The good news is that I'm now down 8 lbs. The bad news is that we're going on vacation next week, and I don't want to become a traveling porker. The good news is that we're heading for France and Holland; our son is in the air force and stationed in Holland, so we'll get to see him. The bad news is... I don't know what to eat. I don't want to gain back the weight I've lost. Can you help with travel eating suggestions?

KittyFour

Hi there!

I live in Europe and I have great news for you - you will find lowcarbing here both easy and delicious Food is great here and you can always buy legal things (cheese, sausage etc) in grocery shops. While eating out stick to 100% safe options - meat, fish, shrimps....ask for veggies or more sallad instead of potatoes or rice, I eat out a lot and it's never been a problem.

The only thing to watch out with - french 'breakfast' - very , only bread and marmelade. Go out and order breakfast instead. I don't know where in France you will be staying but in bigger cities you can always find good breakfast. In case of emergency you can always go to McDonalds or Burger King and just toss the bun....

In Holland breakfast is more 'legal' for us - eggs, cold cuts, cheese....

Oh, the most important thing - bring your own food on the flight - cheese, sausage, nuts....airline food is bad, like that is news...

Have a great ime in Europe!

Alina

You're so right. Classic French food is almost made for low-carb; lots of meat and fish with buttery, creamy sauces and wonderful veggies. And OMG, airline food is completely unacceptable for this WOE, at least in my experience. I've heard that it's possible to order a "seafood" meal on some airlines which is at least a bit LC, but I haven't tried it myself.

Emily

Thank you both so much for this information. I feel much better now and know I won't starve. I also know I will definitely pack something to eat on the plane. Airplane food always gives me a tummy ache, anyway.

As for where we'll be going... Paris first, then Brussels, and then Veghel (Holland). When in Holland, we'll be staying with our son, so I can actually shop at the little grocery store near our son's house. They have a wonderful selection of cheese, and I can just cheese out!

KittyFour

"May the great galactic kitten always purr you to sleep."

Hello from another European,

I live in Sweden, so not exactly in your route. I will go to California this summer, and have been googling about the food options over there, isn't that a coincidence?

The airplane food is a great reminder for me too...

Apart from what the others have said, I just want to add that Dutch breakfasts also include a lot of dangerous things, like chocolate spread on sandwiches etc. But it is true that they serve a wider variety of breakfast options than France. It won't be a problem to have an egg dish, for instance.

In France it is trickier - the bigger hotels will probably serve a breakfast buffet or at least give you a wider choice, but smaller hotels might very well just serve coffee/tea, juice, baguette (white bread), and croissant with butter and marmalade. The only edible thing being the butter makes things a bit hard on the lowcarber.

I don't know about France and NL (I haven't been there as a lowcarber) but at least in Sweden there are no special lowcarb shops as I understand there are in CA. We just have to make do of what is generally available in ordinary shops, but that suffices. The meat, fish and vegetables are high quality. You just cannot expect to be able to buy things like those special flour replacements like I often see in American recipes.

In France Montignac is big (one of the GI gurus), so you might be able to find stuff that he offers. I think he also sells some special products like Atkins do. Here is a link: http://www.montignac.com/en/

GI is not strictly lowcarb, but reasonably close to be of interest.

Good luck with your trip - and why not report back here how it went? It would be very interesting to hear your opinion on the European lowcarb options.

Cheers, Eva

Oh, forgot Brussels...

They are famous for their Brussels waffles - just beware, totally forbidden!