If you are travelling for pleasure or work, you already know that healthy food may be hard to find at times. Or at the very least there are many temptations around so that healthy options might seem scarce. Preparation is 75% of the entire battle in terms of trying to eat healthy while you are travelling. A special nutritional strategy and little planning is definitely required. Fortunately, with a bit of extra work, you can follow your healthy eating plan. The following seven tips will give you some good ideas for healthy eating while you are travelling and help you stay on track while you are on the go.
- Location – Location is everything when you are trying to decide where to stay. So say that you are travelling for work and will be in the same place for a couple days. It is key to find a spot that is near healthy resources. Are there any grocery stores close by that you can run into to get healthy meals or snacks? Are there are any healthy restaurants or cafes that are within walking distance for you to visit for something to eat? It is very easy to make excuses for yourself that you cannot eat healthy when you are out on the road when you don’t have any good options nearby. But don’t let that be your excuse. Set yourself up to succeed by choosing wisely.
- Accommodations With A Kitchenette or Kitchen – Having access to some form of a kitchen is one of the very best ways to make sure you can eat healthy while you are travelling. Air B&Bs, vacation rentals, and extended stay hotel are all excellent options if they are available in the area. When a kitchen is not available, if you have a refrigerator inside of your hotel is a great alternative to have some healthy options. The point is that if you have a refrigerator or kitchen, you can stock up on easy meals or good snacks. Things such as canned fish, rotisserie chicken, natural peanut butter, nuts, Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, bottled water, fresh vegetables and fruit are all great options that don’t require much prep work and are easy to store to make a quick snack or meal.
- Ship Items Ahead Of Time – Another strategy you can use is to ship dry goods ahead of time to your location. Quick cooking oats, bread, canned tuna, nuts, beans, and protein powders are all items that can be sent before you arrive so that you have some healthy food waiting for you to eat.
- Take A Cooler – Carry your healthy food with you. Get a cooler stocked with bottled water, sandwiches, healthy snacks, and anything else you will need. That option works very well if you are able to drive to the location and take your cooler along. If you will be flying, then you can try to take a collapsible cooler and pack it inside of your suitcase.
- Research Local Restaurants – Before you go, do your research. Even when you have access to a refrigerator or kitchen, you may still need or want to eat a couple of meals. Look for restaurants in the local area and find out which menus have healthy options that you are interested in. You can plan an outing to these restaurants and know ahead of time where you will be eating.
- Protein Powder – Quite often the most difficult thing to find is protein. Healthy eating while traveling is much easier when you take protein powder along with you. Even if it is only a backup, you can have a high protein source with you while you are on the go when you can’t find a good option. At times your healthy eating strategy may require you to use a combination of different options. For instance, it might be easy to find fruits and vegetables, but it may be expensive to find a source of protein. Protein powder might be able to fill in the gaps in certain situations.
- Take Homemade Snacks With You – Take homemade non-perishable snacks along with. Homemade trail mix, granola, kale chips, protein muffins, protein bars, or granola are all great options that you can carry with you. When you have healthy food along, there is a good chance you will eat healthy food instead of looking for junk food.
The common theme is here is you need to prepare ahead of time. If you are committed to a weight loss goal, a health goal or would like to make sure you are eating high-quality meals, then you will be able to set yourself to succeed. Healthy eating while travelling is doable but does require a strategy and some planning to make this work.