Bolder Nutrition
No-Regret Road Food When Traveling, Avoid Nutritional Pitfalls.
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By Susan Mitchell, PhD, RD, FAND
ou know the drill if you travel for work or have a lengthy commute: different time zones, long hours at the airport, traffic delays and meals on the go. Even vacation travel can mean the same quick-stop meal or gas station grab and go. That’s why you need to plan. Travel food should be easy and portable. Smart choices can mean the difference between tip-top health and additional booty and belly pounds. Plenty of travel foods satisfy your hunger and taste great. Not so many also provide solid nutrition. Power your body with foods packed with protein, fiber and whole grain carbs, but low in added sugars. And don’t forget fruit and veggies. So, are you ready to hit the road? Try these travel favorites: ■ Protein bars. They’re convenient, but you have to check those labels. I like Mrs. Mays Trio bars because they’re chock-full of nuts, seeds and fruit with about 170 calories, 5 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. The nuts and seeds contain pro- Dr. Susan Mitchell tein and healthier mono and polyunsaturated fats. Want a little more protein? Try their crunch bars for 10 grams plus 5 grams of fiber. KIND bars also have numerous selections with similar nutrition profiles. ■ Homemade trail mix. Typically my mix contains nuts — whatever I have, such as walnuts, peanuts, pistachios and cashews — as well as pumpkin or sunflower seeds and a mixture of dried or freeze-dried fruits, including cherries, blueberries, Medjool dates, cranberries, apricots
and plums. Rough-cut your favorite dark chocolate bar and toss a little in the mix. Divide it into snack-size plastic bags or mini containers so you won’t eat all of it at once. ■ Flavored pumpkin seeds. My colleague Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, suggests these and flavored roasted chickpeas. “Both are high in protein and fiber, portable and airport security friendly,” she says. You can find them all online as well as in many grocery chains. ■ Nitrate-free beef and chicken jerky. Chere Bork, MS, RDN, says “not all jerkys are created equal, so be sure and read the label so you know which ones contain no nitrates.” Her favorite is Simply Snackin, which is gluten- and nitrate-free, with only 60 calories per one-ounce snack. ■ Salads in to-go clamshells. These are perfect for a healthy meal on the road or plane. “Your choices of meals with plant foods are typically limited,” says Sharon Palmer, RD. I agree. The hardest foods to find on the road are fruit and vegetables. However, ready-to-eat salads can be picked up at the grocery store or the airport. Easily portable fruit includes bananas, small raisin packs, grapes, apples and pears. And there’s more. String cheese, mini Babybel cheese, Greek yogurt, individual containers of hummus, peanut butter or other nut butters and guacamole are simple to take along if you have access to a cooler or fridge. Sugar snap peas, baby carrots, grape tomatoes and cucumber wedges pair wonderfully — and are perfect for dipping. ■
Covering the health topics that impact your daily life, registered dietitian nutritionist Dr. Susan Mitchell communicates health messages through digital and traditional media. Listen to her weekly radio segment every Monday at 7:40 a.m. on WLOQ, 102.5 FM, and iHeartRadio. She writes the blog How Big is Your BUT? and BUT Busters: No Excuse Tips to Eat Smart-Live Smart. From interviews with national talk-radio personalities such as Sean Hannity and consumer warrior Clark Howard, Dr. Mitchell is known for her smart, sassy straight talk about nutrition, food and fitness. For more information visit susanmitchell.org. 28
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Visit GrowingBolder-Magazine.com for links to Dr. Mitchell’s podcasts and her Pinterest page, which is full of healthy, easy-to-make and delicious recipes. MAY/JUNE 2014
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