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Healthy Traveling Food (BYOP)

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Operation Bring Your Own Protein (BYOP) is in full swing.

Keeping it clean while traveling is daunting.  Traveling while on a competition diet is downright terrifying.

When I realized I was going to have to fly to a client meeting at 3 weeks out from my competition, I immediately panicked started planning.  Eating 7 meals per day is hard enough without throwing airport security, conference rooms, and clients into the mix.

10 Healthy Travel Tips

I had to think about what I could transport, how I could keep it at a safe temperature (food poisoning isn’t the ideal way to cut pre-contest), and what I could do to avoid disrupting meetings when I needed to eat.

The packing process was simple.

I gathered all of the dry/room temperature foods and packed most of them in my suitcase.

The refrigerated stuff I measured out in advance and divided it into baggies.  This was my effort to avoid the last-minute panicked rush to get out the door.  All I needed to do was pull everything out and put it in a cooler when it came time to leave (the panicked rush still ensued… but food prep wasn’t the cause).

The following 8 meals were all eaten on the fly (tee hee).  I thought a meal-by-meal explanation would be easiest to follow, but there are bullets tips at the bottom if you don’t feel like reading the whole post (I know it’s long).

1. Airport Dinner

My flight was scheduled to depart at dinner time.  For this meal, I needed a protein, a carb, and 2 vegetable servings.  Of course, my flight was delayed… which was fine since it enabled me to spread out and eat dinner at the gate.

  • Chicken
  • Spinach salad (squirted with lime just before leaving the house)
  • Zucchini and celery sticks
  • Butternut squash cubes

2. Plane Snacks

No peanuts for me!  This meal required a protein and a vegetable.  I enjoyed homemade fro-yo.  The night before leaving, I mixed peanut flour, cinnamon, and a little Stevia into a single serving container of Greek yogurt.  Then I wrapped foil around it and stuck it in the freezer.

By the time I was ready for this snack, it had thawed just enough to be a fro-yo treat!  It was also dark on the plane – sorry for the fuzzy pic.

Added bonus: the frozen container helped keep my other items in my bag cool.

3. Dessert

I bought an orange, but spied apples in the hotel lobby and opted for that instead.  I made a peanut butter-chocolate protein “pudding” dip for my apple using protein powder, peanut flour, and water.  Stirred up in a hotel cup (I never use the glass cups – according to an ABC expose those are NOT properly cleaned).

4. Room Service Breakfast

The night before I filled out the breakfast order form and hung it on my door.  (Tip: time the delivery so that it also acts as wake up call.)  Breakfast consists of fruit, a protein, and a carb.  I request oatmeal prepared with water only (no milk, butter, or salt), fresh fruit, and coffee.  Pretty basic, right?

Then I request some special sides: ice water and tons of lemon (a cleansing way to start the day since I couldn’t bring my apple cider vinegar cocktail), and cinnamon.  Sometimes I ask for peanut butter too, but that wasn’t on the meal plan this week.

In my oatmeal went ground flax seed and protein powder brought from home, the hotel cinnamon, and blueberries from the fruit plate.  Brown is beautiful.

5. A Bathroom Snack

Meal 2 had to be eaten at an awkward time.  No one else in the meeting was eating, and I needed a protein and a fruit.  I packed my Curried Tuna Salad (sans apple) in a baggie.  It is delicious, but curry and tuna have a strong scent.

One of the benefits of being female is that I can bring my bag to the bathroom without anyone questioning me.  this is exactly what I did.  I camped out in the Ladies with my tuna and a fruit squeeze.  I promise it tasted better than it looks in that baggie.

6. Bringing In Lunch

Predictably, they ordered sandwiches for lunch.  I needed a protein, a carb, and a vegetable.  I can’t have “regular” bread or deli meat, so I brought my own carb and protein.  Curried chicken and butternut squash cubes.

I took a gamble that they would have vegetables and I was right.  Carrot sticks and celery, courtesy of the deli.

7. Taxi To-Go

My afternoon snack is a protein and a vegetable.  I had one last serving of chicken – this time it was an herbed flavor.  I saved celery to eat at the end of the trip, as it’s the most travel-friendly veggie.  It can take a lot of abuse!

