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“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
~ Robert Orben
Travel Made Easy
I’ve been on a healing diet for 3 years, and I’ve done a lot of traveling. You can read my tips for Paleo Road Trips (including restaurant advice) and Airplane Travel on the AIP. All of my past trips have included a LOT of cooking. Let’s face it: part of the fun of vacation is the relaxation, and it’s hard to relax when you’re constantly trying to source and prepare healthy and safe food. I have often fantasized about going off-diet on vacations, and if my autoimmune reactions were milder, I might be tempted. But going off-diet is a quick recipe for pain, so I do what’s necessary to feel good when I’m away from home.
But my last trip was different. On the advice of one of my blog readers, I brought along Paleo On The Go AIP Frozen Meals. Oh my – it made everything soooo much easier! I almost forgot vacations could feel like that. I still cooked a little, but not constantly.
My Choices
Paleo on the Go sells entrees, side dishes and even bone broth, so I could have purchased all of my food for my vacation. However, I’m on a budget, so I simply purchased the dinner entrees. That alone made a huge difference. I traveled by car, so I brought a cooler of Breakfast Soup in mason jars, ate salads with high-omega tuna for lunch, and picked up some frozen vegetables for my dinner side dish.
I chose 6 entrees from Paleo on the Go’s Autoimmune-Friendly Menu, and they totally surpassed my expectations. I was expecting “frozen meals” – something to sustain me, but not anything truly delicious. These meals were far better than any frozen meal I’ve ever had. They compare much more closely to restaurant meals or home cooking. And the miracle to me is that they fit my healing diet. They are Paleo Approach Approved, which means they meet the restrictions of the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. Here’s what I bought:
- Shepherd’s Pie – A savory casserole of grass-fed ground beef and beef heart, bone broth and a variety of vegetables. It comes topped with mashed cauliflower and is a generous serving. Don’t let the beef heart scare you away. This is seriously delicious with no “weird organ” flavor. It’s a great way to up your nutrient-density without fear. It’s also cooked perfectly – silky soft cauliflower on top, yet the carrots in the meat mixture still have a nice “bite”. This was my favorite of the 6 entrees, and it’s every bit as good as I could make at home.
- Herb Roasted Chicken – Crispy skin, juicy interior, packed with flavor. What more could anyone ask? Confession – I don’t roast chicken at home, because I hate cleaning my oven, and the fat always seems to splatter everywhere. So, this was a real treat for me! Note: Once the chicken was reheated and ready to eat, I broiled it for just a few minutes to get the crispy skin.
- Elk Burger with Wild Mushrooms – If you love mushrooms, you will love this dish. The meat, mushrooms, and sauce all blended into a wonderful, earthy flavor. The only thing to note is that whereas most Paleo on the Go meals just need to be reheated, this one needed to be cooked a little bit. I think the company is careful that their food isn’t overcooked in the reheating process. I like my burgers medium. Without cooking, this one was rare.
- Citrus Ginger Salmon – This was my least favorite of my meals, but let me clarify: it wasn’t bad. It was just a little bland. It was still far better than a typical frozen meal. There was no fishy smell or flavor. The texture was flaky. The portion was moderate (smaller than the other meals, but still ample.) It was good for a frozen meal, but not as good as the rest.
- Savory Apple and Cabbage Pork – This isn’t the prettiest meal, but it’s very hearty. Classic comfort food.
- Thai Chicken Soup – Tom Kha Gai – A huge bowl of soup, made with ingredients I don’t have in my home kitchen (lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves). I really enjoyed the new flavors. This was my second favorite meal, and I would call it restaurant-worthy.
What to Expect If You Order
- Expect really delicious food. As you can see from my review above, only one meal was “just okay” by my standards. The rest were every bit as good as a restaurant or homemade meal (and I’m a good cook – that’s a high compliment from me.)
