Eating Healthy When You're On the Road

Whether you are on vacation or you are traveling for business, you know how hard it can be to eat well. One of the ways in which we take care of ourselves is to eat well, and though we think about staying safe and securing our belongings when we are on the road, we seldom think about what we are putting in our bodies. The food that you can get on the road is often full of fat, salt and sugar, leaving your body tired and weary and getting in the way of planned activities. Therefore, you need to be conscious in making right healthy decisions.

Be Wary of the Airports

Not only is airport food overpriced, but it is also terribly unhealthy for you. Airports rely

Pre-packed fast food at airports
Photo credit: Gabbyandlaird.com

on people being hungry, tired, in a rush and uninterested in worrying too much about the food choices in front of them. Most food choices are from fast food restaurants: packed, ready-to-eat, with large amounts of additives and preservatives. Make sure that you eat a healthy balanced meal before you head to the airport. Eat a full meal; just make sure that it is relatively light. A meal with a lot of vegetables and fruit will keep you in good shape while you are trying to make your flight! During connection flights, keep your intake of airport food moderate, ditch all greasy croissants, high cheese sandwiches, sugar-loaded coffees, creamy dips and deep-fried foods.

Choose Your Restaurant Carefully

When you are the road, make it a point to avoid places that serve a wide variety of fried food. Fried food is high in grease, and a single meal can run you up to a thousand calories if you are not careful. Look for menus that offer green salads/tossed greens with grilled white meats and meat alternatives. Fish restaurants, especially those offering steamed fish are a good choice. One strategy to use when you are looking at a menu is to look into appetizers, as they are portion controlled. Middle Eastern restaurants can be a good choice, especially if you are looking at hummus with pita and vegetables. In addition, sharing meals can be a good strategy to taste local cuisines while sparing the extra pounds. Try to have filling meals to decrease uncontrolled snacking during the day and when snacking, try new local fruits instead of high sugar/fat snacks.

A balanced meal: Hummus, pita and vegetables
Photo credit: Exclusivelyfood.com.au

Finding healthy hotels and restaurants can often be a difficult task, especially when you are in unfamiliar areas. I have found that reading reviews online from other experienced travelers is the best way to gain knowledge and find the right places for you. I most recently found a great site that listed reviews for Las Vegas hotels that not only had great reviews regarding the amenities and services offered, but also provided an abundance of reviews regarding the restaurants in the surrounding area. This made it so much easier to not only pick the right hotel for me, but to also plan out which restaurants that I could visit to eat both nutritiously and deliciously while in the buffet ridden Sin City.

Skip the Alcohol

When you are on vacation, it is easy to have a few extra drinks because you are having a great time. If you are on business, you may feel that you need to unwind at the end of a busy day. The problem is that alcohol, in cocktail or dry form, is full of empty calories and it adds up so quick! Alcohol also spares fat burning and leaves your body dehydrated, draining all your energy! Make sure that you refuse the key to the minibar in the room and that you skip the hotel bar. When you go out with people, stick with ginger ale or an intriguing exotic fresh fruit juice.

Cooking

If it is in your budget, think about choosing a hotel room that has a kitchen in it. If you are willing to cook while you are on the road, make sure that you take the time to shop at the supermarkets for healthy ingredients and snacks. Fruit, vegetables and low calorie snacks are best, such as cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, apples, bananas, soaked almonds or walnuts. Not only will this save you money, you will find that this can keep your calorie count low as you will feel full between meals. If you decide not to get a room with a kitchen, instead bring along a crock-pot or a toaster oven. This allows you to prepare hot food, which mitigates the need to go out and get restaurant food.

Take a moment to consider how you can stay healthy when you are traveling. It will sure pay off when you are full of energy during your trip and it only takes a little bit of consideration and conscious preparations.

This post is by the guest blogger, Cole Millen>> Blog: Colemill.blogspot.com

Cole Millen is an avid traveler and foodie who never forgets that life's best memories are made through real life apprehension of legitimate "experiences." Some people plan a trip to "get away," while others realize benefit of adding something greater to their current repertoire of knowledge, thought and emotion. Through his writings, Cole hopes to influence the earlier, and connect with the latter.