I recently travelled to Newfoundland with my husband and two kids to visit my in-laws. This is my first trip back since before I was diagnosed with cancer. From New Brunswick it is a 25 to 30 hour road/boat trip. Most normal people would be looking forward to seeing puffins, whales and beautiful landscapes. Me, I was stressing about what I was going to eat on “The Rock” to stay clean and how I was going to keep an 11 year old and 16 year old entertained at literally the edge of the earth.
Elliston, NF is a fairly remote little piece of heaven. Like many small out-port communities, fresh veggies are considered those that come out of a pot of boiled salted beef called “Jiggs Dinner”. The rest are canned. For many families in NF, “Cooked Dinner” is a Sunday tradition. There is probably a month’s worth of sodium in the pot...smother your dinner with beef gravy and oh my dear god... it’s good! The town is actually considered the “Root Cellar Capital of the World”! That’s not screaming fresh veggies.
Me with my new modern hippie eatin’ ways, how the heck was I going to eat for 10 days in this remote location without my in-laws thinking I was a complete freaking wingnut? A real hippie probably wouldn’t be as stressed about this as I was. But you see I’m a converted hippie eater and it somehow makes a difference. What that means is... even though I snub my nose to late night taters from Marsh’s takeout or Ryder’s secret chicken recipe and coleslaw... Deep down I’m drooling at the tempting thought. Junk & processed foods are in my roots! They take me back to childhood. Yes I know it’s bad but who cares about fresh carrot juice and bean sprouts when you can have salted cod with cheddar cheese?
I’d love to say that I had the will-power and stuck to my hard core nutritious eating ways, but the truth is, I indulged! It’s all about the compromise. Hummus, cut veggies, rice crackers, almond milk, nuts and some brown rice made the trip to Newfoundland with me. I tried to focus on two of my meals per day and eat as healthy as I could. My 80/20 rule was probably bent to 60/40. I packed as many staples for my diet as I could, ate as local as I could and then I let go and enjoyed my vacation.
I made peace with my urge for taters from Marsh’s Takeout. A few French fries were not going to sabotage my new healthy lifestyle. I let go of my guilt and balanced my indulgence with nutritious snacks and made sure to pull out the sneakers I had packed. I had a beautiful run from Elliston to Maberly and I even did a little yoga on the cliffs and watched a pod of whales eat and play in the cove.
The kids even enjoyed the peace and quiet, lots of cards and the hunt for cell service! Ah life is good. Enjoy an indulgence once in a while.
