Invictus Blog

Don’t Throw Nutrition Out the Window While Traveling
Written by Nichole DeHart
(Originally posted on October 13, 2011)

As athletes, coaches and fitness enthusiasts alike, we take our nutrition seriously. Many of us are diligent about prepping food for the week and making sure our pre and post-workout nutrition is dialed in. For many, this meal planning goes well until you throw the word ‘travel’ or ‘vacation’ in there. It seems like then the diligent planning and nutrient dense meals go out the window. I am here to tell you that they don’t have to be thrown out the window! You can successfully eat well while traveling!

Shane wrote a great post about his meals while spending 3 weeks in France. You can check out that post here. While I wasn’t in France, I was traveling in a F250 making my way through Utah and Arizona. I recently went on a road trip to various places like Zion, Bryce, Escalante, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and Sedona. I recommend going to all these places if you haven’t been, especially Zion! Camping alongside desolate dirt roads and traveling in a truck for 2 weeks could have posed troublesome for many with regards to meals, but with a little bit of prep and forethought, we were able to stay about 90% clean with our eating (there may have been a few m&ms in the mix). Here is how we managed so well on our trip and how, if traveling, you can maintain eating healthy:

1 – Make a plan before you leave. We knew we would be in the car for a large majority of time so we planned to have healthy food near us always. Having prepped snacks helped us not be tempted by junk food. We packed fruit, cut up vegetables, a bag of mixed nuts, pre-cooked chicken and beef jerky in an ice chest in the cab of the truck. We had a variety of food to choose from so we never reached the point of being too hungry to care if our food choices were healthy or not. This type of food prep could be very beneficial for someone who is facing a long flight as well as a long drive.

2 – Take advantage of local markets. In Zion we bought local produce and nuts to pack for our hikes. When we were running low on food in Escalante, we jetted over to a local grocery store and purchased local, grass feed sirloin steak. We grilled the steak up and made a great salad to accompany it with produce found at the local grocery store. Take advantage of the local produce and farmers markets when you travel. There are tons of local, delicious and nutritious foods to be discovered everywhere.

3 – Do research on restaurants before you leave. We did research on restaurants that supported a local, sustainable menu that had healthy food options. One of the best restaurants we went to was in Sedona. It was, in fact, a gourmet Mexican food restaurant called Elote. We did some research beforehand and knew we could stay clean with our meals while eating at this restaurant. We had some of the best fajitas and just subbed out the rice and beans for extra vegetables. It was one of the best meals I have had! Don’t be afraid to ask to sub out things like starchy foods, beans or rice for extra vegetables or a side salad. Just a small amount of time spent researching good dining options pays off when traveling.

There are tons of ideas to keep your eating on track while traveling, these are just a few ways that we were successful with our meals. Frequent flier members and travel aficionados – how do you manage your meals while traveling? Please post your comments!