Healthy Foods To Take On A Trip

This afternoon I will be leaving for a trip to LA. As I was packing, I knew eating healthy may be a bit difficult, but then I thought, it does not have to be this way. In fact I can bring along some perfectly healthy things to eat. So, I comprised a list of packing healthy foods for a trip. I hope this helps you for your next trip! Breakfast, I've said it before and I'll say it again, is the most important meal of the day. DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON BREAKFAST!! At the same time, don't go for the all you can eat sausage and eggs buffet either. Pack yourself some packets of plain instant oatmeal. If you must go for something a little sweeter, buy Kashi instant oatmeal. You can easily make this in your hotel room! Always keep healthy, dry snacks in your bag. You may not know when the next time you will eat and instead of waiting until you are starving and eat a whole cow, carry healthy, dry snacks to tame your appetite. I love carrying my own trail mix: 1/4c of mini dark chocolate chips, 1/4c of raw almonds, 1/4c of sunflower seeds. Portion this out into four snack baggies and bring along! Another great snack to bring along is granola bars. Try to pick minimally processed granola bars which are low in sugar and high in fiber. I love Cliff and Kashi bars. Buy a couple of small, individual tuna cans, or tuna pouches that you can easily open. This may sound fishy (haha), but if you are running really late and don't have time for lunch, grab a can and you'll have a filling protein pick me up! When you get to your destination, see if you find a convenience store. If so, buy some whole grain bread, a small jar of peanut butter and all natural fruit jam. PB&J sandwiches are healthy for a breakfast or lunch! Make half a sandwich for a quick snack later on. Better yet, instead of buying plane food, make your self a couple of sandwiches and bring this along! Remember always grab an apple and keep in your bag for a quick snack. When eating out, stay away from simple carbs and get lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and complex carbs. If you guys have any tips for eating healthy while on the road, please do share :-)

Tips for eating out when on a business trip or vacation

Don't let your outside adventures throw a pitch fork in you already wonderful healthy lifestyle! Just because you are on a business trip or on vacation, doesn't mean you need to go wild and raid the buffett. Just remember, you may be on a vacation, but your diet is not :-) 1. Keep yourself hydrated. Often thirst can be mistaken for hunger. Try to always keep a refillable water bottle with you and refill as needed! 2. Avoid anything saucey...especially cream saucey. You'll be setting yourself up with a caloric mess on this one. 3. Go for the grilled options. Oh yes, lean grilled proteins are your best bet here. Grilled chicken, grilled seafood, grilled beef. 4. If you are at a buffet, help yourself to a salad and clear broth soup. I've said it before and ill say it again, these will fill you up with minimal calories and will help you not over eat. 5. Keep healthy snacks on hand: almonds, apples, granola bars etc. You may not know what time you will be having lunch or dinner. You d Also don't want to be famished and eat all the high fattening high caloric food. Not only will the snacks keep you satisfied, but it also will not send your body into starvation mode! 6. When eating out, try to load up on the fruits and veggies. Remember may be on vacation, and you should enjoy yourself. If. You really want a high caloric dish, try to have only 1/2 or a 1/4 of the dish, and then something healthy on the side. 7. When I'm eating out, I sometimes only order two appetizers for my meal. This is very filling, the portions are great, its cheap, and I get two different things! 8. Let's face it, you may not be able to eat healthy all of the time, try to counter act this by walking or getting some other form of excersise in. I hope these tips help you on your next vacation or business trip!

Tips for Eating Out...

We all face obstacles when eating out. Whether it's Italian, Chinese, Indian or any other type of cuisine, we are always looking for the best options to have when eating out. I thought I would recap my Eating Out Guide... Italian Food

• If you are having pizza, go for the thin crust, you'll save yourself a ton of calories
• Avoid meats on your pizza, go for the high fiber veggies which you know are 0 points
• DO NOT, I repeat...DO NOT eat the breadsticks, ppls, its just BREAD..let it go for Italian meals
• Get your dressing on the side -dip the tip of your fork in the dressing and then eat your salad. You'll get all the flavor with minimal calories.
• When eating out, immediately ask your server to pack half of your meal to go
• If there is an option for whole wheat or multigrain pasta, get this

Chinese Food

• Start your meal off with a broth based soup and a salad. This will help fill you up and ensure you do not consume too many calories
• When at a Chinese Buffet, pick food from the top. The sauce and oils tend to fall down on the bottom of the pile of food. If you pick food from the top of the pile, you will atleast get the least amount of oil and sauce
• WATCH FOR PORTION DISTORTION. People, I cannot say this enough, if you are going to eat all that food, atleast watch for your portion sizes. Remember, you just want to taste the food, not overload and gorge on it!
• Mix your food with steamed veggies or chicken. This way you will get all the flavor for half the calories
• Go for the steamed dumplings vs. the fried dumplings. You'll be saving yourself a whole lot of saturated fat
• Try to stay away from anything deep fried, such as egg rolls or fried dumplings
• If there is brown rice, go for this over white rice, again watch for portion distortion
• Go ahead and have your fortune cookie. These satisfying, sweet treats are about 25 calories

Indian Food

• Try to stick with the vegetable based dishes, such as channa masala and aloo ghobi
• Stay away from cream and butter laden sauces -such as chicken makhani
• Have roti instead of naan. Roti's are usually made with whole wheat flour, and cooked on a flat, cast iron pan, with minimal oil
• Stay away from the mango lassis, or any other FLAVORED lassis
• Portion control your rice, keep your intake to rice no more than one cup

I hope this has helped you guys out. Are there any other types of cuisines you'd like some tips on eating out?

Out and About

Ppls, one of the great things about WW is you can still eat out!! Now I write for the wonderful site, 3 Buck Bites Cheap Eats for Food Lovers!, http://3buckbites.com/. How do I plan on days where I eat out? Well, if I know I where I will be eating, I try to find nutritional stats on the restaurants website. If I am eating early during the day, say for lunch time, I try to allocate the rest of my points for the day. For example, a few days ago, I was roaming the streets of Union Square, and found a wonderful Falafel place called Pita Joes. What caught my eye about Pita Joes was their falafel's can be ordered with whole wheat, organic pita. Also, it was $3.95 :-) YAY! So, I knew I would have fresh veggies on an organic pita for only $3.95...and it was falafel!! So, that day for breafast, I had my usual, turkey bacon and egg, a 3 point total. According to WW, a falafel is between 7-10 points, I figured this to be 10, just to be safe. So, I knew that it was 2pm, and by this time I would have had 13 WW, out of my 20. I still ate my falafel, but I knew I only had 7 points for the rest of the day. What did I do? For a snack later on, I had celery sticks and a reduced fat cheddar stick - 2 WW pts. and for dinner, I made myself a 5 pt. filling chicken stir fry!

So, I was able to eat out, and still stay within my points range.

Seriously, I knew I couldn't give this up :-P

PS: Check out http://3buckbites.com/, cheap, great food...you can't get any better than that!!