It is easy to become a junk food junkie when you travel, especially when traveling by car.
Who doesn’t have a bag of snacks close by? Many of us are in a hurry to get to our destination so we hit the drive-thru where we can take turns running in to the restroom and sitting in line waiting for the food or eat at the service station.
What can we do to eat healthy and not let it take a lot of time from our schedule?
Take a cooler with ice packs to keep your snacks and beverages cold. Load it up with fresh veggies, cheese, fruit and water. Pack healthy crackers, nuts and make your own sandwiches instead of picking up a drive-thru burger. If there are only healthy options in the car or airport backpack, that’s what you will eat.
If you do eat fast food, choose yogurt and fruit, or a breakfast sandwich or burrito over donuts. Read the writing on the wall. Most fast food chains have the facts about their meals hanging on the wall. Read it and see what your better options are. Grilled chicken is a better choice than fried anything but make sure you steer clear of the mayo, sauces and the “fried.”
Holistic nutritionist, Lisa Margolin, J.D., M.S. has many tips for traveling and eating right. She states that you should eat foods that are easy to digest as digestion is more difficult when you are not following your normal routine. Eat soups, salads and vegetables. If a salad bar is offered, add peas, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, beets and other colorful vegetables for a nutrient rich meal.
She recommends you make lunch your bigger meal of the day. This is healthy for home too. Keep a water bottle with you and drink lots of water.
According to Trainer Tony Hale you have options to help you eat better in restaurants. He suggests ordering double vegetables with your entrée and skipping the potatoes and rice. Avoid pasta dishes. He states we tend to eat later when we travel and meals that are high in carbohydrates, calories and fat may not burn off before you go to bed.
Hale states that you should ask for butter in restaurants not oil because you never know what they are putting in the food.
Order salad dressing on the side and try to use just a little or use oil and vinegar.
Eat grilled chicken or fish.
Hale said if eating dessert, go lighter on the meal and eat a dessert you would really enjoy.
My theory is if you really want it, have it, especially if you share it, but make sure it is well worth the calories.
When my group travels, we share meals. Restaurants try to outdo each other with portion size. Many of us cannot clean our plates like mom taught us. When we are home, we have leftovers for another meal but traveling in hotels it’s just a waste of food which just goes to our waist.
Most people hate to waste food so we eat as much of it as we can. We also hit the local grocery store when we get to town and load up on fruit, cheese, crackers, veggies and we buy milk and a healthy cereal. We eat breakfast in the room. If we are traveling by plane we purchase a Styrofoam cooler and we leave it behind when we head home.
Here are some good choices to help you eat better on the road: veggie omelets, whole wheat toast and crackers, oatmeal, fruit, bran muffin, whole grain cereal with low-fat milk, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and vegetables. Choose 100 percent juice instead of orange drinks. Places like Subway or Quiznos let you select your sandwich ingredients. Choose whole grain breads, lean meats, and lots of vegetables as well as healthy salads and soups; skip the fried chicken and taco salads.