- The containers are food-grade and BPA-free. This is true for both the vacuum seal bags and plastic trays. They are also both classified to be heat-safe. You can simmer the bags in boiling water, or reheat the trays in the oven or microwave. Alternately, you can defrost and transfer to non-plastic containers to reheat (which is what I did).
- They keep in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 6 months. They are shipped with dry ice, so they arrive frozen.
- The meals are prepared in a dedicated gluten-free kitchen. This is new, which is great news for celiacs! Paleo on the Go was always careful with their sanitation measures, to ensure no cross-contamination occurred when preparing their meals. But when companies share a commercial kitchen, they need to list what other types of foods are prepared in that facility. Wheat is no longer on the list. Woot woot!
- The meals are designed with the AIP in mind. I’ve seen other frozen meal delivery services offer “AIP” meals, but when I looked at the ingredients, it appeared they had simply removed all seasoning from their regular recipes, leaving bland food behind. This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Just because we’re on a restricted diet doesn’t mean we don’t deserve delicious food. Paleo on the Go created their AIP-friendly menu especially for this protocol. That’s why in my review, I commented (with delight) that their meals are packed with flavor.
- You can find all the ingredients on their website. I love this, because I won’t eat something if I don’t know what’s in it. Click on the photograph for each meal, and it will take you to a page with the full list of ingredients.
- The AIP menu is Paleo Approach Approved. Just because a recipe (or a company) claims something is AIP, doesn’t mean it is. Not everyone is educated on the protocol. Sarah Ballantyne (aka The Paleo Mom) worked with Paleo on the Go to be sure their AIP menu really is AIP.
- They have a wide variety of choices. Their AIP-friendly menu has over 20 entrees, a variety of side dishes, and bone broth. They even sell sugar-free bacon! Update 2017: They continue to expand their AIP offerings and now have over 50 selections on their menu.
Beyond Travel
I don’t want you to think that these meals are only helpful on vacations. It would be great to have a stash of these in the freezer for emergencies. We all know what it feels like to come home hungry after a long day with nothing ready to eat. If you’ve having an autoimmune flare, cooking might seem beyond you in that moment. Having meals like these on-hand lets you easily stay on your healing diet, even on tough days. And if you can afford it, Paleo on the Go even offers weekly meal plans.
How to Order
I’m an affiliate for Paleo on the Go, but this isn’t a sponsored post. I purchased those meals myself, because I had heard good things about this company and wanted to try them out objectively, without any pressure to give a biased review. Only after experiencing the high quality of their food did I contact Paleo on the Go and ask them if they’d like to offer something special for my readers, and they said yes! Just enter the coupon code PHOENIX, to receive 10% off your first order – no minimum, no maximum. Order here.
Update: The Phoenix Helix Variety Pack
On the one-year anniversary of my podcast, Paleo on the Go came on board as my podcast sponsor. On my two-year anniversary, they asked me to choose some of my favorite menu items for a Phoenix Helix Variety Pack. I loved coming up with my selections. We now update the pack seasonally because they’re always expanding their menu, and it’s always offered at a great discount. It’s a wonderful way to sample their menu.
Bonus Road Food: Lamb Rosemary Snack Bar
There’s one other company I want to give a small shout-out to: Wild Zora. They make meat and veggie snack bars. They contacted me last year to offer samples, but all of their bars back then were full of nightshades. I told them about the autoimmune protocol, and they said they’d create a bar just for us. How sweet are they? After a few months of experimenting in the kitchen, they came up with this one: Lamb Rosemary & Spinach Bar. They sent me a sample, and it is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Even my SAD-loving husband liked it.
More Travel Tips
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- 100% Paleo Restaurants
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- Paleo AIP Road Trip
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- Airplane Travel on the AIP
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- Episode 25: Paleo AIP Travel
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- AIP Travel Ebook with Recipes
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- Link Love: Travel Advice from Around the Web
AIP Series
I’ve written a series of articles to guide you through the autoimmune protocol, step by step. It includes FAQ, mistakes to avoid, book reviews, and more. Click here to see the whole list.
