Traveling doesn't have to be synonymous with eating poorly. While it's true that some vacations are one big debaucherous, hootenanny where you stuff yourself to the gills with good laughs, good times and every sensory pleasure your mortal body can handle…sometimes you are just passing through Cleveland on business. Here are some travel tips for those times when you are out of your element and would like to return from vacation no worse for the wear.
1. Pack provisions. If you saw me packing for an upcoming trip you would be struck by two things: One, my shrewd ability to pack for a ten day vacation with only one carry-on suitcase. And two, the excessive amount of snacks that I shove into my backpack. As you witnessed this display you might think to yourself, "Aww...how sweet. That girl is clearly traveling to a remote island where footwear is of little importance and starving children are going to need 50 Lara Bars and a vat of hummus." I pack food for travel as if I am leaving Earth and I'm not sure if our martian hosts know that I don't eat dairy. This bizarre policy has worked out in my favor many a time: canceled flights, extended layovers, sleepless nights on a red-eye. Packing this way also makes me quite popular with my travel companions. I always bring enough to share. Some of my favorite travel snacks are:
- Wild Garden Hummus Dip To Go
- Pure Bars and/or Lara Bars
- trail mix
- almond butter and honey on sprouted grain bread
- gluten free crackers
- olives
- cucumbers and celery sticks
- bananas
- apples slices
- individual packets of Justin's Nut Butter
2. Start the day off green. Since fresh green juice is not yet pouring from fountains across the country the way soda is, I always travel with Green Vibrance Organic Greens and Freeze Dried Grass Juice. It comes in convenient single serving packets that only need to be mixed with 8 ounces of water. No blender. No juicer. Just water, a glass, a stick to stir it with and you are good to go. Sure it tastes like lawn in a glass, but chugging it first thing in the morning makes me feel as if I've done my due diligence. Whatever else the day may bring, I can at least feel good about giving it the old college try. And speaking of the college try…
3. Two out of three ain't bad. Mark Bittman lost 35 pounds eating vegan until dinner. This is a great technique for vacationing (and life for that matter). Just make two out of your three meals healthy, whole food and vegan. Have fruit for breakfast; salad for lunch. Come dinner time, you are free to indulge in the local delicacy of your choosing. Whether it's your Mom's homemade lasagna that she only makes once a year or the chocolate souffle at the restaurant you've been dying to try, being selective with your indulgences makes them all the more special.
4. Exercise. Nerd alert…I LOVE exercising on vacation!! Even if the hotel gym is a broom closet with a treadmill in it, that's where you'll find me happily, jogging away. To me there is nothing better than pushing yourself to sweaty exhaustion…right before you suck down margaritas and do absolutely nothing. Even if your vacation doesn't allow a ton of time for working out, you can always start the day with what I call "a quick hundred": 25 jumping jacks, 25 sit-ups, 25 push-ups and 25 squats. Doing some exercise first thing in the morning will give you the energy you need for the rest of the day. I mean, those margaritas aren't going to drink themselves...
-♥ J :)
P.S. Five ideas for a plane picnic.
P.P.S. The argument for traveling light.
