Summer\u2019s in full swing now and we\u2019ll all be out on the road at some point soon. You may be used to it if you travel for your job but, for most people, living in and out of hotels and eating away from home for every meal can kick you right out of your normal routine. <\/p>\n
Gas station food is horrible and fast food chains are little better. Given this enormous opportunity to eat bad, how can you still be healthy when you\u2019re traveling? Should you just confine yourself to a kitchen bubble and only eat the foods your prepare there? Of course not! <\/p>\n
Eating food on the road doesn\u2019t have to be a descent into trans fat fast foods. You really can eat well with these easy techniques that help you make the right choices.<\/p>\n
Quantity<\/strong><\/p>\n I often wonder when people from other countries are served our distorted portions, if think they\u2019ve mistakenly asked for the \u201cfamily style option\u201d. <\/p>\n The real problem on the road is that you have no home to go back to, and so you can feel like you need to eat it all to make it worth the money. <\/p>\n A great strategy to deal with the road-food portion control issue is to bring a travel cooler with you.<\/p>\n When your entr\u00e9e is served estimate the amount you would normally have for a lunch portion, set that into your cooler, and then go on with your meal. <\/p>\n Then you place the container in your car until you are able transfer it to the refrigerator at the hotel you are staying. Your next meal is ready \u2014 and already paid for! <\/p>\n But some people know they\u2019ll graze it away between meals because it\u2019s in their room or car. If this is you, ask the waiters to serve the lunch portion for dinner. I\u2019ve known people who order the child\u2019s plate for themselves because that\u2019s all they really wanted. <\/p>\n And always make it a habit to leave what you could not finish on the plate. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s the rule: Waste it or waist it. <\/p>\n Quality<\/strong><\/p>\n When you do pull in somewhere to eat, choose restaurants that use primarily whole foods and prepare their food onsite. Shoot for options that you think will have PATH-friendly foods. <\/p>\n It can be so tempting, but limit the fast food you eat (limit them to zero if possible). <\/p>\n If you do need a quick lunch, grocery stores are wonderful for this. <\/p>\n For example, I might go into a store and buy an avocado, some freshly baked bread, some cheese and a tomato. Then I can find a nice spot, preferably outside, to sit and make a sandwich. <\/p>\n Along with the sandwich you can get any of their summer fruits. Grapes are a perfect to-go food for the car, as are apples. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to pack a basic utensils (if you\u2019re flying make sure to check-in your pocketknife so you\u2019re not mugged at the metal detector). That way, every time I grab something at the grocery store I\u2019m ready to eat. <\/p>\n You could even bring a spice mixture with you from home so you\u2019re ready to jazz up anything! <\/p>\n Here\u2019s a perfect lunch idea. First scope out a picnic table for your lunch, go into the store and buy a can of tuna in water, mix it up with your spices, top it with tomato and cheese, and you are so ready to eat.<\/p>\n Finish your meal with a good chocolate or a nice coffee. And again all these foods can be purchased right at the grocery store. <\/p>\n You can also find salad bars, nuts, and dried fruit in most grocery stores. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to bring baggies with you to store leftovers This definitely helps control portion sizes. <\/p>\n If you\u2019re staying in an area for a long period of time, book a room with a kitchenette. This allows you to you prepare at least some your meals in-house. At the very least, it allows you to eat a decent breakfast, and bring back restaurant leftovers for easy quick lunches when you need them. <\/p>\n Car Trips<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re traveling with the family on an extended road trip, you\u2019re going to be in the car for quite some time. In this case, make sure to plan your meals so you\u2019re not tempted to stop for the quickie meal deal along the way. <\/p>\n Your alternative, if you do need to eat on the road, is a restaurant like Cracker Barrel. They have PATH-friendly, normal foods like beans, fish, corn, potatoes, and the like. (Their portions are still large, so split the plate whenever you can, or get appetizers for the table to share.) <\/p>\n Bagel shops and bakeries like Panera that make their products fresh each day are also good. Just make sure the bagels are not enormous. If they are just split them among the kids. <\/p>\n Another great idea is to have a cooler packed and picnics planned. This gets you out of the car and into the open summer air. Rest stops have them, and you can stretch your legs or play Frisbee with the kids, and then enjoy a nice picnic lunch. <\/p>\n If you will be stopping at a hotel, try to get one with a pool. <\/p>\n The Good Side<\/strong><\/p>\n You always hear how horrid it is to eat on the road (and it really is!), but don\u2019t forget that there\u2019s a good side too. <\/p>\n For example, if you\u2019re traveling to Louisiana, sample the real jambalaya or crawfish etouffee. Do it! Try the Texas barbeque, Maine lobster, or San Francisco sour dough. <\/p>\n When you eat in control, of course, you can have the most delicious regional foods we have to offer, and it won\u2019t harm your weight or health.<\/p>\n Yes, eat out. But also focus on quality over quantity. Don\u2019t think \u201cI\u2019m on vacation so I\u2019m going to blow it out and eat a cow\u201d. Rather, your vacation splurge should be \u201cI\u2019m on vacation so I\u2019m going to blow it out and order the most incredible dish I can find and make the moaning last as long as possible!\u201d <\/p>\n The key is to think of your meal as \u201cserial tasting\u201d, not as a free-for-all eating frenzy. Focus on the flavor, not the pounds per dollar plopped on your plate.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re on vacation, more than any other time, you finally have the chance to sit and relax at your meal. Don\u2019t waist this chance to enjoy it. <\/p>\n Remember you signed up for some rest and relaxation!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summer\u2019s in full swing now and we\u2019ll all be out on the road at some point soon. You may be used to it if you travel for your job but, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[330,46,485],"class_list":["post-2754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-food","tag-summer","tag-travel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-Iq","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5754,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=5754","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":0},"title":"Heart Health Hangs A Left: About That Salt","author":"Will Clower","date":"February 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"All week, we're going off-road to explore heart health along paths you knew were there, but are definitely the road less traveled by conventional sources. Okay, so. The whole salt thing. It's true that too much sodium is bad ... but butting in with a huge BUT is the fact\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/iStock-495329922.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/iStock-495329922.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/iStock-495329922.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/iStock-495329922.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/iStock-495329922.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2034,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2034","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":1},"title":"How To Prevent Childhood Obesity? Remember What You Have Forgotten","author":"Will Clower","date":"July 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Get this. The calories that kids eat away from home has increased from 23.4 percent to 33.9 percent between 1977 and 2006.Those take-out foods are high in sugar and salt and synthetics and, oh yeah, calories.\u00a0\"We found that ... kids eat an increasing number of calories outside the home,\" said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-iSVETMKigI4\/TjFZmp5md6I\/AAAAAAAADQA\/lF7Jbi4hgV0\/s320\/ChildObesity.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4725,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=4725","url_meta":{"origin":2754,"position":2},"title":"What’s Love Got To Do, Got To Do With It? 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