26 March 2013 ,13:17 3 tips for healthier eating when travelling
It's often hard to eat well when you're on the road, particularly if you're travelling for business and have little time or opportunity to seek out good food. Here are some ideas for healthier eating when travelling.
 
 

1. Self cater where possible

 
No matter where you're staying it's often possible to do some kind of self-catering and the more you organise your own food, the more healthy it's likely to be.
 
  • Take a bag of muesli with you and store some milk and yoghurt in the hotel fridge, to ensure a healthy breakfast.
     
  • Rather than eating dinner in a restaurant every night, try picking up a bag of mixed leaves, a tub of cherry tomatoes, an avocado, a small tin of fish, and a lemon. From this you can make a simple salad, which you can then pair with a crispy bread roll and some fresh fruit for a light, instant meal.
     
  • Jules from Stonesoup has two ways of making a salad on the road.
 

2. Pack healthy snacks

 
While it might be possible to pick healthy options at meals, sometimes it's the in-between snack options which ruin the balance, so try to take some good snacks with you.
 
  • Roasted almonds, dried fruit, a box of muesli bars, none of these will take up much space in your suitcase, but they're all healthy, low GI and filling snacks.
     
  • If you have time before leaving then you could make and pack some quinoa patties, cottage cheese muffins or banana and oatmeal cookies. Each of these can double as both snacks and breakfast.
 

3. Start your day with a balanced breakfast

 
Starting the morning with a good breakfast will set you up for the rest of the day. Just because you're travelling doesn't mean you have to pig out on a big fry-up every day, or skip breakfast.
 
  • Have some muesli and yoghurt in your room.
     
  • Pick carefully from hotel and cafe menus.
     
  • Choose poached eggs with a side of grilled tomatoes and spinach or avocado and tomato on wholegrain toast.
 

How do you eat well when travelling?

 
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09 March 2013 ,18:34 15 foods to eat when you don't have time for a lunch break
Last week I wrote about tips for eating well when you don't have time for a lunch break. I suggested buying portable, no preparation foods which are high in nutrients. The kinds of foods you can eat with your fingers, or minimal cutlery and which only take a few mouthfuls. However, in order to also eat well, they need to be good foods and as I mentioned it's best to aim for a variety of foods covering each of the food groups.

If that sounds like an impossible list of criteria, then here are my suggestions.
 
 

Nutrient rich, easy to eat foods

 
  1. Dried apricots and figs
     
  2. Nuts, like almonds and cashews
     
  3. Tubs of yoghurt
     
  4. Cherry tomatoes
     
  5. Sticks of cucumber or carrot
     
  6. Wholegrain crackers
     
  7. Small tins of tuna, salmon or sardines
     
  8. Cubes of cheese
     
  9. Make some muffins, for example mini versions of these Carrot & Ginger Muffins
     
  10. Bananas, apples, mandarins and other easy to eat fresh fruit
     
  11. Packs of tinned fruits
     
  12. Boiled eggs
     
  13. Small tins of baked beans
     
  14. Strips of pan fried tofu
     
  15. Small Banana & Oatmeal cookies
 

What foods do you take to work?

 
09 March 2013 ,17:50 5 tips for eating well when you don't have time for a lunch break
I recently worked with a client who had a busy job. She was in a service industry, the place was understaffed, she was rushed off her feet all day and found she barely had time to eat. She lived on coffee, the occasional biscuit and the high fat, high sugar food available from the vending machine.

While she knew this wasn't ideal, the situation wasn't going to change in the short term. Knowing better food would help her energy levels, mood and general health, she wanted help.

For some people work can be so busy it doesn't leave space for the kind of optimal eating nutritionists usually talk about. While this isn't ideal and I could lecture clients on work-life balance, saying no and putting themselves first, sometimes that isn't helpful. Sometimes, in the short term, you just need strategies to improve the current situation

If this is you, then forget the standard daily structure of breakfast, lunch and dinner, with snacks in between and instead try to eat small amounts of good quality food, at regular intervals. This may prove an easier way to fit food in, between clients and other work, while also providing you with good quality nutrition.
 

My 5 tips for eating well when you don't have a lunch break:

 
  • Get yourself a small cooler bag or a large lunch box, so you can take everything with you to work. You can't rely on good food being accessible while you're at work, so you need to take it with you.
     
  • Make a list of portable, no-prep foods, which you like and are easy to eat. Buy these foods during your weekly shop.
     
  • Aim for a variety of foods. While crackers are easy to eat, it's not wise to just eat them all day. So aim to buy foods from different food groups, including vegetables. By varying your sources you'll be improving the way you eat.
     
  • Each evening, pack your lunch box with a selection of portable foods.
     
  • During the day try to eat something from your food supply every few hours.

Eating well when you're time poor is tricky, especially if there's little space in your day. However, it's not impossible. By changing the way you approach your meals and sticking with easy-to-eat foods which are high in nutrients, you'll be taking better care of yourself.

Read More...
26 February 2013 ,14:42 Tasty links
Here are some tasty links I've spotted recently:
 
  • The myth of ripe produce: Have you ever purchased supposedly "vine ripened" tomatoes or "ripe and ready" avocadoes, only to find they're not ripe at all? I certainly have and here's a piece from The Guardian discussing the problem.
     
  • Great snack: Love this idea from Mademoiselle Slimalicious for spi cy roasted chickpeas. Canned chickpeas are cooked in a frying pan with some olive oil, coriander, cumin, garlic, thyme and chilli flakes. A great sounding snack.
     
  • Desk lunches & egg sandwiches: Grea t piece from Mummy I Can Cook about eating lunch at your desk and the secrets to making a good egg sandwich. Eating lunch at your desk is not the best strategy, but as Shu Han says "sometimes there's no way round a desk lunch".
     
  • Vegetables as instruments: Brooklyn musician j.viewz goes to the grocery store, buys some vegetables and then uses them to make music. What more could you want? Via Lemonpi.
     
  • Why is everyone always giving my kids junk food: Interesting article from Professor Yoni Freedhoff, asking why every single social event and kids activity has to include junk food? He esimates his children are being offered an average of at least 600 (2,500kJ) calories of junk every week.
 

Have you spotted any interesting links recently?

 

About our Blogger

Kathryn Elliott
 Kathryn Elliott is an Australian based nutritionist, food writer and recipe developer.

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