8. Airplane Food Doesn’t Have to Suck

Well, it doesn’t suck when you bring your own.  I had a packet of low-sodium tuna, peanut flour, a seasoning packet, red pepper flakes (stolen from pizza day at my office), and previously frozen edamame.  In the airport I purchased a salad.  They didn’t have a plain one, so I had to throw out the deli meat.  I hate to waste, but what was I going to do with all that salty deli meat?

On the plane I assembled my meal.  From the flight attendant, I requested water to mix my peanut flour and seasoning.  I put the tuna and edamame on the salad, then drizzled my spicy peanut dressing on top.  Delicious and pretty!

The lady next to me was a sleep and didn’t even stir at the smell of tuna.  😉

See?  Not that hard, as long s you plan!

Here are the 10 things I keep in mind on every trip.

Top 10 Healthy Travel Tips

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***

It seems complicated at first; however, this process was really quite simple.  I have done it repeatedly, and use the same tips to pack for long work days and in-town conferences.

Do you have any travel tips to share?

What “kid” food do you buy for yourself?

Comments

  1. So I’m not even going to lie. I’m basically obsessed with that Apple Sauce on the Go Stuff! In fact, I even use it as fuel for long runs sometimes. I am frequently made fun of for “being a little kid” becasue of it 😉

  2. My goodness, you are so organized and prepared! I guess you have to be because of your upcoming competition, but I can’t see myself getting it together like you. I have a hard time planning my road food for a half day cross country meet!

  3. Hahahah wait I love all of these cute child foods. I would be all over that fruit squeeze. WHO DOESN’T LOVE BABY FOOD? When I was in the first grade my teacher (we called her Mish) would eat banana baby food every day with lunch. She was healthy as a horse. And the coolest teacher to ever live.

    On that note, girl you are a food traveling champ. So planned out! And CLEAN. Props to you and all of your yummy travel foods. Being healthy while on-the-go doesn’t have to be difficult — just a bit of forethought!

    xo lady 😉

  8. Hi Laura, I’ve read every word 😉 to prove this – ” I request oatmeal prepared with water only (no milk, butter, or water)” … I believe the water is what you did request, not un-requested right 😉
    Anyhow… great post! Wow that’s challenging 3 weeks out of the competition and you did a very good job I’d say! I bet your trainer was happy about this too! How are you doing? Feeling comfortable with the result so far? 😀
    I love all your eats BTW, Oh one question, does butternut squash count as a carb even though it doesn’t have as much calories as sweet potato or rice? I thought that was pretty interesting… 🙂

    • Thanks for pointing that out! Corrected. 🙂

      I’m doing ok. Really tired and sore today, but excited. And nervous. Thanks for asking!

      Winter squashes count as carbs. I typically reserve them for my last 2 carbs of the day so I’m eating the bulk of my carbs early.

  10. You are amazing, Laura! I’ve found that on our long car trips, planning out my snacks is essential. I don’t always do it as well as I’d like and I end up eating Twizzlers and pretzels, but I really do try. No more long trips until Fall 2013, but I’m going to save your tips to help me then! Thanks, they’re great!

  11. Laura you are AWESOME!! Talk about dedication and planing ahead!! Wanna move down to Texas and pack all my snacks/lunches for long days on campus? 😉
    I can relate to eating snacks in the bathroom– whenever I have 4 hour labs, I always have to sneak out to stuff my face hahaha
    All of your eats look so tasty too. I LOVE those fruit squeeze packs!! They’re so delicious 🙂

    • Thank you! You can totally do it. Planning for a day and without dealing with the TSA is even easier!

  12. GREAT post! I still am so amazed at how you handled all of that while on competition diet. Planning is where it’s all at. I’m so going to come to your show in the spring. Lee and I were talking about that last night.

    • That is so annoying! Tempeh travels really well too, FYI. I brought tempeh “bacon” to Texas last week. 🙂

  17. I’m all over planning foods when I travel, but dang woman you out did yourself! I’m shocked they let you get by with the yogurt though. I had a friend that had his taken. He assumed they were hungry and wanted it for breakfast. 😉

  18. I’ve had to pack my food many-a-times before while prepping for a competition (or just staying on track with my program). Making a list and packaging my food is a must!

