Many of my clients struggle with their nutrition when they travel. That’s because travel throws you out of your routines, and it’s hard to eat consistently if you don’t have what you need or want readily available.
Regardless of where you’re going or how you’re getting there, you’ll benefit from planning ahead! In this post, I’ll give you some of my favorite travel snack ideas and a food checklist to help you stock your kitchen for before and after your trip. You can also get all this info in PDF form by downloading my Travel Snack Foods freebie!
Travel Snack Foods and Other Nutrition Tips
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to bring food with you for your travel days. Yes, you can also buy food at airports, rest stops etc. This is necessary on long travel days, and even when it’s not, some people prefer the convenience. However, bringing snacks and in some cases meals will allow you to save money, eat foods that you prefer, and avoid huge gaps in your nutrition!
When choosing snacks, try to include carbs for energy + protein to fill you up (fiber and fat do this too). You may need to combine foods (e.g. crackers + cheese, apple + PB, jerky + fruit etc) to accomplish this. I typically bring a mixture of shelf-stable snacks and perishable foods to minimize what I need to buy on the day.
Here are some ideas for travel snack foods:
Non perishable:
Trail mix (indiviudal packets are helpful)
Nuts/seeds
Bars (protein, granola, energy, fruit etc)
Jerky or dried meat sticks
Individual nut butter packets (e.g. Justin's)
Dry roasted edamame
Popcorn
PB&J
Applesauce or smoothie pouches (e.g. Noka)
Perishable:
String cheese
Single serve hummus & pita chips or cheese/salami packets
Raw veggies (e.g. baby carrots, sliced peppers, cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas)
Greek yogurt
Drinkable yogurt / kefir
Frozen edamame (in the shell or not)
Apple, citrus, or other whole fruit
Sandwich (turkey, tofu, hummus/cheese, etc)
HB eggs
If you’re traveling by car, you have a lot more flexibility and access to food along the way. You may even choose to bring a large cooler, which opens up many food possibilities.
If you’re traveling by plane, you’re limited by what you can carry as well as what’s available in your terminal and during your flight. This requires a bit more advance planning, especially if you are traveling with kids who have specific food preferences (like me).
Here are some additional tips for air travel:
Shelf-stable snacks are your friend
You can piece together a meal if you bring a variety of items, including some rich in protein
Freeze foods to keep items cold and get them through security
Liquids must be fully frozen, and you can even bring frozen bottles of water or ice (just drain any water that melted along the way)
Freeze apple sauce or smoothie pouches, yogurt, and yogurt drinks
Bring a small frozen cold pack or a ziplock of ice cubes if it’s a longer trip and you want to keep your food extra cold
Make a sandwich with frozen sliced bread to keep it cold
Put frozen shelled edamame in a bag and eat them once they’ve defrosted
Depending on where you’re going, you may benefit from bringing extra shelf-stable snacks for the trip itself. For instance, I’ve had clients travel to remote places and appreciate having some food available in case they need it. Others simply want to have snacks on hand once they get to their destination, so it's one less thing to worry about.
Having additional shelf-stable foods that you enjoy is really convenient in almost any travel scenario. This becomes even more important if you have dietary restrictions and it's harder to find foods that work for you while you're away.
To be clear, I'm not saying you should pack your entire kitchen. But you can probably find some room in your luggage for a few bars or some trail mix, for instance, to have when hunger strikes and it's not convenient to find a restaurant or grocery store!
Lastly, if you plan to exercise, don’t forget to bring your sports nutrition and gear!
Consider what gear you need (e.g. handheld, hydration vest etc), the weather at your destination, what you like to eat before your exercise, what foods / facilities you'll have access to for pre/post exercise fueling, and what types of activities you plan to do (longer efforts = more fuel and fluids).
