Find Healthy Meals Anywhere
It’s not always easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you’re traveling to unfamiliar areas, but it is completely possible to enjoy a diet rich with nutrients and healthful foods no matter where you are. Learn how to eat healthy on the road – or just out of town for a few days – anytime.
Start in Your Own Kitchen
The most important habit to create is that of preparation. The simple task of packing snacks or creating meals ahead of time will prevent you from attacking the vending machine in a fit of hunger, which brings us to the next tip: don’t starve yourself to the point of grabbing whatever you see in sight. By having your healthy options with you and prepared ahead of time, you prevent the intake of unnecessary calories. Furnished apartments come with fully stocked kitchens, which means there’s really no excuse to not prepare something before heading out the door. These habits are easy to start and the best part is you can keep at it back home!
Convenient snack ideas include any type of fruit that travels easily, like grapes, bananas, or apples. The same goes for veggies; slice up some bell peppers and pack a snack sized hummus instead of fatty ranch dressing. Mixed nuts and granola or energy bars work well, too. But be leery of bars as some are high in fat and calories. When packing meals on the go it is best to use non-toxic containers such as glass or stainless steel, but if plastic is your only option choose a container that is BPA free.
Eat Smart When Eating Out
When you do venture out to eat be aware of portion sizes in restaurants as they have increased drastically over the years. People have wanted more bang for their buck, and restaurants have perceived that to be larger portions rather than higher quality foods. Remember that it isn’t necessary to finish everything on your plate – in fact, taking half back to the office after a lunch meeting out is a convenient way to eat healthier and not have to pack food for later. When ordering, plan ahead and come up with a meal that will serve well as leftovers for a future entrée.
We understand that fast food is not always unavoidable, so if you must order fast food go as healthy as possible. A veggie sandwich, sushi, or salads are much better for you than the drive through window at a restaurant chain. The good news is that pretty much every major city or town in the country has a plethora of options at most intersections so you won’t have to go far to find a better option.
Stay on Track with an App
There are dozens of useful tools available to you at your fingertips (we know your smartphone is never more than an arm’s length away). The Eating Well Guide is an online dictionary of sorts of sustainable foods, farmers markets, grocery stores, and restaurants nationwide. The website allows users to locate these businesses with over 25,000 locations available.
Fooducate is a phone app created to eliminate the confusion that comes with label reading. With over 200, 000 UPCs in their database, Fooducate provides the nutrition label, ingredients, facts about the product, and a rating on a letter grading scale. Users can add their own foods and share feedback on items with other individuals. Information such as food colorings, Trans fat, additives, and preservatives are also noted. With this app you may be surprised by what you find out about your favorite foods.
My Fitness Pal is a great tool for tracking your daily food intake. With over 2 million foods programmed into the app you can track your calories, sugar intake, fiber, cholesterol, fat, and protein. The recipe calculator allows you to enter your own ingredients and calculate the nutritional value of a meal you make at home or find in a restaurant. Additionally, My Fitness Pal tracks your fitness progress with over 350 exercises. Enter your cardio or strength training and set your goals. Connect with friends back home to help with motivation.
Find the resources most helpful to your needs and use them to achieve your desires. They are designed to help keep you on track and make the challenge of healthy eating a little bit easier. If you are already using a nutritional app or program with success, please share with us!
Image courtesy of Buzzfeed.