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This post is linked to the following blog carnivals:
Fat Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday,
Is there any chance Paleo on the Go might expand their AIP frozen meal service to include Australia? I would LOVE something like this – I haven’t had a “holiday” or a break from cooking since my diagnosis and I could really use one – and I would happily throw money at anybody who could make this happen.
I hear you, Felicity! It’s new for these types of businesses to be opening in the USA. Australia is becoming so paleo-friendly. Hopefully an entrepreneur there will start something similar.
I was excited to hear about this! But I can not find nutritional information for each meal. I have four autoimmune diseases, including RA — one of which is Meniere’s Disease, which requires extremely low sodium diet to control the body’s attack on the inner ear and a severe falling disorder. To really be autoimmune friendly, each meal of course cannot cater to every AI disease — but nutrition info is kind of essential (i.e. sodium count, in addition to an ingredient list). Sodium, protein, carbs etc — the standard stuff found on every nutrition label. Or am I missing something here? Anyway, for me mistakes about sodium can literally be life threatening, so I can’t take a chance with this. (I also can’t have gluten or nightshades, so non-AIP, non- paleo meals would not work for me either.)
Hi Christina. The owners of Paleo on the Go are very responsive. I don’t know if they have the information you seek, but it’s worth emailing to ask. They have a contact link on their website.
Thanks, Eileen. I just went to their website and binge-ordered. I appreciated your detailed review of the 6 entrees above.
Enjoy!
Thank you, Eileen! Thanks to your 6 ordered entrees and comments, I went ahead and ordered for the first time! Oh and thank you for the $20 DISCOUNT! I’m new to AIP and I’m only on day 15. I’m not much of a cook, so this is very helpful! I want to try bone broth, but I don’t feel comfortable making it……so I ordered from here! We’ll see how it turns out! Many thanks, Shawnda
Enjoy the healing food, Shawnda, and welcome to the AIP community!
Great resource! Thanks for sharing. I will definitely check out the entree options. People with chronic fatigue issues really need these type of services. PS., Another source for sugar-free bacon is Tails & Trotters in Portland, OR. They have “clean” pork finished on hazelnuts. I believe they ship.
Thanks for the other bacon resource, Laurie. The more the better!
Hi Eileen, thank you for the coupon! We’re about to go on vacation and I’m going to follow in your footsteps. Can I double check that each “order” is a single serving? I thought the entrees were more like $8 or $9, so seeing $12+ for a single serving of something is a lot harder to get my mind around (I was thinking of getting meals for my husband and I to split). Can you speak to the serving size a bit more and whether or not two people could share it? (Or do you get exactly what you see in the photos?)
Sarah, the photos are accurate. For me, they’re single-serving. They’re generous, but not enough to feed two people in my opinion. They’re not cheap, but I don’t expect convenience food for the AIP to be inexpensive, especially when it’s this high-quality. I couldn’t afford it for my daily life, but for vacations, it’s worth its weight in gold to me.
Hi Eileen — Thank you! I completely agree that AIP is no place to skimp. Definitely ordering two starter packs to take with me to Nashville in August!
Have fun in Nashville. We stopped there on our recent road trip. It’s always nice to catch some music. I love singer-songwriter nights!
I did some research on their meat sources. I would stay away from the chicken. They are fed corn and soy. I don’t care that it’s non-GMO, soy is a top allergen and shouldn’t be fed to chicken. I asked them specifically what the pigs were fed and was sent links to the company they buy from, Blackwing, so I had to dig through this site myself and still did not find my answer. Paleo on the Go did not answer my question.
For anyone interested in Paleo on the Go’s food sourcing policies, here’s their information page. For me, I’m impressed that they are trying this hard to source quality food, and I don’t shoot for perfection when I travel. Everyone has to make their own choices, though, and I respect Laurie’s right to a different choice. This should help each of you make your own decision: http://www.paleoonthego.com/food-sourcing
These sound so handy! We have to make everything from scratch and it can sometimes be overwhelming. It’s nice to see that there are safe options out there that are actually nightshade free too!
