how to eat healthy when traveling

Eating well can be a real challenge for city travellers, especially if you are on a business or conference trip. How can we avoid feeling blown up and enjoy our highest level of energy at a time where we are suffering jet lag and have to eat out every day?

Here are a few essential tips on how to eat healthy while travelling, from an article by nutritionist Carla Zaplana published on etselquemenges.cat (You are what you eat):

1. Start the day with a good alkaline hydration

After washing our teeth in the morning, drink a glass of warm water with lemon. If staying at a hotel, ask for it at the breakfast table. If staying with friends, chances are there is a small supermarket nearby to buy some lemons. No fresh lemons around? Two small drops of lemon essence will do, but please make sure it is suitable for drinking.

2. Natural juice

No better way to start the day than with a healthy smoothie of fresh fruits or vegetables. No juicer on hand? Natural juice from the supermarket or hotel breakfast buffet will do. If juice isn’t available, opt for fresh fruit. Citrus fruits are great for their vitamin C. If you have a sensible stomach, make sure you pick fruits with thick skin, such as oranges, mandarins and pineapple.

In an exotic country, if the seller offers to cut the fruit, make sure he doesn’t clean it with water!

3. Breakfast

For a light breakfast, choose fruits with high levels of water, like citric, melons and berries. Long day ahead? Get some extra energy with sweet fruits like banana, mango, peach, cherimoya. Oatmeal with a bit of water and some fresh fruit on top is long time favourite of savvy travellers.

Want to try the traditional breakfast of the country you are visiting? Just make sure it includes vegetables. For instance, many Asian countries offer soups with rice and local vegetables. This is a proper breakfast with a good combination of food. Eating regional cuisine will connect you with the local culture and prepare your body for the day’s adventures ahead.

4. Lunch and dinner

Always try to start with vegetables. If you trust the water quality, a salad is the best option. Uncooked vegetables provide you with important nutrients, water and fiber. Another option are vegetable soups, or fried vegetables (not deep-fried!).

The most important thing to keep in mind is to avoid mixing animal proteins with carbohydrates, to keep digestion light and easy. Dinner should be lighter than lunch, and we have to eat it at least 2 hours before going to bed.

5. Snacks

The best morning snacks are fruits, but if you are doing a long walk, nuts will provide you with instant energy, apart from filling your belly with important minerals.

6. Avoid Dehydration

It is extremely important to keep hydrated while traveling. Water is vital and we need to make sure that we have it close-by at all times, at high quality.

We hope you found those tips on how to eat healthy when traveling useful. Of course, as travellers we also want to immerse ourselves to the local culture, and tasting traditional cuisine is a big part of the travel experience. Ultimately, balance is what matters.


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How To Eat Healthy When You Travel
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