Healthy eating while traveling, these tips will help you!
Recognize that feeling? That you’re more relaxed when you’re traveling? You meet new people more easy, don’t get stressed when something goes wrong and enjoy fully! You definetly deserved it, but why should you leave your healthy lifestyle and good intentions at home? Some fast food, large lunches, lots of snacks; it makes eating healthy while traveling impossible. And it will only result in extra holiday pounds afterwards. So because I travel a lot right now and want to stay healthy, I learned myself to eat healthy while traveling. Today I will share my personal tips with you!
1. avoid airplane food >> Eating healthy while traveling
Airplane meals and snacks are not only very expensive, but also so unhealthy! Buying food at the airport, before boarding, isn’t the most healthy option as well. I always bring my own food when I travel! Healthy snacks like fresh fruit or vegetables, or complete meals like spring rolls or ceviche; delicious, healthy and inexpensive! But don’t forget that you can’t bring any knives in your hand luggage bag and that you’re not allowed to bring more than 100ml of liquids. My favourite solution? Just before I go through the customs, I buy some sushi at the airport, the sushi at the Albert Heijn at Schiphol is delicious!
2. replace a meal >> eating healthy while traveling
I think everybody will recognize this… when you go out for dinner on a daily basis on your holiday, you sometimes really need a balance day. Since recently, I always take a bag of Vitaminfood with me on my trip. A powder that you can drink as a shake after your workout. As a result, you get a shake that you can use as a meal substitute that contains vitamins and minerals that you need on a daily basis. This is also perfect for your return flight for instance. My experience is that the food in most airports is reallly terrible (unhealthy). In those situations, I prefer a shake. The shakes are in different flavours, but I think the vanilla and chocolate flavours are the best. If you don’t have time to prepare food before your flight, you can also bring a shake cup into your hand luggage and measure the powder in advance. Ask in the plane for some water and you can make a fresh shake! Good to know: Vitaminfood is also suitable for vegans.
3. stay true to your normal eating behaviour
Don’t be tempted by the flow and eating behavior of the country you’re visiting. Of course it’s great to do you just whatever you want and go with the flow, but eating late or too much is never good for your digestion. So don’t snack too much and try to eat at your regular eating times. Or like in Mediterranean countries after 11 PM. That’s fine, but not if you keep your Dutch sleep rhythm ;-)
4. Drink a lot of water >> Eating healthy while traveling
Especially if you’re traveling to a warm country, it’s important that you drink enough water. Drinking water will not only prevent you from dehydrating, but it will also make you less hungry. Please note that you can’t drink tap water in all countries, so buy enough water bottles in the nearest supermarket. Also make sure that you have a bottle of water besides your bed, so you can drink water in the morning.
5. Find out where you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a must if you want to eat healthy. Abroad, especially in warmer countries, you can often easily buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the local stores or at the supermarket. I always like to discover new exotic fruits and vegetables, which are not sold in the Netherlands. If you spend time in a hotel for a long time and have to eat out every day, I always notice that after a few days I really miss my greens! If I feel like I haven’t had enough greens I usually go out and order some extra veggies as a side dish or I’m going to eat vegetarian for a day. I always look for the best vegetarian and vegan restaurants at my destination in advance. Works also very well for eating healthy!
6. don’t overeat >> eating healthy while traveling
At touristic destinations you can find all you can eat restaurants on every street corner. These restaurants are often quite cheap and fine if you don’t feel like having a culinary dinner, but all you can eat shouldn’t be taken too literally ;-). Don’t overeat! This also applies to breakfast and lunch. On vacation, you often tend to have a more extensive breakfast and lunch than you are used to, while your body doesn’t need all this extra food at all. Oh yes, and every day a dessert is of course delicious, but not very wise ;-)
HAPPY TRAVELS!
TIP: discover more Amsterdam and travel tips in my books THE AMSTERDAM CITY GUIDE & WANDERLUST!
WITH LOVE,
ANNE
