Healthy Travel Tips

Hi friends! Happy Tuesday!

So glad you all enjoyed the wedding pictures! I love seeing other people’s wedding pics, too! And while we had a total blast… I think my husband and I only got a total of 10 hours of sleep for the entire weekend!! Eek! I think I’m still in “recovery mode” this morning, since I still haven’t really had a chance to relax since we’ve been home! We’ve got HUGE deadlines at work this week, so it’s been non-stop pressure since I’ve been home. When it rains, it pours, I guess…

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Today, I thought it would be fun to talk about how I manage to eat healthy while I’m traveling. It’s certainly NOT something that came naturally to me! In fact, since I often travel to my hometown for work, I’m usually faced with all the tempting “comfort foods” that I miss while I’m living in Los Angeles! When I started traveling for work, I would indulge in all my favorite foods during all my business trips– but quickly found myself feeling lethargic, bloated, and often came home carrying an extra 5 lbs around my waist! And since I travel somewhat often, that wasn’t a habit I could afford to keep up–> work clothes aren’t cheap, ya know??

I’m also usually pretty stressed during business trips (it always seems busier when I’m in the office!), so it’s important for me to keep up my healthy eating habits while I’m away from my own kitchen! I’ve found that eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables keeps me awake and focused during the workday, and helps me fight off colds, which I always feel are more likely to be caught during traveling…

Here are  a few Healthy Travel Tips that keep me on track:

Healthy Travel Tip #1: Start your day with a nourishing breakfast.

I’m not a HUGE breakfast eater (it’s hard for me to eat early in the morning… I prefer to eat around 10am), but when I’m trapped at the office, I always like to have a little something to give me energy in the morning. If you have access to a blender (this Tribest Personal Blender would be great for traveling!), I like to make a green smoothie in the morning–> which I either will drink immediately, or I’ll bring it to work with me to enjoy when I’m finally feeling hungry:

Bringing it to work is also a great conversation starter with co-workers!   (Before you know it, maybe you’ll be making green smoothies for your office, too!)

If you don’t have time or engergy for smoothie-making, fresh fruit, individually packaged raw almonds, or Larabars all make great morning fuel!

Which brings me to….

Healthy Travel Tip #2: Always have healthy snacks on hand!

It may look ridiculous, but I always keep my desk stocked with a bag of raw almonds, a Larabar, and a bar of dark chocolate. It’s always better to be prepared, than to be subject to sub-par vending machine snacks when your hunger unexpectedly strikes!!

(Whole Foods sells these “Lunch Buddies” individually packaged raw almonds– they are perfectly-portioned for snacking!)

**I also keep another set of these snacks in my purse, so if I’m out in a meeting, I always have something I can grab on the go!

Healthy Travel Tip #3: Pack your Lunch!

Rather than using my travel per diem on meals out, I’ll often head to the grocery store on my first day of travel and pick up groceries so I can prepare meals at home! Salads are easy to pack for lunch, as long as you keep the dressing in a separate container. I actually make a bottle of dressing for the whole week, then leave it in my office fridge to use each day!  (Choco-cado pudding also stores well in the fridge, in case you were wondering.)

I was actually lucky enough to get some fresh heirloom veggies from my friend’s farm last week, so my salads featured some BEAUTIFUL produce:

And mountains of pudding were consumed, as well.

I didn’t share with my co-workers this time, but maybe I’ll be more generous during my next trip… I feel it’s my duty to spread the pudding love!

Healthy Travel Tip #4: Make smart choices when eating out.

When traveling for work, it’s almost impossible to avoid eating out all together! Business lunches and dinners, as well as social meals out with friends are a fun part of traveling for me– and there are ways to do it without ruining your [weight loss/detox/"insert-your-goal-here"] efforts. Since I had a bridesmaid dress to fit into at the end of my work trip, I was extra careful when eating out, since almost everything served at restaurants is COATED in salt and oil! Salads are usually a safe choice, as long as you order the dressing on the side…

This is the Roasted Vegetable Salad from the California Pizza Kitchen–> check out the BOWL of dressing they gave me on the side! Geez! While I’m sure these veggies were roasted in oil and salt,  I felt the huge bed of greens they were on at least helped balance out my meal. This salad was incredibly filling, and the dark chocolate in my purse made a perfect dessert.

Healthy Travel Tip #5: Indulge in local specialties!

I think this may be the most important rule of all–> don’t be too restrictive!! Mental health is important while traveling, too! Since I was a “good girl” for most of the week, I definitely felt NO GUILT in enjoying a few special treats that are unique to the Kansas City area! In addition to all the delicious wedding and rehearsal dinner food I ate this weekend, I also made a special trip to my all-time-favorite cupcake shop, Cupcake a la Mode:

My mom and I got two flavors, and split them:

The Gold Digger: Chocolate cupcake filled with caramel, and topped with a mocha buttercream and hazelnuts. I rarely like chocolate cupcakes, but this was AHHHHH-mazing!!

Amaretto Sweet: A vanilla cupcake topped with a mountain of almond buttercream. This was my favorite–> it tasted JUST like wedding cake! (my fave!)

While I may still be recovering from a “sugar-hangover,” these indulgences were worth Every. Single. Bite. No question.

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Reader Feedback: Do you have to travel for work? What healthy travel tips do you have?? I also realize that many of these tips apply to “office culture” in general… when I used to live in Kansas City and went to the office every day, I often brought my lunch to work and would try to keep healthy snacks at my desk, too! I sometimes forget how spoiled I am that I get to work from home and have my kitchen at my fingertips…

Related posts:

1. Healthy Hot Chocolate
2. Drink your veggies!
3. Vacation-mode
4. Emotional Drinking?!
5. Talk of the Office