Tour

Top Shelf

On the top shelf you’ll find almond milk to go with my Perfect Keto Matcha. (I don’t get anything for sharing this, I’ve just found their products helpful for staying well). I love that it gives me a burst of energy in the morning without making me jittery. I add a cup of milk and a scoop of Perfect Keto matcha into the blender and in 15 seconds I have a frothy drink. I add a couple of ice cubes and I’m ready to start my day.

I always have apple cider vinegar on hand. It quickly eliminates seasonal allergies. I also use it when I feel a cold coming on. A few swigs of this nectar and my cold is gone or at least very mild. I like it drink it straight up (from a spoon, not the bottle, I’m not a complete heathen!) but it’s too strong for most people so you can just add it to a glass of water.

All the way in the back you’ll find bottles of filtered water. I’ve been working to reduce my bottled water consumption so I fill a bunch of water bottles so I always have some on hand to take with me when I’m on the go. It’s so refreshing, especially on hot summer days.

Finally on my top shelf you’ll see pea shoots. These are one of my favorite goodies to add to a salad. I love the fresh grassy taste and most of all the crunch. The crunch of a good chip or cracker is one of the things I miss most so this is a nice stand-in.

Middle Shelves

There’s pretty much always a dozen raw eggs in my refrigerator. Eggs are easy to make and, a great source of protein and fat so I eat them pretty much every day. Having eggs handy means I eat healthy rather than snack on chips or some other “fast” food. I make them fried, scrambled, in hearty frittatas loaded with veggies and hard-boil them for afternoon snacks. Right now my body doesn’t seem to want warm eggs so I like to have hard boiled on hand. I do six at a time in my Instant Pot. This recipe takes 15 minutes. Easy peasy. I also use the eggs to make keto crackers when I want some crunch and a bit of comfort food without going off my eating plan. This three ingredient keto cracker recipe is a favorite.

We use ghee for cooking, especially when I make fried egg sandwiches for my husband. It really soaks into the bread leaving it full of flavor. I always have some on hand. Even though it doesn’t need to be stored in the refrigerator, that’s where we keep it. I guess it’s because we refrigerate our butter so we’re used to it?

Avocados are a staple for a low carb, higher fat diet. They’re to cook with and give you plenty of good fat that your body needs to fuel itself. Mine are in the refrigerator because I love the way a cold avocado tastes and I recently learned they stay longer in there. Who knew?

To make sure I get enough veggies, I cut up a bunch for salads at the beginning of the week. Some of my favorites include radishes, celery and red onion. That’s what you see on the second shelf. There’s also a bunch of cheese on these shelves as I’ve found it a handy way to pack in protein and healthy fats. These days I’m loving sharp cheddar and feta for my salads. I’ve just learned how to make ceviche. Who knew it was so easy? So there’s a mango in there to add a bit of bright sweet flavor to the latest batch.

There’s always fresh filtered water in my refrigerator because cold water is just about my favorite thing to drink ever. In the back of that bottom shelf you’ll find GT’s Gingerade Kombucha, my favorite flavor. I generally drink a half a bottle a day. It’s a nice afternoon pick-me-up without too much sugar. The other thing I like to drink is sparkling water. Even though I drink the kind with no sweeteners, it somehow tastes sweet to me, reducing my sugar cravings. Way in the back you’ll see Dram Apothecary’s CBD sparkling water. It’s one of my absolute favorites to drink, especially at night when I want to make sure I’m relaxed before bed.

Bottom Shelves

You can’t see but there are two drawers loaded with fresh vegetables. Since it’s summer, they’re mostly full of local produce from the farmer’s market. Right now they’re full of rainbow chard, radishes, broccoli, zucchini, yellow bell pepper and asparagus. You can’t see it but I have loads of basil on the counter, chilling in a jar of water. I’m obsessed with fresh basil. I use them in salads and love to make my husband pesto which we freeze so he can eat it all winter long with pasta which we also buy at the farmer’s market.

Walking to the farmers market on Sundays to load up local goodies with my husband in tow is one of my favorite parts of summer. We stop to get him a latte and a morning bun. Think cinnamon bun without the heavy icing. Even though I can’t eat them, I thoroughly enjoy making the day special by getting him these little treats. He sits at the counter while I make him a breakfast sammie with sourdough bread. I really treasure the way you can connect with others around food, even if you’re on a strict eating plan like I am.

In the very bottom drawer is meat. These days I’m trying to be more plant-based so it fairly scarce these days. We store our Beyond Meat burgers down there. Have you tried them yet? They’re delicious. Normally these meat alternatives are packed with soy and other foods I can’t eat. Beyond Meat are soy-free and gluten-free so this is a nice treat. When I do have meat in there it’s often a pound of ground beef which we make into tacos or a lamb steak that I pan fry on the stove with a simple rub. I just learned how to make ceviche so lately you’ll often find fresh fish in there.

That’s what’s in my refrigerator. If we peeked inside, what would we find it yours?