Healthy eating while travelling for work?

jinjin8 · August 2012

I have to travel for work every now and then. When I do, I struggle with healthy eating while I'm away - usually I barely eat anything because I'm so busy and it's impossible to stop to grab anything but then when I do get a meal, it's arranged for me and I don't have a choice over what I get and by that stage, I'm starving and will eat whatever.

I'm pretty good at making healthy choices in restaurants, airports etc.

What I'm after is ideas for nutricious (preferably whole) foods that I can travel with and prepare easily. Would appreciate any and all ideas. Thanks everyone! I'm sick of finishing up work trips, feeling run down and blah (luckily, I don't tend to put on any weight during them, just not lose any).

tammyc226 · August 2012

Are your travels international or domestic? Much easier to cope with if domestic as you can buy fruit & nuts. A lot harder for international ( which is most of my work travel)

jinjin8 · August 2012

Domestic usually and thankfully, travel restrictions aren't as tight here in Australia as they are in other countries.

meeka472 · August 2012

I usually travel with dry staples like nuts, cereal, and protein bars. And then my first stop is usually to the grocery store where I pick up fruit, dairy products, and depending on how long I will be there meat. Most hotels will provide refrigerators for your room you just have to request them. If you're traveling for work, more than likely your employer reimburses you for meals and you will save them money by purchasing healthy food choices. I can usually cover breakfast and a good portion of lunch and have enough snacks to make good food decisions when traveling.

tammyc226 · August 2012

Yep much easier here in Aus. Some ideas are dried fruits, nuts, special k bars, weight watchers bars for snacks. Weetbix or oats satchets for breakfast, cup-a-soup for lunch/dinner

LittleNicci · August 2012

Are there Aldi's near you? The Fit and Active brand has several healthy snack options (currently snacking on a mango fruit strip) Dried fruit and nuts or trail mixes are great. If you have a little cooler you could bring along fresh fruit and veggies with hummus and some sandwiches or even little yogurts :-)

Merrysix · August 2012

I travel a lot for work, and have found some things that work for me. I take individual servings of nut butters (almond, walnut, etc.). I get them in the health food store and they don't need refrigerating. I take low fat string cheese sticks in 1 oz individually wrapped servings and eat with apple. These don't need refrigerating. I take Odwalla super protein bars. These have high protein low carb and make a good high protein snack with tea, if there is nothing else around. Boiled eggs pack well and last at least 24 hours unrefrigerated (I talke little packets of salt and pepper with me). I hard toast 100 cal. Arnold Sandwhich thins, and make a sandwich with the single serving nut butters or cheese sticks. ....... My go to meal in restaurants is grilled chicken over greens (salad or cooked), with vinegar and olive oil on the side Sometimes I substitute fish or lean steak for the chicken. on't eat the bread or starch. Drinking lots of water is important to how I feel when I travel. And exercise, even if only walking. Just some ideas that work for me.

littlemissmo83 · August 2012

How long do you go away for each time? Is it overnight or a few days consecutively. A few suggestions below perhaps?

Meal Replacements: Pre-pack sandwich bags with portioned protein shakes for however many days your gone. Again you could replace additional meals with protein bars perhaps? Generally you can get milk/water for the protein shake in a hotel. Easy to carry around

Actual food: Try taking some cous cous and spices perhaps. Take a tub and rehydrate the cous cous in your room, it doesnt need cooking just hot water.

Most hotel rooms come with a fridge, can you make some meals that you can eat cold, freeze them then defrost them in your room for when you need them. Even if its just straight protein perhaps and you can buy a salad on site to go with them?

Snacks, can you again take stuff like oat cakes and whole peanut butter, or banana's and just portion them out in your room for the next day? not sure what facilities you have but wouldn't take up too much luggage space perhaps?

jinjin8 · August 2012

Thanks for the great suggestions so far.

