Healthy Travel Meals: What I pack and what I pick up

Eating healthy while traveling is a challenge, but it can be done! It involves bringing certain snacks with me, carefully selecting what I buy, and being extra resourceful with what’s provided to create healthy meals. As I write this I’m watching several super-fit and otherwise healthy people indulging on Cinnabon and TCBY, and have to remind myself that they’re likely on vacation and in a completely different frame of mind than I am as a full-time traveler. “Have that Cinnabon, Becky! You’ve waited all year for this vacation!” I, however, am sitting in the airport on a normal Tuesday, and for my third time this week. This isn’t where indulgences happen: this is where life maintenance happens. 

I tend to eat “whole” as much as possible, usually bringing a selection of veggies and proteins with me and then supplementing with what I can find. I should mention that most of this is “making do” while traveling, and I’d likely eat differently if I were cooking at home! 

Preparation:

Questions I ask myself while packing:

• Can I grocery shop once I get there?
• Will I be doing more flying right away, or will I travel by land for a while? (Meaning I could grocery shop for larger items that I couldn’t fly with)
• What is likely to be provided? (Green room spreads, restaurant eating, hotel breakfasts, etc.)
• Will I be traveling internationally? Customs doesn’t like produce of any kind!

I throw all ideas of “breakfast” and “dinner” out the window. Breakfast might be a salad and dinner might be a protein bar. Each trip of mine is very different, each band eats very differently, and there’s a varying ratio of air vs. land travel which limits what I can bring with me or buy.

There are LOTS more where these came from, but here are some lists and pictures so you can get a clear view of how I creatively make it all work!

*will need to be packed in checked luggage. Everything else can be carried on!

What I pick up:

Hotel Breakfasts: Apples/Oranges Banana Cereal (guilty pleasure) Hard-boiled eggs Wheat Bread Yogurt
Airport: Coffee Stevia Packets Utensils/napkins Salad Plain Yogurt	Groceries (if possible) Almond Milk Sparkling Water Berries Hummus Rice Cakes

My Favorite Travel Meals:

Airport Guacamole:
Bring: avocado, veggies.
Pick up:  hot sauce packet, utensils.

Travel Salad
Bring: Sweet potato, tuna, and/or avocado.
Pick-up: Side salad
OR
Bring the whole salad in an old tupperware (to be recycled!)

On-the-Go Parfait:
Bring: frozen berries/spices.
Pick up: plain yogurt, stevia packets
OR
Bring: berries, cereal (optional)
Pick up: Starbucks yogurt parfait. 

Sweet & Savory Bfast Sandwich:
Bring: Banana and peanut butter powder
Pick up: Starbucks egg white/turkey breakfast sandwich. Half the english muffin I eat as savory, half as sweet! 

Green Room Meals:

Provided: SANDWICHES
What I do:  Eat protein off sandwiches and create salad with sandwich toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion.) Supplement with veggies, sweet potato, rice cakes, avocado.

Provided: DIPS/SPREADS
What I do: Stick to the veggie tray. Supplement with hummus, avocado (airport guac), hard boiled eggs

Provided: SALAD
What I do: Avoid dressing. Add avocado, tuna pack, hard boiled eggs.

Provided: PASTA
What I do: Limit noodles and aim for the meat/protein. Supplement with sweet potato, rice cakes, cut veggies.

Provided: RESTAURANT MEAL
What I do: Ask for light oil (specify olive oil), light or no cheese, and extra veggies. Ask to skip the starch and double the veggies. Order double protein on salads.

My favorite go-to’s: Vietnamese Pho, Sushi, Whole Foods hot bar

For fun, my favorite indulgences:

• McDonalds’ vanilla ice cream cone
• Dark chocolate espresso beans
• Delta’s Biscoff cookies ????

What secrets do you have?? Anything you’d like to know more about?  

Stay fortified, drriifters! ????????????

Diana