Recently I took a trip back to Pittsburgh to speak about nutrition. (You can read about the first time I went here.) I never trust the airport for healthy meals so I took matters into my own hands. I know many guests travel often so I thought I would outline what I did.
My flight was out of vegas at 11:00 am (12:00 noon Utah time). I had eaten a filling breakfast of oatmeal, flaxseed, peanut butter and banana at home before I left at about 7:30 am. The rest of the day looked like this:
- Lunch: I packed a lunch the night before. I just tossed vegetables and garbanzo beans in some dressing and took an apple on the side. I actually took a small insulated bag in my carry on and ate this right before my flight.
- Dinner: Also in my insulated bag I had cooked some edamame (soy beans) and allowed them to chill in the refrigerator. On my first layover in Atlanta, I found a large salad of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and onion with a raspberry vinaigrette and added my edamame (and no one looked at me like I was strange!). I also ate some whole grain crackers I had packed.
- Later for a snack I had a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar that I had packed.
Traveling home was a bit trickier since I didn’t have anything packed.
- Breakfast: was actually from 7-11. I know! I found 2 hard boiled eggs in a package in the refrigerated section, a banana and a package of pistachios. Odd, but it worked!
- Lunch: I found lunch at the Pittsburgh airport to take on the plane, but only after I had walked the concourse to see what was available. That actually might be my number one tip if you have the time…weigh your options before you decide while getting some exercise! I found a burrito place that let me build my own salad with romaine, brown rice, mexican spiced tofu, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, pico de gallo and salsa. Perfect!
- At the Memphis airport before my flight I found a package of Peeled brand dried cherries that I ate with peanuts I got on the plane. This was my snack before I got into Las Vegas and then was able to eat dinner at home.
Eating healthy while traveling isn’t impossible, but it does take some planning, searching and work. To me it is well worth it. Traveling is draining as is and if you aren’t fueling your body well, it will only be worse. Oh, and make sure to drink plenty of water since the cabin pressure in the airplane can severely dehydrate you!
Emily Fonnesbeck RD,CD