Unfortunately I can't take a cooler so will need to stick to items that don't require refridgeration.

geekyjock76 · August 2012

If I can't bring food with me, I always stay in a hotel that has at least a stove and microwave. That way I can prepare chicken on a skillet and boil anything such as yams and veggies. The first thing I do after I unpack is go to the nearest grocery to stock up on items to make as meals.

JossFit · August 2012

I travel for work A LOT, and there are a lot of things that have been mentioned so far that have really helped me to stay in shape;

- Pack snacks and meal staples. For me (eating only natural foods when I can help it) this includes plain oatmeal, almonds, Quest protein bars, single serve pouches of tuna, apples, Sea Snax, single serving pouches of Justin's nut butters, Natural whey protein, etc. I will also pack snacks with me for the day of travel that will keep without being cold for a few hours such as baby carrots, celery, string/light cheese sticks, etc.
With this stuff I can eat on the fly or have at least things with me that can be added to meals to balance them out. It's not hard to find a plain side salad and if I have my own tuna and almonds it can be a complete meal. It may not be the most gourmet thing out there, but it does the job.

- Do research ahead of time. Find out what ammenities your hotel has and do your best to get a room with a kitchenette. If they don't offer them, they may still have refrigerators, microwaves and coffee makers. You can do a lot with that! If none of that is available to you, pack gallon-sized ziploc baggies and fill them with ice from the vending machine. With that you can at least keep a few things cold overnight by packing them inside (yogurt for breakfast, fruit you would like chilled, milk, cheese, pre-hardboiled eggs, etc.) From the store you can get steamable veggies, individual cups of greek yogurt and things like that. (Another fantastic idea is to pack one of those tiny George Foreman grills in your bag so you can cook in your room!)

- Along with hotel ammenities, find out where the nearest grocery store is and pick up a few staples as soon as you get checked in to your room.

- Use your resources. Again, research ahead of time or use an app such as Yelp to find out what restraunts are nearby. You can always come up with a short list of meals for each place that will fit into your plan.

- Order smart when eating out. Going somewhere that isn't a chain and you don't have nutrition information? Just order smart... you know what will work for your plan, so just do your best. For example, if you are going to a small Mexican joint - Ask for a fajita grilled meats and veggies, light on the oil, a garden salad (yes, they have them) and a bowl of salsa. Make your own fajita salad! The trick is making up your mind ahead of time to stick to your plan and not be tempted to deviate.

- Find a local gym. Most gyms offer day passes for purchase. A lot of hotels only have very basic equipment to work with so this can be really helpful. If that's not an option, have a bodyweight circuit or two prepared that you can do in your room; I promise you that squats, lunges, burpees, squat jumps, pushups and other plyometric moves can really kick your butt if you get into it.

Basically the name of the game is preparation - find out what you have to work with and come up with a plan... then come up with a plan B. Good luck!

JLjmckesson · November 2012

bump

littlemeowmaid · November 2012

you could bring snacks, like dried fruit and nuts and cans of tuna etc

EvgeniZyntx · November 2012

I travel with dried fruit (figs and apricots), beef jerky and protein bars. I try to avoid mixed nuts because I'll eat all 700+ calories in 10 minutes. On landing, I'll go buy ham, bottled water and fruit - apples and tangerines/oranges either on my way to the hotel or I'll request the hotel get a fruit basket if I'm staying for a week - it's worth the expense. Cereal bars also work for low cal breaks (found some at 90 cals) if you need to wait for a scheduled meal.
Since a lot of my meals are business meals, I won't hesitate to eat alone in my room - for example, tuna and tomatoes - when I have a free evening.
One of the big problems for me were the great breakfasts. My solution is eggs, fruit, yoghurt, ham, coffee no bread or the rare croissant. Those great 380 calororie croissants are a trade against other food or an extra exercise session. Worth it? Sometimes.

sometimes I replace them with a Wasa cracker (these travel well).
If you log a standard breakfast, you'll learn quickly what works for you.
My father, who in his time travelled even more, took bags of bran, mustard and honey with him across the world. I can understand the bran but the rest always left me :noway:

Healthy eating while travelling for work?

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