Eating Healthy While You Travel: The Cheat Sheet

Posted in At the Terminal, In the Air, On the Ground

Guys. My Mom called the other day to tell me that she liked my story on whether or not you can diet while you travel. That’s just about the highest praise I can imagine. While some moms blindly praise their kids for everything (“You tried your best, sweetheart! Here’s a trophy!”), mine only proffers approval when she means it. So, if you haven’t checked it out yet, you can read the whole thing here. If you’re lazy and don’t like reading 1,000-word stories, then just scroll down, my sloth-like friend, and enjoy this handy cheat sheet I’ve put together for you.

ROOM SERVICE

  • Find the healthiest thing on the menu
  • Salads are your friend
  • Substitute unhealthy side dishes with extra vegetables
  • Treat menus like choose-your-own-adventures and create your own items featuring the ingredients of other dishes

ROAD TRIPS

  • Research along your route ahead of time instead of choosing fast food right off the highway
  • Support local restaurants instead of chains, as you’re more likely to find real unprocessed ingredients at mom and pop shops.

ON AIRPLANES

  • Bring your own snacks. Cut up veggies ahead of time and bring them with you. The more you can supply your own food, the more you can avoid processed junk.
  • Opt for the healthy snack option instead of a sandwich. American Airlines serves a fruit and nut mix for $5 and hummus and multi-grain pita chips for $4. Their Southwest Chicken Salad with creamy cilantro dressing is $8.99, but don’t load up on the dressing.
  • If you’re in a premium cabin, skip the stale roll that comes with the meal and eat the salad first to fill you up. That way, you can avoid the heavy sauces that come in most on-board entrees that are full of sodium and other additives to make up for taste-loss in the sky.

AT THE AIRPORT

  •  Skip the usual suspects: Chili’s Too, McDonald’s, etc. Even the supposedly healthy items at chains are loaded with hidden calories.
  • Opt for grab-and-go wraps and salads.
  • Search out real, fresh food. Farmers markets and grocery stores are popping up in airports all over the world.

With a little forethought, your healthy eating habits can easily come along with you for any trip you may be taking.

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