Every so often, I end up on a whirlwind trip. For me, the whirlwind trip provides a mix of fun and stress and excitement and anxiety. The travel, particularly by airplane, makes me nervous while I sweat out the logistics of the trip along with my duties. Add trying to maintain a healthy eating pattern and workouts and it can be overwhelming.
Some of my favorite travel snacks.
But I’ve learned how to manage my traveling nutrition realizing it just takes a few minutes to plan and prepare. I look to bring a variety of snacks with me that (a) I want to eat, (b) are healthy and (c) will satisfy a variety of eating situations. For instance, bringing packets of almond butter ensure some protein and will keep me feeling fuller longer. Certain types of sports-based nutrition bars can also help with protein and staving off the hunger demons which come from waiting around for flights and cars and conference sessions to begin. Also key for me are snacks which I love but are lower in calories, like TRYChips and mini-Luna bars. These are the snacks which tide me over between meals since normally I’m a mini-meal grazer. Take a mini-meal grazer and put her on a three-meal a day plan scheduled around work meetings or a convention and she is bound to lose her sense of portion control when the food eventually comes around. (At least, this is my personal experience.)
This week, I’m heading out to Minneapolis to represent the Association for Women in Sports Media at the Girls & Women in Sport and Physical Activity Conference, hosted by the Tucker Center at the University of Minnesota. Packed in my carry-on bag will be a whole-wheat peanut butter sandwich (for lunch) and my Klean Kanteen water bottle which I can conveniently fill at any available water fountain. Also stashed away are some of my favorite healthy snack items which travel well: Luna bars, Honey Stinger Protein bars, TRYChips and dried fruit.
The plan is to both save money (have you seen how much bottled water is at airports these days?) and to have healthy food at the ready to avoid gorging myself on giant-sized muffins and pizza. We’ll see how well I execute my plan. What are your favorite snacks to take on work trips?
