Healthy eating while travelling

[littlemiss]

I may be on maintenance but my new attitude towards food means that I will eat healthy whenever I can, even when it comes to travelling.

My new favourite website (www.101cookbooks.com) has some good tips on how to eat healthy while travelling and her readers have given a ton of great ideas as well!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives...ng-recipe.html

[littlemiss]

Some good advice from the above website (comments):

I'm a vegetarian flight attendant, and packing food for 5 day pairings (shifts) can often be challenging. Here are a few things i've found useful:

-Drink plenty of water. bring a large empty bottle with you that you can fill when you've past security.
-Avoid salt before and during the flight. It will make you bloated and uncomfortable.
-Avoid food that gives you gas. Pay attention to the expansion of the air in your water bottle on take off, and think about what your intestines must look like.
-Take as much fresh food as you can carry, but avoid food that will squish in your luggage. Freeze yogurt, applesauce so it doesn't leak in transit.
-If you're packing liquidy foods in your checked luggage, use mason jars, they won't leak.
-Almost all hotels will have fridges that you can use. Ask when you check in. It's useful to have all refrigerated food in a labeled bag so it's easy for them to find when you want it back.
-the coffee maker is your best friend. use it to heat up soup, leftovers, etc... i put in some red river cereal and water in the pot as soon as i wake up, and by the time i'm showered and dressed, breakfast is ready.
-avocados are perfect. Easy to pack, soft enough to cut with a credit card (knives on a plane are a no-no), and delicious with a little lemon or tomato on a tortilla.

[littlemiss]

Lots of excellent tips here. Here are mine; I am a journalist, spend a lot of time on the road, and almost always have to be packed for carry-on only.

1. For the plane, carry an empty water bottle (mine is a Sigg) and keep filling it; the walk up/ down the aisle will improve your circulation (no elephant ankles), To fill it, go to the galley, where there is a tap; if the flight attendants are friendly, they will probably offer you whatever bottled water they are serving instead.
2. Unless I am in first class (where the food is good as a marketing tactic), I try to pack a meal. Since you can't bring liquids, and even gels are suspect (eg peanut butter or hummus in a jar), I try to keep it simple and solid - sandwich, nuts, carrots, nonsquashable fruit.
3. I have a soft-sided shoulderbag cooler, meant for a six-pack. I fold it flat and keep it packed. Once I land, I try to find a grocery store to buy yogurt, cheese, fruit, etc. I make sure to liberate a few produce bags. In my hotel room, I put the stuff in the bottom of the cooler, fill the plastic bags at the icemaker and put them on top of the groceries (because cold travels down). Renew the ice every morning. This can carry you for up to a week. If I think my room will have a coffeemaker, I also buy 1/4lb of excellent coffee, because hotel coffee is the work of the devil.
4. Generally, I try to drink as much water and eat as many vegetables as I can find.
5. If you are going somewhere with dodgy water, and can check bags, two great things to have are a small container of bleach (tape closed AND doublebag in ziplocs) and a small camping filter, for instance to fit in a Nalgene. Filtering your own water will make it safe(r) to drink. This let me stay hydrated in India. Bleach will allow you to eat produce: capful of bleach in a sinkful of water, let the veggies soak 10 mins, rinse. This let me eat raw vegetables in Malawi.

[littlemiss]

More tips from readers:

Whenever we go on car trips, my husband and I bring the ingredients for tuna salad using avocado as a binder (mince some garlic, slice up a tomato and sandwich in bread). Can be prepared on the road and no refrigeration required!

Hi all,

I am a natural nutritionist, freelance writer, and PhD student. I have been known to bring a 15 lb "food-bag" instead of carry-on luggage when flying. Over the past few years, my husband has been traveling several times a month, so I have had plenty of opportunities to refine "mobile nutrition strategies."

Breakfast -- He either eats in the hotel (eggs, oatmeal, cold cereal, whole grain toast, cheese, or fruit, but never pancakes, French toast, or pastries -- these are saved for weekends at home) OR he packs dry cereal and buys milk OR I pack him some banana muffins and a couple pieces of fruit.

Airplanes -- Pack snacks and even meals. Obviously, avoid liquids and liquid-like foods (yogurt, pudding), but feel free to bring muffins, cold pizza, sandwiches, samosas, granola bars, Lara bars, etc.

Cars -- Almost anything goes on short to medium-length road trips. Things to avoid in cars include soupy items (soup, thinner curries), soft items (pears, nectarines, peaches, plums -- unless they are cut up and packed in a small container), and smelly items (bananas, boiled eggs, anything overly garlicky).

Ultimate road food: Leftover, homemade pizza made from whole wheat dough and topped with veggies, lean protein, and a bit of cheese. When cold, it holds together surprisingly well. Plus, it can be eaten without utensils and, if made strategically, it can pack a nutritional punch.

Hydration is vital, especially when flying. Drink water, stay away from soda and alcohol.

Avoid fatty foods when you can. Order small portions (such as appetizers, soups, or salads). Visit grocery stores and even 7-11s for yogurt, fruit, fruit and vegetable juice, nuts, and crackers.

