Brie and other travel savvy H&Fers

moshi's paw

How in the hell do you eat healthily when you travel so much? 

4 days of hotel stay with restaurant eating every meal already made me cranky this week. And I'm staring at 20 days of travel in the next 35 days now.

 

Halp? 

kmartini1021

Does your hotel room have a fridge/freezer? I usually go to a local grocery store and try to stock my hotel room with some healthy foods rather than eating every meal out.

moshi's paw

I know at least one of our hotels (in 12 days) has a fridge. But no nearby grocery store and no way to cook anything. And I'm not sure how DH, who willbe with me for all this travel, will want to play along. 

kmartini1021

Well you could try packing a few healthy snacks before you go, perhaps? Snacks that don't need refrigeration or prep. Like fruits, mixed nuts, peanut butter, etc.

As far as eating out, you can try to stick to healthier menu options. Lean meats and salads, asking for any dressing or toppings on the side, and opting for sandwiches on whole grain breads rather than artisan breads or anything fancy.

Also, utilize the hotel gym or swimming pool.

That's about all I've got!

jgleespen

I usually try to stockpile healthy snack items (kind bars, fruit, yogurt if there is a fridge, etc).  I try to check out the restaurants before I go so I can do a little bit of menu planning (but some places this is not an option).  I always make sure to drink a ton of water, too. 

GRKaters

Make better restaurant choices, and/or get a hotel with a kitchenette and make some of your own meals.

WinesNotWhines

I keep my own breakfast food in my hotel room, generally fruit (something that doesn't require refrigeration, like bananas) and a granola or luna bar. If you have access to hot water, instant oatmeal could also work, but you'd need a bowl and spoon for that. If your hotel provides breakfast, stick to healthy options like fruit and oatmeal.

For lunch and dinner, try to stick to healthier options and only eat half of the food on your plate, because restaurant portions are huge. Order salads with dressing on the side.

Bring a refillable water bottle and carry it around with you.  For snacks, bring nuts and luna/clif/lara/protein bars, whatever you prefer.

Brit's Luna154

I used to be a consultant (read: I traveled Monday through Friday every single week), so this is something that I got good at.

Make sure that you have healthy foods on hand that do not require refrigeration. I'm a big fan of fruit, (many) nut butters, almonds, whole grain bread/crackers, canned tuna (in moderation of course) and certain veggies. I know that most people tend to refrigerate their veggies, but they spend a lot of their life outside. I have found that many of them do fine unrefrigerated, but just don't last as many days.

Oatmeal can be a great breakfast option while travelling. I can usually get hot water to make it with and I have packed ziploc bags with pre-portioned protein powder and dried fruit to mix into the oats. Also of interest for the oats, I haven't tried this yet, but my local Wally World sells "juice boxes" of rice and almond milk that are single serve and shelf stable. That could be an interesting addition to breakfast. I'm guessing that if Wal-Mart sells these things that they are pretty easy to find.

Pack some kind of knife (if you are checking a bag), a veggie peeler, and a small cutting board.

If your H is anything like my H, he will not be that down with eating hotel picnic meals day in and day out. I can usually sell my H on one in-room meal per day for the sake of saving money, but beyond that, his patience runs thin. When we go out, I try to make the best choice available to me and I also try to pre-read menus so I can suggest somewhere to eat that has at least one or two healthier options.

I often go for grilled chicken or fish with steamed veggies and ask that they not butter any of it. Even if it is not formally a menu item, I can almost always figure out how to get a grilled chicken breast and steamed broccoli as a dinner.

For lunch I tend to stick to salads with the dressing and less healthy toppings served on the side. In some places, like where I live in nowhere Indiana, I know that can be a challenge - most salads here consist of iceberg, tomato, and ranch dressing. In that case, I go for a sandwich, on whole grain if available, and go open faced if I get served a ridiculous amount of bread.

That was really long and I think I still have more random stuff to add...

babygirlpriest

Ditto all of Brit.

I travel probably 250 days a year and being 'good' is hard for me when eating out/noshing on the hotels free breakfast/etc.

Carrot sticks in particular I've found travel well and last a couple days outside a fridge. I also always have a couple bars and packets of almonds in my suitcase. If you don't have a grocery store nearby, there's usually at least a mini mart or something that will sell fresh fruit and sometimes pre-packaged hard boiled eggs (they're generally nice and rubbery-gross but will do in a pinch).

Brie2010

I'm not perfect--I try to eat healthy at least half the time I'm on the road, but I travel to some rural places with really dismal options and fast food sneaks in here and there.

I agree that grocery stores are always a good bet, especially if you have a room with a mini-fridge.  I also try to minimize damage--if my only option is McDonald's, I try to skip the fries in favor of a side salad or yogurt, even if I can't resist the nuggets.  Hotel breakfast buffets are really not bad--you can usually find oatmeal, reasonably healthy cereal, whole wheat bagels and peanut butter, etc.  I usually will steal a banana or apple and a packet of PB off the buffet in the morning for a snack later in the day so I don't wind up getting something totally awful.  I also carry a giant purse that always has trail mix, at least one kind of protein bar, peanut butter packets, and other random food crap in it.

I just try to keep up exercising, and recognize that it's not the end of the world.  And if I'm somewhere fun, I try to splurge on things that really are worth it and not available where I live.

moshi's paw

You ladies rock my face off. Thank you so much!

It looks like I've got some "fun" shopping to do in the next, um, 48 hours that I'm home I'm definitely going to check out those single serving almond milk packs and grab some oatmeal too. I will definitely bring my nalgene with me from now on and maybe try to find a couple of camping bowls (collapsible) for some oatmeal. I was seriously missing my protein powder in Maine, but I made up for in by almost consuming my weight in fresh oysters

Brit's Luna154

moshi's paw:

You ladies rock my face off. Thank you so much!

It looks like I've got some "fun" shopping to do in the next, um, 48 hours that I'm home I'm definitely going to check out those single serving almond milk packs and grab some oatmeal too. I will definitely bring my nalgene with me from now on and maybe try to find a couple of camping bowls (collapsible) for some oatmeal. I was seriously missing my protein powder in Maine, but I made up for in by almost consuming my weight in fresh oysters

Sometimes I buy a stack of paper cups and a box of plastic spoons when I reach my destination so that I can cut down on hotel room dish washing from my oatmeal habit.