Need help with picking food for my first event while on keto

(Aimee Moisa) #1

Short story:
Can I get help on what to take to a convention to eat? I will not have a way to heat up the food, not even a microwave. There are also no convenient food vendors within walking distance.

Long story:
My family does a lot of weird weekend events like medieval reenactment, rennaissance fairs, gaming conventions, and scifi conventions. Usually the go-to foods during them is either loaves of french bread, deli meat, and butter or pb&j, or pizza, or sandwiches, or cup-o-noodles. And usually there are a ton of sweets involved to top-off and snack on.

This weekend we are going to a gaming convention in our hometown. It is my first event on keto. Luckily we wont be stuck in a hotel, I will be home in the morning and just before bedtime and passing grocery stores on the way but I havent preplanned my food for the event ā€˜cause Iā€™ m stupid and I didnt think of it. :slight_smile:

We will be at the con from 8am to 10pm and parking at the con is a pain so leaving and coming back is inconvenient in the middle of the day unless you want to waste a couple hours to drive a mile away to the grocery store. We have a TJā€™s, a Whole Foods, a California Fresh, a Ralphs, and a Smart & Final that we can stop at on the way to the con. We have ice packs we can pack perishables with if needed and I have a million rubbermaid type tubs.

Please help

(Jen) #2

I just got back from a week-long camping trip where I had to bring a lot of portable keto foods and it is totally do-able. Here are some of the things I brought:

  • Boiled eggs
  • Meat sticks (I brought the ā€˜Chompsā€™ brand you can get at Trader Joeā€™s)
  • Almond butter packs (I brought Justinā€™s brand but there are a ton out there)
  • Bacon jerky
  • Sardines
  • Pop-top olive packs
  • Quest Hero bars (the ones made with eurythritol. Not ideal, but very filling and extremely sweet when youā€™re temped to get a sweet treat.)
  • I also baked up some keto-friendly muffins and put them in individual ziploc bags. Easy to grab and go.

Since youā€™ll be coming from home and wonā€™t have to keep your food good for a whole week like I did, it should be super easy for you to pack some cubed up meat and cheese as well. Like a little charcuterie board. :slight_smile:

Hope this helped!

(Jay AM) #3

I like Bridgford pepperoni found in the meat snack/jerky section in Walmart. Itā€™s a pound stick and quite tasty. As for eating at the event if you so desire, you have options. You can eat the meat, take the toppings off the pizza or sandwiches (I call this decarbing).

(Deborah ) #4

Personally, I would just consider it a fast day, maybe eating breakfast before leaving. If you really want to eat there, there are numerous options as already mentioned. Cheese and pepperoni would be a quick easy fix.

Hope you have a great time!

(Sophie) #5

Pickles! :heart_eyes:

(Aimee Moisa) #6

Sadly Iā€™m not fat adapted yet. I still get super hungry every two to three hours.

(Jane Reed) #7

If you have time, bake some of the keto buns found on the dietdoctor.com website. Use them for your homemade sandwiches; they stand up pretty well to typical sandwich ingredients.

(Aimee Moisa) #8

Your username is one of my favorite words. Every time I drive on the 5 I yell out happily ā€œBUTTONWILLOW!ā€ :slight_smile:

Sadly I donā€™t have time to bake. Iā€™m not worried about not having a bread substitute. I can take lettuce.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #9

Iā€™m shocked at what you say about what people bring to such events. Surely keto is the very definition of ā€œperiod.ā€ :grinning:

#10

Just wanted to say your family sounds like a lot of fun!

(Jeff Gilbertson) #11

I have the same reaction each time Iā€™m on I-10 and see the turnoff for Idyllwild.

:slight_smile:

(Sophie) #12

Kissimmee has always been one of my favs. :smile:

(Aimee Moisa) #14

The items on my list that we take to period events is the french bread, deli meats, and butter. We donā€™t like cooking at events but when we do itā€™s steaks/chicken on the grill and baked potatoes cooked in the coals.

All the other stuff is what we take to modern conventions.

(Sophie) #15

Are you allowed a cooler? If so, they whole world would be open to you. lol

(Aimee Moisa) #16

Yup, I can have a cooler. Iā€™m taking almonds, cheese and deli meat, peanut butter, celery sticks, hard boiled eggs, dry salami, butter, avos, zevias, lots of water, and Iā€™ll take heavy cream so I can get coffee at the Starbucks at the site. Maybe weā€™ll stop and grab a grocery store roasted chicken on the way for something substantial for dinner.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #17

Thanks for the explanationā€”seriouslyā€”even though I was yanking your chain a bit.

I have a fascination with SCA-type stuff, but not enough motivation to get involved. Though several of my favorite sf authors are SCA members and have characters who are, as well, even four thousand years in the future! :+1:

(Rocky B) #18

Can I come if I polish up my suit of armor? I can bring some boar jerky. :wink:

(Raj Seth) #19

Whaaaaat. Where is this man a from heaven. How can I be 54 yrs old and have never heard of this?

#20

Nuts, cheese strings, pepperoni/jerky strips, hard boiled eggs, canned tuna/salmon maybe? Have fun at the convention :slight_smile:

(Jen) #21

I found it at Target:

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