Finally...TREATS. Pack yourself at least two treats if you know you'll be walking past Starbucks and McDonalds and bad airport bakeries and greasy convenience stores. Strategic eaters don't only stock up on healthful snacks/foods before traveling, but they also bring along some healthful treats -- cookies from your local bakery (organic/healthy or just somewhere that uses butter/eggs/flour/other real-food ingredients), baked potato chips, fruit juice gummie bears, dark chocolate, etc. This way, when you're tempted to 'treat yourself' while walking through an airport or watching TV in your hotel at 12 am, you'll have a good defense.

[littlemiss]

Beginning to think these are how skinny people stay thin!!

So glad this topic came up- love the idea with peanut/almond butter and jelly on grahams. I'm a big fan of granola/kashi bars for 6 hour flights. And for me, there is nothing like peeling a fresh orange on a plane- the smell is invigorating and refreshing, and you'll be surprised at how many people around you actually appreciate the smell- it totally freshens up the stale air of the plane. Oranges with a granola bar and a pint of milk - sounds like kindegarten, but it's a perfect airplane meal. Another rule- only water on the plane, and/or coffee before noon. Try not to eat a lot of salt the night before a flight either- you'll feel less bloated.

travel a lot and almost all of my trips are overseas (longhaul). I have several strategies:

1. MOST IMPORTANT of all, make sure you buy a BIG (1.5l or 2.0l) bottle of water for the flight. And make sure you drink the entire thing during the course of the flight. If you flight is longer than 8 hours, buy TWO bottles, if necessary.

2. Keep up the hydration levels throughout your trip.

3. Travel with sunflower seeds, flax seeds, etc. These make for excellent snacks.

4. Do not drink alcohol. Or, if you feel you must, stick to white spirits (vodka, gin). And really keep it in moderation.

5. If you're traveling on business, resist all snacks served during meetings.

6. Eat 3 apples a day (if you can), preferably unwaxed.

7. Avoid Starbucks or any place like that for breakfast. Better to have breakfast at the hotel. Go for protein, like oatmeal or a hard boiled egg or cottage cheese (or yoghurt, as long as it's real and not that fat free rubbish). Sprinkle sunflower seeds or flax seeds on your breakfast.

8. Stay away from desserts!

9. Make sure you walk at least 30 minutes every day.

10. When you check in to the hotel, tell the front desk you do NOT want a candy placed on your pillow at night!

11. Avoid fruit juices. Eat the real thing instead.

These are somewhat obvious, perhaps. I follow these rules every day and I am doubly careful when I travel. Water is the key and lots of good fiber (from apples or grapefruits).

if i have a full day of flying with me, this is what i pack -

-a couple of hard-boiled eggs (grab those little salt packets at the airport)
-a bag of those pecan nut crisps
-a chunk of cheddar, cut into a bunch of little slices (i used to bring spreadable goat cheese, but airport security always gets confused by it & i've had to throw away before)
-a bag of baby carrots
-slices of cucumber
-an empty water bottle to fill at the airport
-bag of nuts
-dried fruit

so obviously, the first thing to eat is the egg, followed by the cheese & crisps. the other things last a long time, and can get me through the rest of my trip. sometimes i also make a huge batch of healthy granola for a 5 day stay somewhere, and i'll buy those little boxes of rice milk that don't need to be refrigerated plus some bananas, so i always at least have a healthy breakfast

[foggyduo]

Brilliant suggestions and ideas LM! And since I have travelling coming up in June (Turkey/Egypt), July/Aug (UK/Netherlands), and Sept (Sri Lanka), these are great ideas for me. I esp like the "bring empty water bottle with you and fill it up once you are on the plane". I shall definitely do that.....

Thanks for the link

[littlemiss]

Happy you found it useful, Sheila!

Rereading these tips, I just wanted to highlight this in BOLD:

Strategic eaters don't only stock up on healthful snacks/foods before traveling, but they also bring along some healthful treats -- cookies from your local bakery (organic/healthy or just somewhere that uses butter/eggs/flour/other real-food ingredients), baked potato chips, fruit juice gummie bears, dark chocolate, etc. This way, when you're tempted to 'treat yourself' while walking through an airport or watching TV in your hotel at 12 am, you'll have a good defense.

I think that's what we have to be in order to carry maintenance successfully! Instead of unconscious eaters, we become strategic eaters. Love it. Use food to fuel, and not to fill an emotional niche. Plus, healthy food is soooo yummy!

[foggyduo]

OK, I have to admit I am a bit of a weirdo - I don't eat cookies, cakes, ice creams, sweets, chocolates. More likely to eat crisps, curry puffs, samosa's . Only like to eat the sweet stuff IF I am in the right mood, and that is very rare! However, the idea is brilliant, so between now and my first trip I have to suss out the good stuff to carry with me that will help me NOT to gain like crazy while travelling.
You take care

[fornight]

This is a great thread!!!! I should have read it before I started my trips this year~!

[Tantravaya]

My travelling tip is McDonald's garden salad and a bottle of water. It comprises lettuce, tomato and cucumber with a pouch of Italian dressing. I minus the cucumber (don't eat it) and add shaved parmesan cheese and fresh onion. It's very Cohen's friendly, satisfying although small portioned, available in a multitude of locations, the venue has food for travelling companions and it is well priced.