Reinventing The Wheel - Trail Mix

[Dissident]

a major annoyance for me on my trips to DC and Boston was having to find food …

for protein i use RTDs like this:

but i can’t subsist on liquid alone, so i tried using Quest Protein Cookies …

but ultimately realized they aren’t filling at all. i could easily eat an entire 12 pack of them in a day which is like 3,000 calories before even any other food … so i had to come up with a better idea.

i then tried Pistachios

and those worked great - much more filling.

then my mother gave me the idea of using dried fruits, so i started searching Amazon for those and that’s when i realized that i am reinventing the wheel because …

Trail mix

the problem has already been solved over 100 years ago …

no i won’t be buying Trail Mix but rather i will be buying the components separately, which will allow me to customize my own formula …

so my actual complete solution for Florida trip will consist of:

1 - Core Power Elite ( already purchased )
2 - Quest Hero Bars ( already purchased )
3 - Granola Bars ( already purchased )
4 - Pistachios ( already purchased )
…
5 - Cashews and Macadamia ( to be purchased )
6 - Dried Figs and Banana Chips ( to be purchased )

think i will throw in some Rye Crisps as well.

i tried, i really tried eating out on my trips - but it’s always a horrible experience. in the end i always give up and just go to 7-11 and buy Core Power RTD, Met-RX protein bar and / or Quest Protein Cookie and some Pistachios.

so i finally gave up and this time i won’t even bother trying to go to diners on the trip and just bring all the food with me, so i don’t waste time trying to eat on the trip.

because it’s only a 3-hour flight “1st class” cabin does NOT have lay-flat seats ( you don’t need to sleep on a 3 hour flight ) making 1st class affordable for this particular route, airline and plane … and the perk is you get two 70 lbs checked bags for free included in the ticket ( versus a single 50 lbs checked bag in Economy ).

this extra bag should allow me to bring a week’s worth of food with me, and i will make the money back by not having to eat out. i already purchased two matching bags for the job ( i sent Thule Subterra 2 Wheeled Duffel back for refund ).

on my Boston trip i had to haggle at Vitamin Shoppe to get them to match Amazon prices for Quest Cookies etc. but it was annoying - i will do that once i run out of food i bring with me.

[Dissident]

oh by the way the only “meat” in my hotel’s breakfast was some kind of plant based sausage.

basically all they had was different kinds of waffles and other sugar.

fuck that …

[Alkiphron]

One of the biggest trials with travel these days is in fact meal logistics. It’s a quandary because food in America is generally pretty bad.

Options:

1. Diners: Service varies a lot, and almost all restaurants use way too much cooking oil. Often it is the worst quality oil too (seed oil). You often feel terrible after eating.

2. Gas station food: I actually used to get hot sandwich, cookie and protein shake, even though I do NOT claim this is healthy. Why? Because psychologically it feels more like a meal than the pre-packaged stuff. But I stopped after getting diarrhoea several times; clearly the sanitary practices these days aren’t up to snuff. So now, I have gone back to what you do and use the pre-packaged (bar or cookie, protein shake).

3. Fast food: Again, I do NOT claim this is healthy, it’s simply a pragmatic approach. However, the only such places I have eaten in recent years were Culver’s and Jimmy John’s, simply because I have never gotten sick eating at either place. Obviously this is Frankenfood and only acceptable in small doses if at all.

4. You pack your own: This is probably the best option as you’ve determined, although I’m not sure it’s practical in all instances (say, overseas travel, should you plan on it – I do not as of right now and I have not left the USA since before COVID).

As we can see it’s an annoying problem to which there’s no perfect solution. I mean it would be great to be able to buy a liver gyro at a streetside hawker in anytown USA, and there’s no reason that couldn’t be done, except that this is America and such things are never done here. I have to go to an ethnic food store to buy organs even though I live in an agrarian state for fuck’s sake.

