I just got back from a longer trip, 4 weeks in Europe, doing a long distance bike ride. It was great (though the weather was a little hot), and I thought some of you might be interested in what it was like to stick to a carnivore diet on a trip like this.
Bottom line is - it worked out fine. Here's some of the things I did that make it work for me.
- We were staying in multiple different locations (a new location almost every single night). I was doing the planning, and I was able to get a place with at least a tiny kitchen, or access to a kitchen, almost every single night. That's critical, otherwise you're stuck with restaurant food, or whatever you can get and eat cold, from a grocery store.
- Access to grocery stores is important. In a lot of places in Europe, grocery stores are closed on Sunday. And frequently they're also closed at noon on Saturday, AND sometimes Monday is a "grocery stores closed" holiday as well! In larger towns there will be a grocery store at the train station, they're allowed to stay open.
- Ground beef, eggs, and butter can be found in almost all grocery stores. They were my mainstay.
- Dried sausage is something that can be found in a lot of places. In France, pork dried sausage is everywhere, called saucisson seche. It keeps great, even in hot weather. Pork isn't my favorite, I prefer beef, but I'll eat it. in German speaking areas, there is Dauerwurst, also a type of dried sausage
- Hard boiled eggs are great, and also keep well even in hot weather. Plain butter is great too, and keeps. I specifically brought a plastic container for the butter, and kept it in there, because it's a LOT easier to get out of a plastic container than it is just a wrapped package. I still had a bit of a disaster (melted butter everywhere) when the container wasn't upright, and it got REALLY warm that day. After that, I put it in the plastic container, and THEN a plastic bag.
- I did eat cherries occasionally. It was the season, and I was able to buy them straight from farmers, harvesting them in the field.
Another non carnivore treat I ate was the wild yellow plums - not very sweet - that showed up frequently along the bike trail.
-
I went with my son, who's not carnivore. We still went out to regular restaurant occasionally. That usually was not a great deal for me, because what I'd be able to get would be some beef fillet, which was usually lean, and came with french fries and a green salad. So, I definitely prefered cooking for myself.
-
Because we weren't going out to eat that often, we frequently stopped and just had coffee or tea, or a cold drink (I usually just had some sparkling water). So it was more of a people-watching thing.
-
It's a good thing that eating carnivore makes you a lot less "hangry". I didn't get too stressed when it was more difficult to get a meal, or I had to wait a while.
-
Veganism/vegetarianism is HUGE in europe, and is very heavily promoted. We stopped by a university, to get a coffee at their cafeteria, and this was on the lunchtime menu. Note that of the 4 meal options, 2 are vegan, one vegetarian, and one had some turkey.
- When visiting friends for a few days, I just ate what they prepared the first day (NOT carnivore), and then brought up my diet, and after that there was always a meat option. If they hadn't been receptive, and since it was just a few days, I would have just eaten whatever they did. It turns out they were VERY interested, and I left them with some carnivore book recommendations, and Youtube channels to take a look at.
- People say things like "live a little", or, "I can't believe you didn't take a break from carnivore while traveling". I just really don't see it that way. I know someone that had great health success with keto, then went on a trip, and had an attitude of "There's no way I'm not going to eat the bread and pastries on this trip". And then that was the end of the keto diet, and the health problems come back. It's just easier to STAY on the diet, than trying to get back on it after "cheating". And since I've been doing it a while, and am over the "hump" of sugar/carb addiction, it didn't really bother me.
Here's some of my other carnivore posts
2025-04: Carnivore hack: how to buy meat without spending a fortune
2025-04: Rendering beef tallow, from beef fat trimmings - yum
2025-04: The most common question I get asked as a Carnivore has been answered
2025-03: I was unknowingly almost vegetarian, before going carnivore
2025-02: Is sugar the new smoking?
2025-02: I would continue with Carnivore even if I got only this ONE benefit
2025-02: Weird, oddball health improvements I've experienced on the Carnivore diet
2024-10: There's currently a propaganda campaign against low-carb diets
2024-07: Carnivore quotes in classical literature
2024-04: Carnivore diet - looks like it fixed this nighttime disorder for me
2024-04: Carnivore diet - believe it or not, it healed this oddball disorder for me
2024-04: Can a keto/carnivore diet heal issues like depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar?
2024-04: Eating Carnivore on a short trip - tips and tricks
2024-01: Latest steps in my carnivore path
2024-01: Carnivore achievements unlocked
2024-01: Taking a temporary break from mostly-carnivore diet during holidays
2023-12: Sugar and Alzheimers
2023-12: Kinda-carnivore diet is leading to WAY more energy
2024-12: Question for carnivores/carnivore-curious folks
2023-12: I'm transitioning ... to a more MEAT centric diet
2023-11: This book is blowing my mind - The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholtz