Traveling the healthy way!

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
 – Robert Louis Stevenson

I recently took a long flight back to the U.S with my sister and nephew. It was an hour flight to London and then and 8 hour flight to Philadelphia. And then a few days later we flew from Philadelphia to Tampa and Tampa eventually to our final destination New Orleans! So we did quite the bit of traveling in a few short days!

And one of the big things for me about traveling is what to eat. I’m usually not the biggest fan of airplane meals as some of them really taste like cardboard with some tomato sauce thrown in, but I am always a fan of those little snack bags they give you with chocolate pretzels or cookies. Problem is they are so ridiculously bad for you and contribute big time to that horrible stodgy feeling you get after flying for too long. 

At the end of last year I flew to Miami, and I think it was the first time I consciously packed healthy snacks, stayed away from alcohol and caffeine and drank lots of water on the flight from Ireland to Florida and I was amazed at how good I felt in comparison to every other time I had flown across the Atlantic (and this was an 18hr journey with stops) ! I realized that what I ate and drank had a lot to do with how I felt after the long trip and it wasn’t just because I was in and out of the air for almost a day.

I know its often hard to avoid eating food at the airport, (which sucks because its usually ridiculously overpriced) but you can definitely help the matter by packing healthy snacks in your carry on which should keep you from having that starving feeling that usually has you running to the nearest junk food stop when you are waiting for your flight or when you have a long layover.

Here is a list of snacks that’s make traveling a little healthier

• ·      Nuts and Dried fruit Mixes
• ·      Fresh fruit (apples, bananas) and a Jar or small container of peanut butter or other nut butter
• ·      Veggies (celery, baby carrots, broccoli) with hummus
• ·      Healthy bars like that made by Larabar (in the U.S) or Naked (in Europe) They have all kinds of yummy flavors.
• ·      I would say you could bring boiled eggs in a little lunchbox but I wouldn’t recommend opening them on the plane as I’m sure your fellow passengers  scent senses wouldn’t appreciate it!!
• ·      Yoghurt (if you aren’t dairy intolerant)
• ·      Some good quality dark chocolate (for a treat)
• ·      Some healthy popcorn (Tayto makes a great brand in Europe with just coconut oil)

And of course the beverage of choice is water as being up in that high altitude can leave you severely dehydrated! Or bring some herbal teas with you and just ask for some hot water from the air host/ess.

Worth a mention:  

Im a really big Starbucks fan, I 'm not sure why exactly, it’s not like I drink that much coffee  or anthing but there something about seeing that symbol that makes me just feel warm and safe and loved ! (Good marketing I suppose!!)

But apart from that they are one of the best stops when traveling as they are usually in every airport and they do have a good selection of “healthier” options.

They usually have fairly good quality fruit and nut bars up by the counter, they also do vegetable and hummus trays, and fruit cups.  As far as airport food goes I’d sooner give into a bout of starvation by chowing down on a Starbucks sandwich than hitting up McDonalds or Burger King or any other chain restaurant! Just my preference!!

And of course this doesn’t just apply to airports but to any kind of long distance traveling where snacks usually keep one energized and satiated!!

Anyway if any of you have any yummy traveling food tips you know of please feel free to share in the comments below!

Happy Healthy and Safe Traveling from ELAA!