How to Eat Cheap and Healthy While on the Road........!!

Hi On Boards,
How are you all? Traveling can be loads of fun, but one month later when bills arrive, it seems that it wasn't all that fun especially when most bills go to food. Eating out while away on vacation can get expensive, but also unhealthy. There are several ways to cut down on expenses and still have a good time. Most of all, it feels good to get back to basics with food on the road.

Preparation is crucial when planning a trip.

* Do your research on the destination: find healthy cafes, farmer's markets and local farms and groceries.Look for informative websites that pinpoint locations of farms, restaurants and grocers with healthy fare.
* Fast food can be inexpensive, but keep in mind not that terribly healthy. Most chains carry plenty of refined flour products with high fructose corn syrup, lots of sodium laden dishes and food that sounds so good that one knows it can't be good for you. There are a few chains that provide healthy fare. One can opt for healthy fare at Panera Bread, but it all comes down to choices.
* Shop before the trip and bring along plenty of nuts, seeds, fresh local fruit and vegetables. A loaf of local whole wheat bread with some good organic nut butter goes along way and it is very filling.
* Figure out the food budget while away and stick to it. Create new ways to economize by trying new finger foods on the road. If air travel is involved, check out the airline's choices of healthy food. United Airlines carries Odwalla bars and drinks as well as a health organic "Smart Pack" or Right Bite" snack box for six dollars

Bag it. Brown bagging is back.

* Bring along a brown bag full of favorite sandwiches and snacks.
* Whole wheat crackers, popcorn, fresh apples and some carrot sticks dipped in a nut butter or hummus will carry a body a long way with lots of nutrition and few calories.
* Eating out sometimes adds up in calories. It is inexpensive, tasty and there is no impulse spending if you've got a brown bag.
* Bring the leftovers. Going away usually means cleaning out the fridge. Why not clean it out and put what you've got on the stove to make a nice soup? Add a can of beans with some veggies while spicing it with that chipotle paste that can't be figured out what to do with. Freeze the soup in a travel container, letting it thaw while carrying it to the destination where it will be perfect to heat!
* Think finger food. Snacking is a great way to eat while traveling. It keeps the blood sugar stable and never allows one to get totally stuffed. Granola bars, raw almonds, and a favorite trail mix keep the energy level high while eating a heavy meal will just cause indigestion and bloating. Fats are difficult to digest in the air.

Retrain the brain about food intake.

* Habits are constantly accumulating, but there are ways to break the bad habits. If eating out daily is something one can't live without, try eating half of what is ordered. Compromising with ones self is okay. Bad habits can be changed slowly like making a 50-50 rule. Cut back by 50 percent on eating out or cut back on diet drinks by 50 percent.

Travel with good food, get lots of rest and think simple. Upon arrival at the destination, the body will feel energized , refreshed and ready to go but also the purse will still be in tact.

Best Regards........

 

I go through about eight 2 liters of diet coke a week. Been doing it for years. I'm healthy as a damn horse. No evidence whatsover that diet cola is bad for the human body. None. Not a scintilla. So until you can back your shit up with hard evidence don't tell people to stop doing something that does not harm them. 99.8% of diet cola is WATER, the healthiest substance on planet earth!

 

You serious? Idiot.

 

Serious as a rattlesnake bite.

You have no proof whatsoever that diet soda is bad for the human body.

Everything has chemicals in it. Even tap or bottled water. Most anything you stuff down your throat is bad for you in one way or another.

Get over your personal prejudices.

 

When did Richard Simmons start posting here?

 

If you seriously believe diet sweeteners cause no harm you are a fool who is clearly only focused on the now... the long-term implications are detrimental: cancer, changes in your gut bacteria, increased appetite, linkage to obesity, water retention, etc... wish you well. You will not be invincible forever and should take some time to educate yourself on the implications of artificial sweeteners overtime. You would be better off limiting your intake to one pure sugar (not corn syrup sweetened soda-[Pepsi throwback]) per day and substituting water with fresh squeezed lemon for the remainder of your fluid intake.

Signed,
Medical Student