[Dissident]

@Alkiphron

Fast food: Again, I do NOT claim this is healthy, it’s simply a pragmatic approach. However, the only such places I have eaten in recent years were Culver’s and Jimmy John’s, simply because I have never gotten sick eating at either place. Obviously this is Frankenfood and only acceptable in small doses if at all.

when i was in Leesburg, VA i went to a well reviewed diner because my estimate was i would be able to get steak there - at the front they had the most beautiful blonde girl that looked about 15 and had a ton of make up, hair done etc. and looked like a Disney Princess - she couldn’t understand anything i was saying ( i was telling her i want something with most protein that is also quickest to cook ) and after about a minute i couldn’t stand looking at her anymore so i just turned around and left.

then i went to chipotle, but again, it was like saturday night and the whole place was full of high school girls - the line was long and there were white high school girls in front of me and an asian high school girl behind me and after a few minutes again, i just left without ever getting to order anything.

essentially in America diners aren’t a place you go to get food - they’re a place you go to socialize - and if the diner is well reviewed it simply means that either hot girls serve there or hot girls go there to hang out.

well at least on weekend nights. but that’s when i was there because the open houses are on weekends and i spend the whole day hopping from house to house then at the end of the day i want to eat so i don’t go to bed hungry but when i try i get surrounded by 15 year old hotties and i must run for my life … LOL

by contrast i love how with gas stations ( 7-11 ) it’s all business - you grab your protein, swipe your credit card, and you leave.

one thing disappointing with 7-11 is that lately almost all of them had closed their restrooms to customers ( staff only ). that’s fine if you’re already settled in a hotel and just need a snack but if you’re still driving you want to be able to use the restroom, even if just to wash your hands before and after eating.

in the Boston area in summer my favorite was “Cumberland Farms”

in the second pic on the right you see those sun umbrellas over the tables where you can eat your protein bar / shake outside and the bathroom is right behind the exit door at the corner so a few steps away … pretty much all the locations had the same exact layout so you could pump gas, use the bathroom, wash your hands, buy protein and eat it outside in the shade all on autopilot without thinking …

highway service plazas like this one:

are great but usually are only found on interstates like I-95

but it just seems foolish to buy one protein bar at a time when i can buy a 12 pack at Vitamin Shoppe and a better 12 pack for less on Amazon …

[Dissident]

adopted new strategy - will do what my parents do in Florida - go to Publix and buy a cooked chicken.

except it won’t be chicken as i don’t like screwing around with bones - it will just be a sausage

i will also get Spring Water, Chocolate Milk, Orange Juice and Fiber One Cereal

basically i will split food into 2 categories

1 - food that i keep in the fridge in the hotel ( Milk, Sausage )

2 - food that i keep in the trunk of the ( rental ) car ( Core Power, Quest Hero, Nuts etc. )

i am an idiot for not thinking of this ( two food classes ) before … but it’s one of those things that comes with experience i guess … for example last time i stayed at Marriott in Boston everybody was coming with their own gallon of water in hand, which caught me by surprise … but if i’m going to go to Publix to buy a gallon of water anyway, might as well also buy milk and sausage too …

was going to buy Fiber One cereal on Amazon but they only had it as part of “Amazon Fresh” which is $10 delivery unless $50 min order, so i will have to get that in Publix as well even though it is very light weight and non-perishable, so i could have taken it with me in the checked bag.

milk with cereal plus sausage is a fairly complete meal. i can have those for breakfast and supper. then i only need to survive on snacks while in the car.

i have also ditched Granola - i feel like it is very rough and filing my teeth down. i don’t need fiber 24/7 - twice a day is more than enough.

what happened is when i was chugging down the granola ( here at home for a test ) i got the urge to dunk it into my protein shake to make it softer and it was much better that way and that’s when i realized if i’m going to submerge it in milk / protein i may as well just use Fiber One cereal which is much lower in calories and higher in fiber.

[Dissident]

i know i said elsewhere i have used Special K Protein cereal before in California but i was an idiot then …

yes Special K is a very cost effective source of protein but it’s SOY protein …

Fiber One is something i have also used in the past, and it makes a lot more sense to me now since fiber is the ONLY thing i want from grains … and Fiber One is basically just fiber … which is perfect.

yes i know Fiber is completely non essential and i don’t eat fiber at home, but i eat a lot of other solid food at home whereas on the trip i will be eating a lot of fake food like protein shakes and protein bars so i think it is good to add some fiber to the mix in that situation …

i just hope Publix has it …

[Dissident]

with this new ( Publix ) approach frankly i may not have enough things to take with me to use the second checked bag.

if everything i need fits into one checked ( plus carry on plus backpack ) i will fly economy and return the second checked bag to Tumi.

my laptop goes in the backpack. shoes into carry on. checked bag is basically just underwear and food, and it’s a 80 liter bag. why i bought two of them is a mystery ( ok i’m an idiot ), but lack of experience is my excuse.

