Camping with Kids on The Body Ecology Diet

Camping with Kids on The Body Ecology Diet

Tara Carpenter, NC.

Nutritional support for people on Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.).

Originally published on June 3, 2010

I was not planning to camp this summer because I have a full schedule working as a Therapeutic Personal Chef, earning a Masters in holistic nutrition, starting what appears to be a difficult divorce, and being a mother to my boys – 2 and 7 years old. Most days I barely see straight, let alone go camping! Yet, this morning as I woke in bed listening to the sounds of home waking up I heard the quiet voice inside me say “Tara, take the kids camping by the ocean”.

With exasperation I throw up my hands (and plans!!) and surrender to the idea because I know enough by now that the direction of my life flows best when I follow my instinctual heart. Even IF I am currently in a time of massive overload. “This is not what I need right now” I think to myself and hear “this is exactly what you need”. 

 

 

So with reluctance – and excitement – I get out the calendar to see where to fit a camping trip. Lo and behold, there are five days between turning in a writing project and the start of school. I pencil in the words camping and must admit how good that feels! With a cup of tea in hand I check the map and hone in on Hermit’s Island in Maine. Immediately, my stomach unclenches at the notion of salty air in my hair and the rhythmic pull of the waves crashing down to center myself to handle the rush that is my life.

The next day I am struck with the thought that this is our first camping trip we are taking since beginning stage 1 of The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) and just like that my brain starts ticking away a mental list of all that needs doing to go camping. While, I have camped a ton over the years, I have done nothing of the sort since my diagnosis of a systemic yeast infection and starting my healing process with B.E.D.

The idea of being away from the comfort of my kitchen and well-stuffed fridge has me nervous! The kids are always hungry and I am the only adult cooking and planning our meals. I suddenly want to get back in bed!

My kitchen is the busiest spot in the house with meat stewing on the stove, grains and seeds soaking on the counter in Mason jars, unsalted cultured vegetables fizzing away in the oven incubator, coconuts ready to be cracked for yck. The thought of leaving my kitchen, let alone camping in the woods on my own with the kids, is feeling stressful and unappealing.

I quietly sit and think how I have moved through the steep learning curves of B.E.D., mastered the food combining principle and know what to eat and avoid. I am on a roll I realize! All the special ways of preparing food has become manageable and woven into daily life that I now do them like clockwork, without much thought. I feel confidence bloom within that gives me courage to move forward with going camping 🙂

My biggest worry is that I prepare near EVERYTHING from scratch. How to go camping with less than a week to prepare? I’m not sure what freaks me out more … spending 6 hours traveling in a hot car with the kids or camping without a meal plan in place.

Since we are all on this diet, I know if I want to eat well and let go of my worries of feeling deprived while traveling then I need to plan our meals ahead of time. So, I print out a 5-day meal plan and pencil in our meals and snacks for the trip. See here (coming soon) for a sampling of what I planned ….

Enjoy your own camping adventures on B.E.D.!! If you have camping food ideas to share, please send them 🙂 This blog post may contain affiliate links, you can read here to learn more. 

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Man Food on B.E.D.

Traveling on Body Ecology Diet

 May all bellies be happy!