TRAVELLING for work or pleasure doesn’t have to be synonymous with eating poorly or with gaining weight.

While traveling does make it harder to follow routine eating habits, there are lots of ways to eat well when you’re on the road

Having something available to eat between meals reduces the risk of becoming overly hungry, which often results in choosing a high-calorie meal, like fast food.

Before leaving for travel, throw a piece of fruit, a wholegrain muesli bar or some trail mix in the bag and plan for when you will need a proper meal.

Make a ‘super’ meal

When travelling it can be easy to eat every meal at cafés and restaurants. Despite being expensive, it can mean that you’re  consuming more fat, sugar and salt because a chef is mostly interested in making the food taste good.

A lot of main meals in restaurants are largely meat, with only a small amount of vegetable. In these situations, try to order a side of steamed vegetables or green salad to make be sure of getting enough vitamins and minerals to support your immune system. 

Buying a few meals from the supermarket can save coins and calories. Try:

• Buying some fruit and yoghurt for breakfast the next day.
• Grabbing a pre-made salad.
• Swing by the bakery section for a roll, the deli for some meat and cheese and then the salads for some veg.

Pack a knife

While traveling through Europe I recently found myself buying a lot of pre-made sandwiches from supermarkets that mostly contained ham and cheese.

It was really handy to have a knife so that I could also slice tomato, cucumber and capsicum to fill out the sandwiches. It also came in handy for cutting fruit for snacks. It’s one of the best tips I have ever been given.

Obviously, this is not a great idea if you are traveling with only carry on luggage. But otherwise, I would highly recommend it!

Take a water bottle

It’s easy to forget to drink when out exploring a new place. It’s also particularly important to stay hydrated when flying for many health reasons. I take a drink bottle with me everywhere and find it prevents me from spending money on bottled water. Having water on hand also stops me buying soft drinks and snack foods.

Listen to your body

One of the best ways to eat well while travelling is to loosen the reins and let your body guide your food choices, not the clock. If you’re hungry, eat! If you’re not, don’t. Eat slowly and listen to when your body says that it’s satisfied. This takes real honesty with yourself, but it is a very useful skill to practise.

Clare Wolski is a practicing dietitian at The Healthy Eating Hub, call 6174 4663. healthyeatinghub.com.au/about-the-hub/healthy-eating-team/clare-wolski-apd/