Short answer: NOPE.
Yesterday I left chilly, damp DC for…chilly, dry COLORADO! I’m visiting a friend in Denver with my sister for a few days this week and hitting Keystone to ski this weekend.
Please note:
–>There is 2 feet of fresh powder on the slopes.
–>Everyone you see here is smiling, happy, and fit-looking.
–>There are probably 8 men to every 3 women here.*
–>Thanks to wildly low(er) cost of living here, my friend practically lives in a mansion with 20 foot ceilings and 2 balconies.
YOU COULD SAY I’M A LITTLE EXCITED.
But traveling anywhere (even healthy places) means you’re probably stressed, on a schedule that isn’t necessarily in line with your normal eating habits, with less access to healthy food. Not to mention the cost! As Seinfeld points out in this clip, “Do the people that work in these little shops in the airport have any idea what the prices are every place else in the world? ‘Yeah, $14 for a tuna sandwich, we think that’s fair.'” (If you have 7 minutes, watch the whole thing. Laughter is healthy.)
So you have to be prepared. Do NOT leave your house without a few small things to prevent hanger (the phenomenon of becoming extremely, irrationally irritable when you’re hungry – due to fluctuating hunger hormones) and making poor food choices when faced with a limited selection of packaged (mostly crappy) food.
My go-to items are dried fruit, nuts, and some sort of reasonably nutritious bar (even if they sell them at the airport, you can bet it will be quadruple the price).
Then, combine into individual servings so you can tell how much you’re really eating – one serving of apricots, almonds, and dried coconut flakes (unsweetened) is about 400 calories. Perfect for 2 snacks or one small meal, and you can bet I will have some of this tucked away in my coat to eat on the ski lift 🙂
If you have time, make some easy-to-carry wholesome muffins (recipe in checklist, below!)
Your food checklist:
- At least 2 servings of dried nuts and fruit
- An empty, light, reusable water bottle…the kind that flatten are particularly good, like this one: Vapur Element .7L Collapsible Water Bottle White (Wind)
- A piece of transportable fresh fruit to start your trip off right, like an apple or banana
- A bar with <12g sugar, at least 3g fiber, and 8g protein
- Baked oatmeal muffins. I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but am seriously regretting not bringing some of these on my trip!
Any other ideas for travel friendly food that packs well…and packs in well?
*comment is completely based on random guessing