    I’ve been stopped at airport security b4 for having tuna packed in water (didn’t clue in on the water part!).

    Great tips!

  19. Way to go, girl! You are a rockstar. I don’t think many people have the time or patience to prep like you did- but you did it well…

    Can I just say that it’s amazing that you ate one of your meals in the bathroom?! 🙂

    Good luck with your competition! Can’t wait to hear your recap!

    • I got busted too! A lady from my meeting walked in but then we bonded when she revealed she always brings her own due to a gluten allergy.

  20. Intense! I’m usually on the go all day too because my university/lab is in a different city so these tips are super useful ^^ Agreed about Tupperware- it does take up a lot of space, instead I sometime re-use containers from food so that I don’t feel about throwing them out afterwards 😛

  21. I give you SO MUCH credit. I honestly don’t know how you do it, ha. YOU ROCK! I mean this obviously requires a ridiculous amount of planning and discpline..way to keep your eye on the prize, lady, as you are getting so close. i like all of your tips, too. I think what is key is having an EMERGENCY stash.. you just never know when hunger will strike and for me, that is the death of me.

  22. I have a hard enough time planning and packing foods that will cater to my allergy restrictions, so I can’t imagine how you must feel trying to follow a strict competition diet. Big kudos to you for not losing your head – your dedication is freakin’ awesome.

  25. Your travel skills continue to impress me (and you KNOW I was all sorts of excited about this post). Even with this how-to, I’m still baffled at how you manage to stay on track while in hotels/airplanes (and at airport Mexican restaurants, haha)! Totally coming back to this post for any traveling I’m doing this fall/winter. And nothing wrong with kid food! I feel like a creeper if I eat out of them, but I still love baby food jars for quick one-servings of JUST fruit, no added junk.

  26. Super impressed by all of this! You did an awesome job. Eating clean on the travel can definitely be challenging, but clearly you made it work!! I’m amazed by this dedication!

  27. Definitely needed these tips! It’s looking like I’m going to have at least one really long day each week where I’ll need to pack lunch and dinner after I start school. Your tips are awesome! Thanks for sharing them.

  28. You prepared so well! Do people you work with ever question what you’re eating and why? Just being vegetarian I get questioned a lot at work, so just curious if you get the same sort of treatment.

    • Definitely. But I do just own it. In the end, what I’m eating is a LOT better for me than their BBQ take out. and I think it tastes better. My co-workers are used to me by now, and I’ve been surprised by clients’ acceptance. I think so many people have food allergies that it’s more and more common to BYO.

  31. You are a competition rock star! Do you feel awkward leaving to eat, or eating something else than everyone else in the meeting? Or do you just own it? Do you feel like you have to explain to others why? I am often in similar situations because I can’t or don’t want to eat what everyone else is–sometimes it it such a pain and sort of makes me feel like an outcast, but I am pretty used to it now.

    • I did at first, but you do get used to it. So many people have food “things” now that it’s not so bad. And my food is usually better than the take out they have. 🙂

  32. You’re a star. I think nothing phases you. I love that you showed that you can follow this tough diet while traveling and living life. Rock on 🙂

  33. You KNOW I loved this post. (And I read every single word.)

    Additional bonus for freezing your yogurt? I bet it was a lot easier to get through security since it was solid!

    Peanut butter isn’t on your meal plan this week? I think I would die of malnourishment. (Personal problem.)

    • Thanks, my #weirdfoodiefriend. 🙂

      ATL security is actually realllly easy. I’ve made it through with not-frozen yogurt in a generic container.

      No PB. Actually, peanuts weren’t on the list.. I just cheated a little earlier on. #nuttybutterwithdrawal

  37. You are AWESOME, plan ahead for the plane win! I always seem to be the one with the stinky food but I have no shame haha!

    P.S. How did you get yogurt on the plane?! They always take my “creams” aka PB and yogurt and even oatmeal! How rudeee 😛

    • I have never had a problem getting through… once I even got a water past them (I legit forgot it in my bag). I also don’t bag my liquids or remove them to scan.

  39. GREAT POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO WONDERFUL OF YOU TO SHARE!!!! Since I don’t travel, they let you take a cooler on the plane? And all that food is OK????

    You are amazing!