Exactly. I love your blog name, Cristina! While I love tomatoes, they don’t love me.
I use this service and love it. I agree with your picks and would like to add the meatloaf as a favorite. It provides me the organ meat that I am so reluctant to eat. Thanks for the coupon and I will use it on my next order.
Thanks for the tip, Sheila. We have a beach trip planned for September. I’ll add meatloaf to our list. 🙂
Shortly after I started AIP I bit the bullet and ordered 6 or 7 entrees from POTG. I’ve kept them in the freezer for nights when I can’t or don’t want to cook. They are pretty pricey (but worth it!), so that kept me from eating them all up right away! But they have been great when needed.
My favorites are the Bacon-Apple Chicken Burgers with Maple Cranberry Sauce, and the Pork-Pie Stuffed Acorn squash, which are both Paleo Mom recipes. They are delicious!
While they are not enough for two servings, I often had some leftover for part of my lunch the next day (though I will say that I am very petite and not a huge eater).
I’m down to my last entree in the freezer and was thinking about ordering more; thanks for the coupon code!
Thanks for sharing your review Holly! It would appear that almost any choice from their menu is a good one.
Oh, the Chimichurri Sirloin is really good too!
Thanks for this review! I’ve been wanting to try it out but shipping is so expensive unless you buy a LOT of food, and I wasn’t sure it was good enough to buy a lot. I think I’ll give it a go. Could you give more info about how your trip went food-wise? We’re the packaged foods just for you and your husband had to find/make his own food? I’m trying to picture how this would work for our family of 4, but I would really love to be able to take a trip without cooking the whole time. Thanks again!
Hi Alison. This particular trip was a family reunion, and I was the only paleo person in the group. While my husband eats paleo at home, he doesn’t have a health condition that requires him to do it on vacation. So, I prepared my own meals this trip, and he ate with the group. When we travel just the two of us, though, he eats what I eat. We have a beach trip planned for Fall, and I’ll double my order to include him then.
This would be great for our family vacation this Christmas! I was curious though if these would be allowed to brought into Mexico or if they would make me throw it away. Has anyone travelled internationally to with frozen food? What were your experiences?
Hi Danielle. Here are the customs rules at the Cancun airport. Apparently, you can bring food so long as it’s in a company sealed package and you’re on a special diet for medical reasons. If you could bring an official looking medical letter along with the food, I think that would help: http://www.cancun-airport.com/customs.htm . You might want to check with customs at the airport you’ll be traveling through to double-check. Here’s an article by The Paleo Nurse on her trip to Brazil. She brought frozen food in her checked baggage: http://katyhaldiman.com/staying-paleo-while-traveling-part-1/
Thanks Eileen! I will definitely call the airport and have my doctor’s office write something for me.
I have ordered many different meals from them and never been disappointed in the taste or quality. Their lasagna and potato soup are ridiculous- things I thought I would never be able to eat again. The only downside to the company I see is that they don’t offer nutritional info. I am meticulous about keeping track of what I eat and emailed them to ask and they said they don’t give that info out. I was taken back a little- was there something to hide? That answer may sway my decision to continue to be a customer, especially since following a strict lifestyle is why most people would pay top dollar for their food.
Hi Robert. The paleo community at large, including Paleo on the Go, doesn’t focus on calorie counting. They don’t provide the information simply because they don’t track it themselves. There’s nothing to hide. They are transparent in their ingredients and they source their ingredients from quality vendors. I trust them completely. I’m glad you enjoyed their food – I’ve always been impressed with everything I’ve tried from them as well. I continue to take their meals with me on vacation and now keep a stash in my freezer for the occasional “treat day” where I don’t want to cook.