Going on road trips and flying to visit a new city is always fun and exciting but unfortunately this is normally associated with eating fast food multiple times a day, munching on chips and other unhealthy snacks. Now I definitely believe in moderation and indulging when you really want something but that doesn’t mean your healthy lifestyle needs to fall flat when traveling. There are a lot of things that you can do to prepare yourself so that you can have healthy options available to you. I recently went on a long road trip through the states and I will be focusing more on road trip travel tips but if you are flying somewhere these tips will also be helpful.
Top five tips
- Do your research ahead of time. Find restaurants in the area that have healthy options or ones that cater to your lifestyle (gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free). There are so many restaurant review blogs out there that make it easy to find menus with healthier options.
- Limit the amount of unhealthy food you bring with you. If you only have healthy foods with you won’t be tempted to eat anything else. Whole grain foods, nuts, etc. (see full list below) have nutrients and fibre to them so they will keep you full longer than chips, and foods filled with refined sugar foods. Eating these types of foods will also help if you’re traveling with others who bring unhealthy foods because you will fill up on the foods you’ve brought. If you are tempted, set a goal for yourself like you’ll treat yourself once per day while traveling to a food that you normally wouldn’t consider being apart of your healthy lifestyle.
- Now you most likely won’t be able to bring fresh fruit and vegetables across the boarder. If your traveling within the country pack a cooler full of fresh produce and other healthy options listed below. If you’re driving, plan a stop once you’ve crossed the boarder to pick up some fresh produce, fat free yogurts, hummus and other healthy snacks. Most grocery stores have precut fruits and vegetables that are perfect for eating on the go. Apples, bananas, strawberries are the best type of fast food!
- Pack yourself a small blender and make smoothies in your hotel room! There are mini travel size blenders available such as this one that can easily be packed in your suitcase of trunk. Storing fresh produce/foods: Make sure you have a mini fridge or cooler in your hotel room/where you’re staying if you are purchasing these foods to keep longer than just during travel.
- Whether you’re driving or flying bring things to do while traveling to keep you occupied to avoid eating out of boredom. My favorite things to bring: Magazines, computer/tablet with a new movie on it, crossword puzzles, books, Ipod.
Healthy Foods to Bring while Traveling
-Nuts, seeds {almonds, walnuts, cashews}. Always choose unsalted
-Dried fruits {dried mangos, banana chips, apricots, cranberries}. Choose raw dried fruits that do not have any added sugars to them. Create your own trail mix with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. Add pure dark chocolate chips if you have a sweet tooth!
–Lara bars or Cliff bars
-Chickpeas with sea salt or other type of seasoning
-Granola
-Rice cakes (may be a little messy!)
-Dried seaweed (has a salty taste, can be found at most grocery stores and health food stores)
-Whole grain cereals to snack on
Beverages
-Water
-Coconut water
-Sparkling water
-Almond milk
In the car snack ideas
Make sure to bring cutlery & paper towel!
-Peanut butter with apples or celery
-Peanut butter on whole grain breads (or rice cakes but these can get messy in the car!)
-Hummus with carrots or whole grain crackers
-Cottage cheese on whole grain crackers
-Fresh fruit dipped in yogurt
-Popped popcorn in baggy seasoned with sea salt
-Snap peas
Downloadable PDF here
Read my “What I ate Wednesday Road Trip Edition” post here to see what I ate one day in Nashville while on my road trip.
Thank you for reading! Safe travels!
-Brittney
You can also find me on: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest
Get weekly healthy recipe post sent to your inbox & a FREE resource guide on How to Eat Healthy on a Budget! Sign up today!
[wysija_form id=”1″]
I always like to bring things along for a healthy breakfast. This not only helps insure that at least one meal of the day is healthy, its budget friendly too!
So true!!
These are really great tips Brittney.
We just did a road trip to the outback a few weeks ago (while on the Whole30 diet) and packed a cooler bag full of snacks we could eat – most of which you included on this list. I had never done that healthy snack packing before, it used to be bags of chips but having something filling and healthy is so much better than the junk.
Next time we head out on a road trip I’ll check out your list for more suggestions.
Thats great! I know packing for a road trip is so important, I used to be the same way!