While you may be faithful to your healthy eating routine at home, it is an undeniable fact that travel is a major challenge to diets. Being away from your refrigerator stocked with tofu, fruits and vegetables creates one problem. The plethora of high-fat, high sodium, and high-sugar offerings at food courts, train stations and airports is another problem. A third issue develops when you are invited to restaurants that may offer dairy or meat-laden dishes. These obstacles may seem overwhelming, but they are not impossible to overcome with some discipline and planning.
Healthy Snacks for Your Carry-On
One of the best ways to beat travel temptation is to be proactive and stock your carry-on luggage with portable healthy snacks that are low fat and contain protein. Plastic bags filled with nuts is a classic solution for good reason, since nuts are protein-rich and contain monounsaturated fats that are healthy for the heart and stave off hunger. Avoid purchasing greasy, salty peanuts at the airport, since salt can make you dehydrated and fatigued. In addition, resist the packets of salty peanuts doled out by the flight attendant, because the purpose of such snacks is to encourage travelers to indulge in alcoholic drinks.
For a variation of the bag of nuts solution, try taking a variety of dried fruits such as apricots and dates, open them up the center, remove the pits from the dates, and stuff them with almonds and walnuts. This can satisfy your sweet tooth while providing you with protein and filling you up. It can be relatively easy to walk past kiosks selling chips and cinnamon buns. Another favorite standby are bags filled with carrot slices and celery stuffed with all natural peanut butter.
Pack Some Homemade Goodies
If you find it difficult to resist freshly baked items when you’re on the road, try preparing your own low-fat, gluten-free muffins and taking them with you and your carry-on. For truly tempting baked delights, prepare vegan brownies and chocolate chip cookies from hamptoncreek mixes. The Just Cookies product contains no eggs or dairy ingredients and gives you the convenience of preparing baked goods from a mix without having to put something together from scratch while preparing to travel.
Spread it Around
You may have found a whole wheat bagel at the airport, but of course, if you adhere to your diet, you are not going to spread dairy cream cheese, butter or margarine on it. Take your own spread with you, and smear some Just Mayo on a baguette, roll or bagel. Just Mayo is available in a variety of flavors including garlic, pesto, chipotle and many more. In addition, you may have found a scrumptious salad in the food court, but are unwilling to use high-fat dairy dressings provided. Bring along some Hampton Creek vegan dressings, and enjoy a creamy ranch dressing on your salad without consuming cholesterol or saturated fat.
Research Healthy Options
Before your plane even lands, you can make sure you eat healthy food throughout your trip by locating natural and organic cafés, restaurants and supermarkets in the places where you will be traveling. Google is your friend when it comes to searching for healthy establishments. In addition, it is easier these days to find healthy offerings and restaurants than it used to be, given the fact that the interest in plant-based alternatives to high-fat foods is trending worldwide. Some countries, such as Japan, already have a cuisine that is low in saturated fats. The Japanese diet, with its focus on soy protein and fish, features. Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly dishes like hummus, focuses on plant proteins such as chick peas and sesame and has a generous supply of whole grains and vegetables.
Traveling need not disrupt your diet if you plan ahead and pack snacks that help you avoid temptation while in an airport or food court. Find healthy establishments close to areas where you will be traveling, and check out an online menu to familiarize yourself with healthy offerings. It is important not to let your diet and exercise routine unravel while you are on the go, because traveling involves stress on the body and the mind that can be partly relieved through a healthy diet. In addition, you need all the energy you can muster to catch trains and fight off jet lag. Bring healthy food with you for a boost of energy during your travels.
