Healthy Travel 101: Packing For Success

August 25, 2011 By Leanne Vogel July 14, 2015

For more on the healthy travel series, check out packing for success and staying on track away from home, backpacking essentials, camping and eating well. Us folks with our allergies, special diets, and just an interest in eating healthy can be faced with some challenges when we journey away from our homes. Whether it’s for work or play, there are a couple of steps we can take to make life easier on the road.

I’m headed to Yasodhara; an ashram on Kootenay lake, in just a couple of hours. Although they’ve said that they can cater to a dairy free diet, they were a bit iffy on the gluten. Also, they serve 3 square meals a day… no snacks. Generally this isn’t a problem if you’re close to a grocery store, but I’ll be in the mountains. No option of heading to Safeway to pack up on cereal when I need it. I’ve become pretty comfortable in preparing myself for trips like this, so it wasn’t a problem for me to begin planning what I was going to take along with me.

Breakfasts

Smoothies Everyday starts with a good breakfast. And for me, that breakfast has always been a fruit smoothie with non-dairy milk, protein powder, and fresh berries. Smoothie supplies I like to take:

Shake and go protein powder packs
Fresh berries
Almond milk: larger tetra pack if you have access to a fridge
Soy or rice milk: come in smaller tetra packs for one time use
Magic bullet with mug insert

If you don’t have access to a fridge while you’re away and fresh produce just isn’t an option, try these mySmoothie tetra packs.

I took a couple of mySmoothies with us to Jamaica and they were a great alternative to fresh smoothies.

To add some fiber, try mixing in 1/2 tablespoon chia seed 10 minutes before you drink it.
Bring along a magic bullet and combine 1 mySmoothie, 1 soy milk tetra pack, and 1 tablespoon protein powder

Quinoa flake bakes If you have access to a microwave try bringing along some quinoa flake bake mixes with you. In a plastic bag prepare:

1/3 cup quinoa flakes
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Purchase single serving unsweetened apple sauce cups and bring along a 16oz. mini casserole dish. When ready to enjoy, combine 1 apple sauce cup in the dish with the quinoa mixture and microwave for 3 minutes. Optional: i f you have access to a fridge, freeze a container of egg whites and replace some of the apple sauce with egg white to increase the protein!

Oatmeal or on-the-go overnight oats If you have access to hot water, place the following in a plastic bag:

1/2 cup gluten-free quick oats
2 tablespoon currants
2 tablespoon ground flax seed
1 tablespoon apple chips, smashed
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Bring along a 16oz. mini casserole dish. When ready to enjoy, combine mixture with 1 cup of hot water in the dish and allow to sit for 4 minutes before digging in. If you don’t have access to hot water, just combine the mix with ~200mL of non-dairy milk [like the rice or soy milk from above], let it sit for an hour, and you have yourself overnight oats.

Condiments

Pick up some cheap spice jars at the local dollar store and fill with your favorite non perishable condiments:

Palm sugar
Chia seed x 2
Crushed flax
Jam
Nut butter
Coconut oil

Healthy on-the-go Snacks

Think quick, easy, and as mess free as possible.

Homemade trail mix. Mine has unsweetened mango, pears, mulberries, sunflower seeds, almonds, and coconut
Turkey or chicken pepperoni sticks. Sticking to a pork free meat stick will cut the potential of the product having trans fats and it will be easier on your digestion!
LARABARs
Homemade date balls
Coconut bars
Black bean chips

Dinner options

I like to keep my dinner options open. I’ll pack a basic grain and protein and leave the rest up to chance. Ideally, there will be raw veggies there and I can add them to my rice mix. If you have access to a fridge

Cook a batch of grains [I used a mixture of millet + quinoa + rice]. Portion in bags, freeze, and take along for the trip. They’ll act as a great ice pack for…
Hard boil eggs, place them in a camping egg container. They’ll keep for about 20 hours not refrigerated.

If you do not have access to a fridge, try these rice cups. They’re not perfect, but if you’re gluten-free and wont be able to get your paws on any grains while you’re away, this is the best option. Also, if you purchase farm fresh eggs that have never been refrigerated, and hard boil them, they’ll be good for about 3 days without refrigeration.