Camping Tips - Don't freeze Premier Protein Shakes!!!

Just went on a 2-week vacation... and almost overdosed on beautiful landscapes.  The first week was in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with my husband and 3 children and 4 of my siblings and their families.  It was great but too many snacks in the house (not brought by me) which led to a lot of temptation!  The second week was camping in Acadia National Park in Maine with my family and friends, which presented problems because of a lack of shelf-stable proteins and an over-reliance on protein bars which are not always the best option. 

Didn't lose a pound over the 2 week period, but didn't gain either and that's a first for me.  It was definitely a NSV to walk on the beach, go on hikes and climb cliffs at 70+ pounds lighter without the knee pain or even really breaking a sweat!  

A few things I learned:  Do NOT freeze Premier Protein shakes if you expect them to remain the same consistency.  I researched it in advance, but most info I found had to do with freezing them to make ice cream.  I took a chance and froze them to help keep my cooler stable over the 12 hour drive to Maine. Did not work. They developed a slurry-like consistency which affected the taste. They weren't vile, but definitely not as palatable.  I was going to drink them anyway, but found some (on sale!) at a Rite Aid in Bar Harbor, Maine, which was the last place I expected to be able to find them.  So I threw out the frozen ones (and shed a tear at the waste of $).  Also, in a camping store in Bar Harbor I found a meat bar (for lack of a better term) called Epic.  It wasn't cheap at almost $3, but it was pretty good.  I had the Sesame BBQ Chicken one and it had 120 calories, 15g of protein, 4g of fat, and 5g of carbs (including 3g of sugar).  There are other varieties as well.  The link is here: https://epicbar.com if anyone is interested in checking it out.  I think next time I will make my own jerky like people on this site have recommended, but I don't have a dehydrator yet - maybe for Christmas!

Maura

I've seen those bars at the store but I haven't tried them yet. Thanks for the recommendation, I think I'll get a few this weekend!

The epic bars are my "to go" bars.  They are OK, but I don't really reach for them as a "dessert" I eat that when I need fuel-food, I need to be really hungry to eat them.   The turkey is not too bad... 

Look on YouTube for Making jersey without a dehydrater. Believe it or not, your can make it using ground meats. It came out so much better than I expected and you can make it without sugar

I am glad you found some more premier protein shakes.  It sounds like you had a great time with your family, congrats on doing it 70+ lbs less.