For the Mind/ Recipes/ Sara's Family Favorite Recipes

How to Eat Keto on Vacation

2 pictures of sara from keto on the rise from the lake 2020 and the lake 2021 for the keto on the rise blog post lake trip

Share this with your people!

Every summer for the past 15 years my entire family makes the trip to the Missouri Ozarks for a week long stay on the beautiful Table Rock Lake. It’s a tradition that we love and look forward to every summer. We boat and swim, ride jet-skis, go tubing, play cards, relax and on the first Sunday of the trip my parents have a shrimp boil. Yep, the kind with shrimp , corn and potatoes and Cajun sausage…it’s delicious, but I can’t wait for you all to hear how we made it keto (keep reading)!

This year the trip looks a little different. Because of my deep commitment to the keto lifestyle, I am taking on vacation eating seriously like a keto pro! Let me tell you exactly how to eat keto on vacation and my 5 best keto road trip snacks. Seriously though, there is no reason why you can’t maintain the keto lifestyle while having a blast on vacation. Being down 85 pounds is no joke and although I may not be in ‘routine’ during vacation, I am going to be mindful of my choices and keep my overall goals in sight.

Check out the pic above and the difference from last year’s trip to this year. Although the appearance may be the first thing you notice; my mindset and confidence, increased energy and overall increased physical abilities are what I think of when I look at this picture. I was even able to do the stand-up paddleboard this year, something I could not do last year.

5 Best Keto Road Trip Snacks

The trip down to the lake is about a 4 hour drive so a stop or two along the way is not out of the question. There is a quik mart along the way that I like to stop at that is clean with a good selection of snacks and so I decided to take the camera in and see what Keto snacks I could find to share with you. I would say there was a great selection!

6 photos of keto snacks for the blog post keto on the rise how to eat keto on vacation and 5 best keto road trip snacks
Keto Road Trip Snack Ideas from the Quik Mart

See what I mean, these are some great choices for road trip snacks that were easy to grab. If I had to choose one, I would choose the Quest Chips, I love those.

Now with a bit of pre-planning you could pack a cooler bag and bring your road trip snacks from home. Here are my 5 favorite Keto Road Trip Snacks from home.

  • Hard Boiled Eggs- check out my Easy-to-Peel Perfect Everytime recipe here!
  • Mixed Nuts with some Lily’s chocolate chips and unsweetened coconut flakes for the Ultimate Trail mix.
  • Celery with cream cheese and Everything but the Bagel Seasoning.
  • Sliced Summer Sausage with cheese.
  • Lettuce wraps with spicy deli mustard and filled with smoked chicken slices (or your favorite meat) some red onion, cucumber and tomato.

Eating Keto on Vacation-You CAN do this!

So now that we know we can totally keep the road snacks keto, let’s talk a bit about how to eat keto while on vacation. I mentioned earlier that every year during our lake week my parents do a Shrimp Boil. The shrimp boil recipe is actually called ‘Joe’s Shrimp Boil’ after the friend that shared the recipe with them.

This year Joe’s Shrimp Boil had an extra ingredient and it was my mom that made the suggestion to include cauliflower in the boil in addition to the potatoes. It was brilliant and keto and so, so good! Thanks Mom! I used a whole head of cauliflower and took off the florets keeping them about the size of small red potatoes and they boiled up beautifully. I ate the shrimp, the sausage and the cauliflower. This was such a great addition to the boil and perfect for staying on keto and so I want to share this recipe with you all too, check out the recipe at the end of the post!

Skip the Bun Hun!

Wherever your family enjoys the summer, whatever meals they like to prepare you can eat keto on vacation. Don’t settle for ‘taking a week off’ or ‘having a cheat meal’, you have worked too hard for that kind of thinking. Instead, set your mind ahead of time that you are sticking with a keto lifestyle and that you can make it work even on vacation. You will not only be physically rewarded but mentally rewarded for this choice.

One thing I find really helpful and my strategy of how to eat keto during vacation was to plan the meals prior to the vacation with my family to ensure that there were keto choices or that if needed I could have an alternative choice ready. For example, when breakfast was biscuits and sausage gravy, I made sure that a couple sausage patties were made for me and skipped the biscuits and gravy. For cheeseburger night I had a cheeseburger with the works and skipped the bun!

Listen, you’ve got this! Enjoy your vacation while staying committed to your health, wellness and keto lifestyle. Oh and make the shrimp boil with the cauliflower, I would love to hear how much you love it too!

Stay on the Rise,

Sara

picture of the sunset on table rock lake for the keto on the rise blog post how to eat keto on vaction

Joe's Shrimp Boil

Sara's Family Favorites
By Sara Serves: a whole bunch!
Prep Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: Quick Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

I have to share this recipe for an absolute fantastic family recipe that we have been making at our lake house for years. This year we added an additional ingredient that turned out delicious and keto!

Ingredients

  • Salt, one 26 ounce container, NOT sea salt, regular iodized salt
  • Zatarans or other brand of Crab/Seafood Boil Bags, 4 bags
  • Cayenne Pepper, 1 ounce
  • Garlic, 4 cloves
  • 6 Lemons cut in half, squeeze then drop in
  • Onions, 4 cut in half
  • New or red potatoes, 20 small, approximately 5 pounds
  • 1-2 heads of cauliflower-depending on how many keto peeps you have
  • Corn on the cob, 20 small pieces
  • Sausage, andouille, cajun, smoked, or kielbasa type, 3 packages cut in thirds
  • Shrimp-uncooked (deveined) or crab legs, 5-10 pounds
  • Cocktail sauce
  • Butter

Instructions

1

Use a large pot such as a turkey frying pot or bigger on outdoor propane burner-fill the pot halfway with water and heat to a boil.

2

When water comes to a boil add the salt, Zatarans boil bags, cayenne pepper, garlic, lemons and onions.

3

Add the potatoes and bring back to a boil approximately 10 minutes.

4

Add the corn and cauliflower and boil another 5 minutes.

5

Add the sausage and boil 5 minutes.

6

Check the potatoes to make sure they are fork tender then....

7

Add the seafood and boil 2-3 minutes.

8

Use a large handle strainer to carefully scoop out the food and serve in large bowls, pans or spread out on paper in the middle of the table!

9

Serve with cocktail sauce and butter.

Notes

To make the cocktail sauce keto...combine sugar free ketchup and horseradish(in the condiment section of the grocery store). Mix to your taste of spice. I had several people say they liked the keto cocktail sauce better than the already prepared cocktail sauce. This is a fun recipe where everyone can sit around and watch the boil, you won't miss the potatoes!

Newsletter

You Might Also Like

2 Comments

  • Reply
    Julie
    June 25, 2021 at 12:04 am

    Love your positivity! These tips are great for keto or any diet requirements. We are dairy and gluten free so it really helps to plan ahead like you suggested and talk with family ahead of time before a vacation or event. These meals look delicious.

  • Leave a Reply