Food: How to Eat Healthy on Vacation

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How to Eat Healthy on Vacation
Monday, July 31, 2006

Are you planning a week-long getaway? Getting away does not mean you need to gain a pound for every dollar you spend while on vacation. Going on vacation often creates a difficult scenario for otherwise healthy eaters. After a week of binging on foods that healthy eaters would otherwise view as unacceptable, the adjustment back to everyday life can be difficult. Simply because you are venturing far from home does not mean you have to compromise your healthy eating habits. Relaxing dietary standards while on vacation is all too common, even among healthy eaters. Help is on the horizon. Try the following to maintain your waistline (and your budget).

1. Stay in a hotel that offers a kitchenette while on vacation. Buy food at a local grocery store and make your favorite recipes that you have already confirmed are healthy. Admittedly, this option is the most time-consuming, but you will have reassurance that the transition back to everyday life (and diet) will not be a hard one after eating dessert twice a day and fried foods while on vacation. I actually had much success with this option when we vacationed in Lexington, Kentucky. We were newly vegetarian at the time and wanted to have more control over our food selection. We took some nonperishable food items such as dry pasta along in our car since we were driving and not flying. When we arrived at the hotel, there was a grocery store nearby that we used to purchase produce. If you choose this option, it is not an all-or-none proposition. You could still choose to dine out one night while on vacation, or you could prepare dinner each night and go out for coffee and dessert. If you do have dessert, choose calorie-friendly coffee as your beverage selection. Dessert and a high-calorie oversized coffee concoction can easily eat up all of your daily caloric needs. If you are ordering the double caramel latte, then simply skip dessert.

2. If you do not feel like cooking for yourself while on vacation, eat in the cafe section of a whole foods grocery store or natural food store. Even some high-end grocery store chains have restaurant-style seating. Their selection is often freshly prepared and amazing, and you will be able to choose very tasty options that you might not have eaten in the past.

3. Eat as raw as possible. Choose a salad entree at a restaurant and go easy on the salad dressing. This allows you to create a dining experience without sacrificing your desire for healthy food. Often you can create your own personalized entree by choosing among several side dish options such as vegetables. You could also customize a menu option to be vegetarian. This allows you to eat healthier by not eating meat three times a day.

4. Choose baked or broiled fish rather than fried. Skip dessert or share it with your travel companion. These are simple calorie-saving choices which will ease your transition when returning home after your vacation.

5. Pack healthy, portable snacks. Take along dried fruits, nuts, whole grain crackers, yogurt, baby carrots, carrots and celery sticks, or grapes for airport layovers or long car rides. Doing this allows you to avoid unhealthy and overpriced vending machines.

6. Remember to pack water bottles too! Staying hydrated is extremely important.

7. If your hotel offers continental breakfast, opt for fruit rather than a cheese danish.

8. Take advantage of what the area you are visiting has to offer. You might be surprised. One restaurant in California specializes in creating raw food entrees that actually look cooked. Their visual appearance is part of the appeal.

9. Some airlines have vegetarian, or even vegan, options. Choose these whenever offered. On a cross-country flight to Southern California, I had an appetizing fruit tray rather than the scrambled egg and sausage sandwich.

10. If you do go overboard with your eating habits one day, try to incorporate exercise into your daily events.

Try one or all of the above tips to ensure that you continue your healthy-eating habits while vacationing. Just because you are going to the desert (Think: oversized Vegas buffets), does not mean you have to desert your diet by eating dessert every night.

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