It’s officially summer and that means road trips! So today I thought I would share my best tips for healthy eating on the road. I know this is an area that folks tend to struggle with, because you’re on vacation, after all. For some of you, you may simply have the desire to eat healthily on the road, whereas for others (like myself) it may be a necessity to maintain your overall health. So here’s to crossing our fingers that we all get to actually enjoy a little vacation this year! Now let’s get to my tips for healthy eating on the road!
Meal Plan and Prep
My first tip for healthy eating on the road is not very glamorous: planning and prepping your meals! Actually, for me, road trips usually mean more meal prep than I normally do in a week, but the payoff is that while I am on vacation, I am not having to cook very much, so I end up with a break too. Then it truly feels like a vacation!
Now, this tip is mostly for those fellow AIPers for whom it’s really difficult to find any pre-packaged or prepared meals in even the healthiest of natural food stores. The same goes for restaurants. But these tips are also applicable to Paleo, Whole30, or general clean eating on the go. So let me elaborate on how this looks for me.
When you are making a meal plan for the road, here are some things to keep in mind. Where are you staying? Does your destination have a microwave and a fridge of some sort? Those are two things that I always make sure of before booking our lodging. How many days will you be on the road and how many days will you be at your vacation destination? Do you have a large cooler?
Next, choose recipes that are more travel friendly. If you will need to eat a meal in the car, you will want to brainstorm meals that do not need utensils and can be enjoyed cold. One of my favorite road trip foods is chicken poppers from Unbound Wellness. She has loads of different recipes on her blog. I think it’s a perfect road trip food because they can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even a snack. They are easy to make, batch cook, and freeze in advance. Plus, some of the recipes are pretty well rounded, including tons of veggies with your protein.
For your main meals during your vacation, look up recipes that are balanced and include vegetables. I like to prepare things like pot roast, casseroles, and one-pan meals with protein and vegetables. Other ideas include soups and hashes. Those options freeze and reheat well. Basically, you don’t want to have to worry about assembling a three (or more) part meal upon arrival. The most I want to have to work for my meal on vacation is microwaving a sweet potato to top with compliant BBQ meat that I prepped ahead of time. An easy to assemble salad is another great option.
So in a nutshell, prepping for a road trip looks like an extra detailed meal planning and prepping session for me!
Stock up on Compliant Snacks
Next up for eating healthy on the road is to stock up on compliant snacks to bring along with you. You’ll want to snack in the car just like everyone else. Plus, having non-perishable snacks on hand is great for when you are out having fun (doing whatever it is that you do on vacation) and hunger strikes. Or if you wind up at a restaurant that is not accommodating.
It’s also a good idea to have some snack options in case a cooler gets too warm or one of your carefully prepared meals in a glass container breaks upon arrival (not that it’s ever happened to me or anything). So I always schedule a hefty Thrive Market box order to arrive about one week before our road trip. Here are some of my favorite snack options below.
Do your Research
If you want the flexibility to enjoy a meal at a restaurant, then you will want to do your research ahead of time to make your experience more enjoyable. Eating healthy on the road is no longer spontaneous if you want to be successful. About two weeks ahead of our trip, I like to do an internet search of any available options en route or at our destination. It’s always nice to be waited on at least once on vacation, right?
To have the best success with your research, simply look up the name to the city plus one of the following terms: gluten-free restaurant, paleo restaurant, vegan restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant. Work your way through the list and see what you find. I add vegetarian and vegan because those restaurants tend to be healthier and you may find a decent meal that you can pair with a protein bar from your purse.
Once you find a restaurant, you’ll want to look at their menu. If it has a key or a gluten-free section, start there. Look at the entire menu and consider what things you can put together to make your meal. Don’t be afraid to ask for changes, but also, if their website or menu notes they cannot accommodate any substitutions, then it is probably not the restaurant for you. For example, I will often tweak a salad or grilled chicken item on a menu or even order a few sides as my meal. If you really want to feel good about your choice, I suggest calling the restaurant and explaining you will be visiting soon and ask if they can accommodate your food restrictions.
Finally, I create a Google document with all of this information so that I will always have access to it on my phone. I note the city, name of the restaurant, website, contact information, and which items I have pre-determined are likely options from their menu. All of this research and preparation ahead of time will pay off when you are hungry and ready for your dining out vacation experience, I promise.
Talk with your Host
Last but definitely not least, to enjoy eating healthy on the road and minimize any conflict that could otherwise be avoided, communicate your needs with your host or hostess. One of the joys of hospitality is often creating meals for guests and serving them. This is normal and common. So as a curiosity to your hostess, please let her know ahead of time if you will not be able to enjoy her cooking. I suggest framing this completely from a health perspective and keep it short and sweet, focusing on your excitement to see them. Here are a few examples:
“Hi Suzy, I wanted to be sure and let you know that I am on a special elimination diet per my doctor. I have prepared my own meals ahead of time so as not to burden anyone else. So don’t worry about me! It’s actually very freeing because I feel so great! I am so excited to see you soon and can’t wait to catch up!”
“Hi Tom, I wanted to be sure and reach out ahead of time to let you know I am not eating x, y, and z right now for health reasons. The good news is that I am feeling so much better! And don’t worry about me, I am bringing my own food so no one has to worry about accommodating me. I am so excited to see you soon and can’t wait to catch up!”
Sometimes, your hostess will still want to cook for you and ask how she may accommodate you. Follow your intuition with her offer, but always affirm her generosity. If she is someone who you have good boundaries with and has a good grasp of the restrictions you mention, then you may feel comfortable with her cooking for you. However, if she doesn’t seem to understand cross-contamination, or repeatedly suggests recipes with ingredients you have mentioned you cannot eat, you may politely decline.
If you want to take up your host on his offer to cook for you, I suggest sending him a few easy, compliant, and tried and true recipes that you enjoy and think he will as well. Or suggest that he sets certain ingredients aside for you to season separately, etc. Either way, you will need to be comfortable discussing every aspect of ingredients, and he will need to be comfortable with your questions.
With all of that said, I will say that I have trusted a total of 3 people to cook for me while AIP. These people are close family and friends who were already familiar with my health journey and understood and respected the importance to me, even if they didn’t quite understand the science of how the elimination diet worked. The AIP template is simply very overwhelming for most people. Honestly, most folks will change their mind and retract their offer once they learn the list of ingredients you are avoiding. And there are certainly people I have politely declined their offers, too.
Summary
So those are my tips for eating healthy on the road. Be sure to look at your travel agenda so you can meal plan and prep ahead of time. Purchase plenty of compliant snacks for the road, do your research for accommodating restaurants, and communicate with your host before arrival. If you put in the effort upfront, you will enjoy your vacation and connecting with others while still honoring your health.
For more lifestyle tips, check out my post on Clean Eating Success Tips.
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