For example, I recently traveled to Maui, and planned to do 3-4 short runs (3-5M). I brought my handheld because it would be hot, electrolytes for before/during/after my runs, some chews (just in case I needed during runs), and energy bars (for quick pre-run fuel). Since I was staying in a condo, I also had access to many foods pre/post run. My runs felt great and I was able to enjoy the rest of my day because I fueled myself well!
Nutrition Tips for Before and After Travel
All too often, my clients tell me that they weren't able to eat as consistently or as well before/after travel because they didn't have the foods they needed or wanted in the house. They focus on the time that they're away, but they forget to consider the days leading up to their trip and right when they get home.
The solution to this is fairly simple. Plan in advance by strategically stocking your fridge, freezer, and pantry with longer lasting perishable food as well as non-perishable items. This is actually helpful year round, whether you’re traveling or not. That way, you can always throw together balanced meals and snacks in between your usual grocery hauls.
Assuming you’re not gone for months on end, here’s a general checklist that you can use as a guide. Obviously, these are examples and you'll need to make adjustments based on your dietary preferences and needs.
Fridge - Keep longer lasting items in here while you’re away. Some examples:
Dairy (yogurt, kefir, cheese, more shelf-stable milks like Fairlife, butter, etc)
Non-dairy milks (I like soy vs almond/oat because of its higher protein content)
Eggs / egg whites
More durable produce (e.g. apples, citrus, carrots, celery)
Deli meat, smoked salmon, other smoked meats/fish
Tofu / tempeh
Convenience foods with longer shelf lives (e.g. egg bites, prepared meals, etc)
Seeds (I keep ground flax, chia and hemp seeds in the fridge)
Juice, seltzer, chocolate milk, and other fluids you enjoy
Sauces/condiments/garnishes to add flavor
Freezer - This is the best place to fully stock up for quick meals! Some examples:
Leftovers (this can be literally anything - soups, chili, meat, grains, muffins, whatever)
Raw meat, fish, poultry, other proteins to cook
Convenience meals that you can quickly reheat (e.g. frozen burritos, lasagna, pre-made meatballs, chicken veggie bowls, there are sooooo many options here)
Fruit (great for smoothies) and veggies (corn and peas freeze great; others lose texture but may be okay in certain meals)
Rice or other grains (I buy precooked or store leftovers in quart bags and freeze flat)
Sliced bread, tortillas, English muffins, waffles, pancakes, etc
Pantry - Keep a variety of dried, canned, and packaged goods here. Some examples:
Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, trail mix, and nut butters
Canned/jarred/carton goods (beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tuna fish, salmon, soups, olives, marinated artichokes, pickles, roasted red peppers, etc)
Dried grains (pasta, rice, farro, quinoa, soba or other noodles, etc)
Crackers, tortilla chips, rice cakes, pretzels, popcorn, other similar snacks you enjoy
A variety of bars (energy, protein, fruit, granola, etc)
Cereal, granola, rolled or steel cut oats, instant oatmeal packets, etc
Onions, potatoes
Spices + things like nutritional yeast, sesame seeds etc if you enjoy them
Ingredients to bake things from skratch (flour, sugar, etc) if desired
Tea, coffee
Unopened shelf-stable milk / non-dairy milk / other unopened fluids you enjoy
With the items above, you can throw together meals and snacks like the following:
Loaded yogurt bowl with granola and/or nuts/seeds and frozen fruit (defrost briefly)
French toast (defrosted bread with egg/milk/cinnamon) + nut butter, defrosted frozen fruit, and maple syrup
Toast or bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon
Smoothie with yogurt or protein powder, soy milk, frozen fruit (banana, berries), ground flaxseed, and optional frozen veggies (e.g. spinach or cauliflower work well)
Eggs however you like them + starch that you enjoy (toast, bagel, English muffin, tortillas + rice/beans from freezer and salsa from fridge, etc) - endless options here
Tofu stirfry with rice (made from dry or defrosted) and frozen veg + sauce
Tacos with rice, beans, sautéed onion, salsa, shredded cheese, optional meat/tofu
