What to eat while traveling

It’s safe to say that I am a planner. When I travel, I make lists a few days before of what to pack. I break out each day and plan my outfits. I have a toiletry bag and a makeup bag. Besides that, I plan snacks and have a snack bag to carry on.

A few weeks ago we had an early flight to New York City. Today I’m off to Chapel Hill, NC. Early mornings mean pack a breakfast so you don’t have to go searching at the airport. Unfortunately, I made an epic fail by leaving my overnight oats in the refrigerator at home on our way to NYC. Don’t do that! I even had a note on my carry on bag to remember but I got distracted. Don’t do that either. If you plan and remember your food, overnight oats are a great option. For me, it keeps me full, you make it the night before, and it gets through security. Overnight oats are full of protein (yogurt and milk), carbs (banana and oats), and a healthy fat if you add something like peanut butter, nuts or granola on top.

Since my oats are sitting safely at home, I replaced it with Perfect Oatmeal from Starbucks. I doctored it up by adding a banana and not eating all of the toppings they give (brown sugar, dried fruit, nuts). You could also add peanut butter for more staying power.

Onto the snack bag–I always pack a variety of snacks. This bag includes dried fruit + nuts, raw oats, peanut butter packs, granola bars, Andes mints, spoons, Larabars, and anything else portable like that. Sometimes I pack a bag of Fiber One but I didn’t this time. You could also add in apples or bananas. My mom brings bread in her travel snack bag.

Other tips while traveling to be prepared are to buy a gigantic bottle of water at the airport and carry it with you for a while. If I run out of water on the plane, it’s easy to ask for a cup of water and pour it into your bottle so you don’t waste space on a cup.

I sometimes keep a snack bar in my purse too. It’s no good to fly with your snack bag and then get hungry while touring and remember your snacks are at the hotel. D’oh!

If I’m flying across time zones, I try to remember when I ate last and eat every 3-4 hours. I could snack all day but try to space out quality meals or heavier snacks so I’m not constantly hungry, or realize I ate five meals at the end of the day.

When you get to a new city, if your hotel has a refrigerator, it’s a great opportunity to buy a few things like yogurt or water or fruit. Personally, I like to eat breakfast quickly and spend more time out and about so bringing part of my breakfast and buying the rest works for me.

Ideas for quick breakfast or snacks (some depend if you’re driving close or flying far):

• Bring peanut butter packs, jam packs and buy a bagel. Add banana.
• Bring cereal in a bag and buy yogurt or milk and berries. Or add banana.
• Bring raw oats or a Quaker instant oatmeal packet and add hot water from coffee pot.
• Instead of cream cheese or butter on a muffin or bagel or toast, add peanut butter and banana for staying power.

• Bring plastic spoons and knives!
• If you bring a cooler, like on a car trip, you could pack hard boiled eggs for snacks of protein.
• String cheese travels well too.
• Bring a tortilla from home and roll in peanut butter and banana, or cheese or hummus for a snack.