How to eat healthy while traveling
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The INSIDER Summary:
- INSIDER spoke to nutritionist Karen Ansel to find out the best ways to eat healthy while traveling.
- Pack healthy food you can make into a breakfast on-the-go, and bring sensible snacks portioned into bags to keep you full between meals.
- At restaurants, choose simple meals like grilled chicken with vegetables, opt for salad or soup for a starter, and skip dessert.
Eating healthily is so much harder when you're traveling — especially when you're flying, and eating at restaurants every night.
Nutritionist Karen Ansel (MS, RDN), author of "Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging: Stay Younger, Live Longer," says it's not impossible, though.
"Staying healthy when you're traveling can be a huge challenge since you're constantly eating out," she told INSIDER. Ansel suggests packing healthy food you can make into a breakfast on-the-go, tweaking your order at restaurants, and bringing sensible snacks portioned into bags to avoid overeating between meals.
Here's her advice for eating healthy on your travels.
Breakfast
"One of the best things you can do to offset some of the damage [of traveling] is to bring your own food for breakfast," she said. "Traveling with a box of whole grain cereal can help you start the day on the right track. Simply portion it out into zip-lock baggies, and then buy a container of Greek yogurt for some added protein."
If you're having breakfast at a restaurant, be wary of fatty, high-calorie brunch dishes. "Instead of ordering an entree off the menu, make your own skinnier brunch by ordering a side of scrambled eggs with a side of fresh fruit and a latte," the nutritionist said.
Snacks
Prepare for hunger pangs between meals ahead of time by bringing your own healthy snacks. "Bring a box of whole grain crackers or a few 100 calorie packs of nuts to keep you full between meals," Ansel said.
It helps to pre-portion snacks in bags. That way you can leave some snacks at your accommodation and take only the ones you need with you — it'll stop you from overeating, and save you some bag space.
Lunch/Dinner
Most likely, you're going to be eating lunch and dinner out. Of course, you should enjoy the experience of eating out in a new place — after all, you are on vacation — but if health is your number one priority, you can always tweak your restaurant order.
For a starter, go with a soup or salad. "Starting your meal with either a salad or a cup of broth-based soup can actually help you eat less of your meal overall," Ansel said. "They’re both packed with fiber and water, which help fill you up."
For the main course, the nutritionist recommends choosing the simplest meals on the menu "like grilled chicken or seafood," with a side of vegetables. "Just be sure to skip the starchy sides like mashed potatoes, French fries or rice," she said, since these are loaded with carbs and often hidden fats.
Be mindful of portion sizes as well. "The average restaurant meal packs a whopping 1,205 calories," she said. "That's roughly 2/3 of the calories many people need in an entire day." Split a particularly large entree with your travel buddy, or take half of it for a packed lunch the next day. If that's not possible, Ansel suggests ordering an appetizer with a side salad.
While she suggests saying no to dessert, Ansel recommends ordering a latte or cappuccino to finish.
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