    • Jody, I really appreciate all of your support. You make me smile every day. 🙂

      I had just a big lunch bag, and they don’t have a problem with food – just liquid.

  41. This post is great. I was just traveling for work and overwhelmed by the food choices or lack there of. I need to PREPARE. I did make a stop at Whole Foods when I was on the verge of binge eating all the hotel cookies in the lobby ha. Also, loveddd you eating in the bathroom. Hilarity

    • Whole Foods is a great option! Way to not give in to the junk. Hot bars in new cities are more exciting anyway. 🙂

    • Thanks, Laura! I admire you to committing to a marathon post-Thanksgiving. I’d definitely be “carb loading.” 😉

  44. I had to travel during my competitions as well! Awful but can be done! I’m glad you froze your yogurt- otherwise they would have confiscated it at the airport. they took a full jar of almond butter and my yogurt from me and I was not a happy camper! Good luck- your almost there!!

    • I have actually never had my (non-frozen) yogurt taken. Maybe because it’s Greek, so it’s thicker?

  45. Haha, gotta love those little baby food squeeze packets! I don’t eat them often (since I prefer to actually CHEW my fruit) but they’re definitely good to have for traveling…especially the banana flavored ones since I can NEVER get a banana to survive more than an hour-long trip (the wimp of the fruit world)! I never knew that a hotel would bring a fridge to your room if requested. Good to know!

    I always get nervous packing food to take to through airport security. I took a sandwich with me when I was going to Blend and I swear I was sweating going through all the checkpoints because I just KNEW they were going to make me throw it away, but luckily they didn’t…AND my nervousness wasn’t bad enough to make them think I was a terrorist…which, of course, is another good point! 😉

    Props on the creativity…I’m sure I would have packed mostly non-perishable stuff and gotten seriously bored with it. I love being able to travel to places and shop for food once I’m there so I don’t have to stress over what to pack (it can be hard enough to know what I’ll crave for dinner when I’m packing for work, but knowing what I’ll want in like 2 days?), plus…it’s always fun to have a reason to go foodie shopping! 😀

    • I am the same way about chewing. these are fabulous in a pinch though. And for baking!

      Don’t be nervous! They don’t care about food that isn’t liquid. But I totally understand.. I’m no terrorist, but you do NOT want to come between me and my food.

      the fact that I have to have “real” protein meant that all non-perishable items wasn’t an option. In the past I definitely wasn’t raveling with baggies of chicken though! And of course it’s always awesome to be somewhere long enough to grocery shop. I’m usually in and out… thought I guess that’s good too since usually I get back home to my food in 24 hours or less.

  46. Your travel tips are SO helpful! I am heading to New Orleans next week and now I have a reliable checklist to follow 🙂 I am so surprised you got through security with your yogurt, they always confiscate mine. Maybe its frozen state was the trick?

    • Awesome! Let me know how it goes for you. Even not frozen I’ve never had my yogurt taken. I’m guessing because Greek is thicker? ATL is a pretty easy airport, too.

  47. Cups of applesauce are a kid food that I indulge in from time to time. However I haven’t found any snazzy ones with Dora on the front like your edamame (yes I am jealous).

    These are fantastic tips. I need to plan soon for a trip in two weeks, and although I am not on your strict diet, I do have a more modified way of eating than most (it is a little tough being vegan).

  49. What I love is that airport food is really starting to NOT suck anymore! I was at the SLC airport the other day and I was amazed about how healthy the food options were! If I didn’t bring my lunch with me (which I ALWAYS do… go me, lol) I would have been PERFECTLY fine purchasing from any of the food establishments! I cannot wait until there is a SEXY DELICIOUS sushi restaurant in an airport I frequent! I will then make sure I have a long layover so I can stuff myself silly… LOL!

    • There is hope! It’s getting better… but some of the smaller airports Iget stuck in are pitiful. And Dallas. DFW: GET BETTER FOOD!

  50. You’re hilarious! Lol, but seriously, these are great tips! And I thought I was THE ONLY health nut out there who has been forced to eat in the bathroom when she’s starving lol!:) #Shameless!

    • Thank you! I do my best. 🙂

      If only there were more healthy options available on the road… until then, I’m all about bathroom eating. Ha!

Trackbacks

  1. […] « Healthy Traveling Food (BYOP) […]

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