Looking for healthy snacks when travelling? Here are 10 Travel Snacks and Tips approved by Dietitians.
This article on travel snacks and tips was provided and sponsored by HelloFresh
Choosing healthy meals can be even more challenging if you’re planning a long trip or a change of routine. Keeping yourself fueled and satisfied between meals could be as simple as having a healthy snack.
You will feel full for longer if you prepare and bring healthy food with you. This will give you more time to enjoy your vacation rather than looking for snacks.
There’s no reason to skip healthy eating when travelling, whether you’re visiting family or going on vacation.
Take a look at our recommendations for travel snacks that you can pack in your luggage before you leave for your trip, and find out how to stay healthy while travelling.
Consider your daily travel plans to determine when you will eat; ask your friends for recommendations for restaurants and grocery stores in your area.
Investigate your final destination’s dining options on the web before you leave. Eating out while travelling is fun and a common part of the journey.
Take note of larger portions when you’re at the airport, on the road, or visiting a new city. There is a regular practice among restaurants of serving meals that are two or three times larger than the amount you should eat.
Make sure to take sips of water between bites, put your fork down, and take a long time to chew each bite so you don’t eat too fast and fill up before you know it.
Try getting appetisers or sharing a meal with someone travelling with to reduce portion sizes.
Maintain your daily routine of eating three meals and an afternoon snack if you are the type to eat this way. In situations like family gatherings or conferences (where food is constantly offered), it is easy to overeat.
It is more challenging to find the time to eat while on a work trip or when sightseeing, so you may risk skipping meals. To avoid bloating or overeating, follow your individual meal pattern.
What Distinguishes Healthy Travel Snacks?
Now that you’re ready to prepare some healthy travel snacks for your forthcoming vacation, we need to think about our health while on the road.
Always select light and nutritious food for the journey if you have no idea what to buy. Choose foods that are high in calories, fibre, and protein if you will be engaging in physical exercise on your trip.
Tips for Healthy Eating While Travelling
Eating nutritious meals when planning a lengthy vacation might be quite difficult. Your habits may be uprooted, and you may have less time to plan nutrient-dense diets and, instead, choose junk foods.
Planning ahead of time for a vacation trip makes it easy to follow a healthy meal plan.
Let’s say that your upcoming trip is fast approaching, but you’re not sure what healthy travel snacks to pack. Which snacks are best?
The first principle to follow when choosing snacks is not to rely on packaging claims such as “organic”, “natural”, or “non-GMO”. These health-related claims carry a health halo—we assume that they indicate what a healthy choice the product is, when in fact they have nothing to do with nutritious food.
If there is a nutrition label on a product, then use it instead! Check for the following:
Calorie count: Aim for a snack that contains 150-250 calories. Using the calorie count here serves as an excellent measure of portion control, as it is one of the few times to do so. A number that is slightly under or over is not too concerning. You may consider this a general rule.
Fibre: as well as keeping blood sugar levels stable, it ensures you won’t be hungry every 30 minutes of travel. There should be at least a 10:1 carbs-to-fibre ratio or at minimum a few grams of fibre. It also goes without saying that at least 2 grams of your total carbs need to come from fibre.
Fibre and protein work together to satisfy hunger and suppress appetite. Make sure you consume 5-10 grams daily. If more is available, that’s great!
Added sugar: Sugars are often added during the manufacturing of foods and beverages. Sugars like these are different from natural sugars, such as those found organically in fruits. As of now, most brands have adopted a new label requiring added sugar to be noted on their nutrition labels. Keeping added sugars close to zero here is a good thing, but preferably try to keep them to no more than 5 grams.
If you need to mix complementary snacks to get two key nutrients (like roasted chickpea snacks) or both (like bananas and almond butter), make sure they combine both protein and fibre.
Top 10 Dietitian-Approved Travel Snacks for Road Trips
Here are 10 travel snacks approved by dietitians:
1. Fresh fruit – This item isn’t packaged, but it is the perfect travel snack for grabbing at the grocery store. A fruit like an apple, a pear, or a blueberry isn’t messy, and it travels well.
2. Fresh sugar snap peas – It’s hard to put these babies down. They are fibre-packed, low in calories, and super crunchy. You could really have any vegetable, but these need no peeling, washing, or chopping. Sugar snaps are a great option for snacking on for under 100 calories (and they taste great with hummus).
3. Bars that contain nuts – Make sure they are made from whole foods and have no added sugars. Some popular bars are Kind Bars (Almond Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate), Larabars (they only use dates for their sugar), and HoneyBar.
4. Popcorn – Whole grains, such as popcorn, are high in fibre. Popcorn that is lightly salted and made with oil and salt are the go-to brands. Healthy popcorn is also easy and accessible, and can be found at most stores along your journey.
5. Trail mix and nuts – These are a great source of protein, fat, and fibre. Serving size is a handful. Be careful not to buy trail mix with chocolate or candy mixes. Keep some trail mix in a small container if you don’t want to mindlessly eat your way through the bag while driving.
6. Roasted chickpeas – You’ll love the crunch and flavour of these snacks. Compared to nuts, roasted chickpeas are a better choice, as they have a lower calorie count. One brand worth trying is The Three Farmers.
You will need a cooler for these four snacks:
7. Greek yogurt – This is packed with protein to keep you going! Please be sure to bring some spoons. If you don’t see any grocery stores nearby, usually when you stop by Starbucks for a coffee, you can grab a Greek yogurt (and a spoon) from Liberte.
8. Eggs-to-go! Hard boiled eggs can be found at the grocery store, and they are ready for your snacking pleasure. You can find them in the prepared salad aisle at your local grocery market.
9. Cheese – Cheese sticks or cheese snacks packed with protein are a great choice. They are available at Costco and most supermarkets. You can also find cheese sticks at Starbucks.
10. Hummus – Individual bottles of hummus with pretzels (Sabre packs) are available at the grocery store, or the containers can be shared. It would be a great addition to those snap peas.
Last but not least, staying hydrated will help you stay alert during a road trip, and being alert while driving is important. It’s essential to have a water bottle; water quenches thirst and helps you avoid sugar-sweetened drinks.
HelloFresh provides delectable and simple-to-prepare travel snacks to complement your healthy travel adventures. HelloFresh provides everything you need for your trip, and packs your favourite products for long-term storage, as well as delivering directly to your home at a specified time!
HelloFresh will be by your side for your healthy journey during your next vacation so that you can ensure your family maintains a healthy lifestyle while on the road. Download the HelloFresh app and make healthy eating easy.
Keep Eating Healthy When You’re On-the-Go
Because you have been eating healthy, travelling for work, business, or fun does not have to leave you feeling disappointed when you step on the scale when you get back home or deprive you of something wonderful.
The most authentic food tends to also be the healthiest. Eating local fresh meals will not only keep you healthier and give you more energy than fast food, but you will also taste some of the most authentic foods that the country has to offer.
Avoid over-processed foods found in fast food joints, and don’t overindulge your portions.
Eating healthy while travelling can only be a win-win situation that anyone should be able to get behind.
This content is made possible by our sponsor, HelloFresh, it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of our editorial team.