Gone to Italy!
Finally I am going on vacation! For the next 3 weeks I will be visiting my parents and my friends in Italy.
even though I have been gone 20 years, I still think of Italy as home, and my best friends in the world are still the ones I grew up and went to school with!
I am super excited to go spend 3 weeks with them!
BUT
between me and them is a dreadful 20 hour journey with 4 stops! UGH!
I hate traveling by plane, and when you are eating a healthy low carb or keto diet, there is basically NOTHING edible for you in an airplane.
Unless you bring your own low carb snacks!
(I could just do a fast, yes, but I get awfully bored on long trips and snacking helps me pass the time and keeps me happy! It’s a mental thing)
My airplane survival kit of low carb snacks:
This is what I am bringing with me:
- 10 strips of crispy bacon (bacon jerky)
- 1 small container of kalamata olives and raw cheddar cheese
- 1 ziplock bag of macadamias and pecans
- 3 avocados
- 1 ziplock of egg white protein powder (just in case)
- a container of Coco-nut candy! (see recipe below)
I will bring my little lunch bag with a little ice pack in it, but it is so cold in the plane anyways, that refrigeration will NOT be a problem!
Here is the recipe for the Coco-nut candy
- Serves: 4 portions
- Serving size: 1 candy
- Calories: 184
- Fat: 19gr
- Carbohydrates: 2.5
- Fiber: 3gr
- Protein: 2.20 gr
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- ½ cup raw pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spread the coconut flakes on a cookie sheet and put under the broiler on high for 5 minutes or until golden brown. It is very important to watch them so they do not burn!
- Put cooled flakes into a good processor or high speed blender with the pecans and the vanilla.
- Blend until a cream is formed.
- Pour into small candy cups and put in the refrigerator to solidify.
- Makes 4 candies
Love the sound of these candies, Vivica!
Can’t wait to try them!
After you’re home from vacation, can you comment on the protocol, if there is any, for bringing an ice pack on a plane?
I would have thought it would be something the airlines would confiscate at security.
Is it one of those hard plastic containers with blue gel in it?
Thanks!
Have a wonderful time with your family and friends!
Hey Leslie!
here I am in Milano! Made safe and sound, and was sooooo happy to have my snacks with me. The coco-nut candies were a hit!!
Well, guess what?! My little ice pack made it no problem through 3 security checks in the US only to be confiscated by some very rude security girl in Paris!! I was so mad at her, but she just waved me away… 🙁
So my advice is: get a disposable ice pack!! (or even better make your own with just water frozen in a small bottle! 3 Oz is the limit of what you can bring on board!)
Well the lunch box was my saviour on this trip…after 23 hours and 4 stops, I was still human and not delirious like usual. Keto really works for long term energy!
Looks yummy! 16.5 net carbs sounds like a lot for one piece of candy. Didn’t realize shredded coconut had that much sugar. I may try coconut butter.
Hey Michelle! Yes shredded coconut has carbsm but one piece of candy has only 2.5 grams!!! Look at the nutrition info: Serving size: 1 candy Calories:184 Fat:19gr Carbohydrates:2.5gr Fiber:3gr Protein:2.20 gr
🙂 Better?!
Bookmarking this!
Thanx Rachel!
You know what I found out through this last two, very long, 20 hour, multiple stop, plane journeys?!
As i ate only my own food on the trip, I FELT MUCH BETTER when I arrived!! Usually I am bloated, constipated and super tired for 3 days after such a trip. This time NONE OF THAT! I had much more energy, jetlag gone very fast, and my digestive system was happy.
Conclusion: DO NOT EAT AIRPLANE FOOD! IT’S TOXIC!!!
I’m definitely doing this. Last time I flew I felt those exact same symptoms. I’m packing my own this time. Can’t wait to try the coconut candy!
That’s great Debbie! Yes coco-nut candy is an easy and convenient treat 😉
Never thought of taking bacon and olives on the plane! I have been doing nuts for years, I don’t like all of the additives in the ones they serve, or used to serve, on the plane. Awesome ideas and the candy is fab!
The bacon was my happy moment on the plane!! I was not even hungry but I was so bored I ate everything! 😛
You can use sugar free coconut and add some sweetener. That will cut the carbs down.
Can you use shredded coconut rather than flaked?
Yes, it should work just as well!
Very good ideas but can you explain to a novice what you did with the protein powder?
put it in a ziplock so I can bring it, and blend it with water in a cup when I need it.
Love the coco-nut candy recipe, great tasting yet healthy. Where were you when I was going nuts over my own survival pack when going Italy last Autumn 😀
Haha, sorry I did not find you earlier 😉
Going back to visit my family in Italy soon…this is going to help a lot. Great ideas. Thank you.
Me too Renza! Tu quando vai? Io in Settembre!
Anche io in settembre…Montreal/Venezia…e ritorno in ottobre!
Sono di Friuli e tu?
Che bello!! Io sono di Milano! Rimango circa 3 settimane. Se vieni a Milano fammi sapere 🙂
I was so happy to see this today. My husband and I are both following the Keto lifestyle and we are flying from the USA to Perth and then to Auckland. The plane flights are my biggest challenge. I will make a snack bag for the trip!
Have a great vacation Christine! You will find Australia knows a lot about keto already!! 😉
Made these today and they travel and taste awesome! Thank you 🙂
Fantastic!!
How do you get all this stuff through customs? Are there any problems getting them through security? We are planning a trip in August to Europe and would love to do this.
Thanks!!
No problem at all…it’s just food….
you are highly unlikely to get any of that through New Zealand or Australian customs (we are highly protective of our island borders as far as food coming in goes) so either eat it all on the plane or be prepared to throw it away prior to coming through customs. no problem leaving with food though.
Well, the idea is to eat it on the journey there …;)
What makes the candy solidify? It doesn’t seem like much liquid. I guess you have to eat all of your avocados so they don’t confiscate them.
Unless it is very hot the candy stays solid at room temps of about 75 degrees. And not thy do not confiscate Avocado if you eat them before entering any country with restrictions…
Do you think recipe would work if you use walnuts instead of pecans?
Possibly, although walnuts are lower fat than pecans and they might not stick together as well…
How do you eat the avocado? If they are whole, don’t you need a knife to cut them? I can’t figure that one out, and would love to – I travel to Hawaii frequently for business. Plus, I don’t check my bag.
Hey Ann, I ate it with a spoon, sprinkled with salt (I brought the salt and the spoon) and I got a plastic knife at the airport afer I passed security! You can bring food on the plane without problems!!
I would lo e to hear about what you ate while in Italy!