Tuna salad made with celery, red onion, pickles, etc on toast + apple slices
Canned soup (can add frozen veggies if desired, can boost protein by adding shelled frozen edamame, can add carbs with bread on the side, etc)
Heat up a convenience meal or leftovers (lasagna, chicken dish, whatever you have)
Defrost and cook raw chicken, make some pasta, and throw a jarred pesto or tomato sauce in + fruit or your fav dessert
Turkey burgers (cheese optional) on a bun (from freezer) + pickles + raw veg/fruit
Cheese quesadilla + carrot sticks with hummus + apple with PB
“Snack dinner” - cheese & crackers, other proteins (e.g. edamame, sliced turkey, roasted spiced canned chickpeas etc), celery/carrots with a dip, fruit etc
Tofu hummus sandwich with roasted red peppers (from a jar) + fruit
Defrost ground meat or turkey (or just use canned beans) to make a chili with onion, canned tomatoes, celery, carrots and serve with rice & shredded cheese
As you can imagine, this list could go on and on! If you have a well-stocked kitchen, I promise that you will be able to eat well until you get the chance to go grocery shopping. It all comes down to planning in advance, as it often does, and monitoring what needs to be replaced as you use things up.
Putting It All Together
Let’s say you’re getting ready to go on a trip for a week or two. First, make sure you've stocked your kitchen with all the things you enjoy from the lists above. This will make re-entry SO much easier, especially if you're jet lagged and/or diving right back into work and the usual chaos of everyday life.
Then, to minimize food waste, try to plan out at least some of your main meals the week leading up to your trip. When you grocery shop one last time and buy perishable goods, keep in mind what you'll realistically use and what you can freeze/save for later.
Get creative with some of those last meals before you go and make "everything but the kitchen sink" type meals where you throw whatever you have left together into a salad, stir fry, or whatever else.
If you don't feel like cooking, lean on convenience foods or takeout. Use paper plates to make things extra easy the day before you leave! No one wants to do tons of dishes while getting ready to travel.
I'll use my recent 10-day trip as an example. The night before I left, we had a "snack dinner" made up of all the random things we had left in our fridge that had to be eaten. We ate sliced veggies with hummus, leftover cooked chicken, crackers and cheese, a variety of fresh fruit, leftover takeout food, edamame, and chicken nuggets (for my youngest one).
I still had apples, carrots, oranges, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, bananas, and berries left. I sliced up the bell peppers and put them in a bag with the cherry tomatoes to snack on during our travel day. I froze the bananas for smoothies when I got back, and we ate the berries with yogurt and granola for breakfast the morning we left. Then, the remaining produce could stay in the fridge for our return.
For our travel day itself, I packed turkey cheese sandwiches on frozen bread, whole apples, individual yogurt drinks (frozen), string cheese, and a variety of non-perishable snacks (nuts, crackers, popcorn, jerky, trail mix, bars, PB crackers, etc). We didn't finish everything during our flight, but it was a LONG travel day and we ate it all up eventually!
If you found this post helpful, check out my FREE Travel Nutrition Tips download!
I created a free four-page travel nutrition tips guide with all the essential info from this post. Put the checklist on your fridge or take it with you to the store! And don't forget to grab my other freebies on a variety of nutrition topics.
I hope you all travel safe this summer! If you're spending most of the summer at home like me, this checklist will help you prep your kitchen so that you'll always have something to eat, even on super busy days.
Want to learn more or work together?
Check out my 1:1 nutrition coaching and small-group coaching services
Book a free 10-min call to see if we're a good fit for 1:1 coaching
I also offer a self-paced comprehensive sports nutrition course, a library full of FREE nutrition resources and low-cost nutrition mini guides, and a podcast
Questions? Feedback? Topic requests? I'd love to hear from you - email me at claire@eatforendurance.com.
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