[Dissident]

after i come back i will go through this thread and clean it up by removing references to all the approaches that i either didn’t end up using or that have proven worthless, and leave only what has actually worked.

i apply the same approach to all threads. i keep only what is still relevant and remove everything else. in some cases i remove entire threads, in other entire posts, yet in other i edit the useless information out of posts to condense them etc.

but the first draft like this is usually quite bloated with pointless BS … sorry

as for other people’s posts i don’t remove or edit them except for spelling, but you’re all welcome to edit your own old posts if you want to OR to keep the originals intact - up to you.

[Dissident]

can’t take it anymore - just going to go to Shop Rite tomorrow and buy Fiber One there

i crave something tangible to go with my protein shakes

[Alkiphron]

I divided the categories diner and fast food into separate entities, but the division is somewhat artificial. However, it makes sense because diners generally are slightly slower and have the model of server coming to take your order instead of you order up front. At certain hours they both turn into social clubs which is why I try to time visits for the slower hours.

I can’t believe I left out supermarkets as a category. These usually have prepared deli food, either cold or hot, are about as fast as gas stations, have seating to eat, are in the same price range as fast food (usually) and probably somewhat better quality in many cases. But I usually forget about that option.

That’s why I’ve mainly stuck to gas stations, because they’re more common than supermarkets. I value efficiency in travel so much these days that most fast food isn’t fast enough. There are exceptions of course when I’m going to be out anyway and am not in a hurry.

There is also the option of food trucks, which it seems are pretty common these days, but you can’t really plan on them being in any given place. Although there are cases when they’re ALL you can find (which happened to me on an insanely busy travel day last year when every diner had 1+ hour waits).

[Dissident]

@Alkiphron

I can’t believe I left out supermarkets as a category. These usually have prepared deli food, either cold or hot, are about as fast as gas stations, have seating to eat, are in the same price range as fast food (usually) and probably somewhat better quality in many cases. But I usually forget about that option.

i also forget about it too for two reasons:

1 - it depends on the supermarket.

when i used to swim in Flushing Meadows Aquatic Center in Queens, NY it was in a Chinese neighborhood and the local supermarket was Chinese and you could buy cooked chicken breasts there so after my swim i would do that and eat them in the back of the gas station … but i don’t think it is normal for supermarkets to sell freshly cooked chicken breasts … well, i haven’t asked around admittedly …

only supermarket i know with a seating area where you can eat is Whole Foods and even then i don’t know if every location has it - but WF does have a nice sort of a buffet area where you can get overpriced beans of all sorts - you could definitely have a quick and healthy meal at whole foods … at least ones i been to …

well actually Net Cost Market has the same thing, but it’s a Russian chain that only has a few locations in Russian areas … and even then the Brooklyn locations don’t have this because Brooklyn is a dump … but my local Net Cost Market here in New Jersey does have the salad / sea food etc. buffet and dining area just like Whole Foods …

2 - it only makes sense with longer stays, and when i am road tripping by car i don’t stay very long. but with air travel since it’s a longer distance and thus more expensive trip i want to make sure i finish everything in one trip without having to come back again 2 weeks later so it may take a little longer of a say in which case supermarket starts making sense.

my parents they go to Florida to vacation, so at least a week, at which point ( long term stay ) Supermarket becomes the obvious choice as you’re basically living there. They buy a whole roasted chicken and then they have the entire day to do nothing but pick it apart.

however i called the Hotels in Tampa area ( actually Wesley Chapel area, which is where the new suburbs for whites are built around Tampa ) and i would only get about 20% off the daily rate by staying a full week … and for shorter stays loading up the fridge with supermarket food seemed stupid … but when i took a hard look at the options i realized that non-perishable food is going to be loaded with sugar and salt beyond what is acceptable …

salt isn’t bad for you but if every single item is loaded with salt ( Pistachios etc. ) that is a problem. same with sugar. i have tons of sugar in the protein bars, more sugar in granola etc.

supermarket is the only way to dilute the salt and sugar with something like Fiber One cereal in a bowl of milk. or whatever they will have available there.

if the first and last meal of the day is supermarket food it would reduce overall salt and sugar load to something that hopefully won’t kill me LOL.