By Colette Dreyer (RD)
Are you traveling a lot for work, or planning to take a road trip to your holiday destination? Healthy eating can be challenging when you are on the road for long hours. When traveling it’s important to plan ahead to ensure that you keep to your healthy eating pattern.
Planning:
- For how long will I be on the road?
- How many people need meals?
- Which meals do you need to plan for?
- How many meals will be needed of each meal?
- How will I package my meals to make sure it is safe to eat?
- Will we stop to eat, or will we continue driving while eating?
Some ideas for perishable foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese. Make sure to add an ice box to a cooler to keep the foods cool. Some ideas for non-perishable foods include nuts and seeds, popcorn, biltong, and pretzels. Pack these snacks in smaller packages so that you don’t consume the full packet in on go. Having these snacks in the car will help you to be less tempted to buy snacks at the shop.
Meal Ideas:
Breakfast:
- Smoothie made at home
- Overnight Oats
- Bran Muffin
- Sandwich with egg, cold meat or cheese and tomato
- Whole wheat breakfast wrap with egg
Lunch:
- Whole grain sandwich with preferred filling
- Whole wheat wraps with preferred filling (chicken, beans, hummus, or beef with salad green such as baby spinach, tomato, and cucumber)
- Brown pita bread with preferred filling
- Pasta salad
- Quinoa salad
Snacks:
- Whole grain crackers with cheese, hummus, or peanut butter
- Popcorn
- Lean biltong
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Fresh Fruit
- Vegetables such as mini corn, carrots or celery
- Yogurt
- Hard-boiled egg
Drinks:
- Lots of water!
- Rooibos tea
- Keep a small flask with coffee (limit to 3-4 cups a day)
- Low calorie cordials
- Zero sugar drinks
By trying these tips, you will be on your way to healthy traveling. Even though you make the healthy choice, remember that to much of a good thing is also not that good. It’s still recommended to eat these snacks in moderation.