Sunday, June 19, 2011

Making Healthy Choices While Traveling

Traveling is a “special occasion,” and I have previously written about the fact that my “special occasions attitude” got me into a lot of trouble at one point. That is, I went “all out” whenever I thought it was a special occasion and forgot all about healthy living. There were way too many “special occasions” in my life, and my unhealthy choices caught up with me.

While I like to enjoy myself while traveling, I don’t abandon my healthy living principles completely. One way to stay healthy is to bring quite a bit of food for the road trip as well as the actual vacation. We usually try to stay in places with a small kitchen, so that we can store and prepare at least some of our meals. I like to bring plenty of fruits, veggies, and healthy snacks. I wash and prep everything at home and transport the items in a cooler. That way the “cooking” time is kept to a minimum once we arrive at our destination.

Here are some of the items we packed for a recent two-night trip:


  • European Style Whole Grain Bread
  • Almond Milk
  • Coffee
  • Cheese crackers
  • Ak-mak crackers
  • Laughing Cow cheese wedges
  • Snapea Crisps
  • Raisins
  • Apricots
  • Peaches
  • Grapes
  • Avocados
  • Hard boiled eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • String cheese
  • Beef jerky
We also took (not in the picture):
  • Pitcher with water filter
  • Cheese slices
  • Turkey meat
  • Tomato soup
We still ate some of our meals out. Generally, I like to allow for two treats per day while on vacation. Usually that means some wine or beer and some sort of dessert. I love Coldstone Creamery ice cream, but I have a rule that we only eat it on vacation. Hubby and I love to share the Peanut Butter Cup Perfection.Smile

We also like to stay fairly active on vacation. Whenever possibly, we go on a hike, and we also love to swim and walk everywhere. However, I also enjoy reading a good book for a bit and doing “nothing.” However, “doing nothing” is quite rare with the toddler around…

Questions: Do you ever take food with you on vacation? If so, what do you take? What is your attitude towards food and exercise while on vacation? I like to relax my “rules” a bit without completely abandoning them. Being active is also key for me to feel my best, so there is usually plenty of walking, hiking, and swimming.

Be well,
Andrea