Traveling is fun! Trying to navigate maintaining a generally healthful eating pattern while on the road is sometimes not. In fact, it can be frustrating depending on health conditions. While a meal here and there won’t derail your health goals, many meals over a period of time can put a dent in your progress. I help people manage diabetes, cardiac health, IBS and PCOS. All of those conditions require some degree of attention to be paid to eating patterns and some have more considerations than others. Let’s look at some scenarios that can be helpful.

Let’s take my recent trip to Germany and Italy. Started out well and then honestly, it felt a bit out of control.

Example 1: At a buffet at airport. I was hoping to start vacation out with a filling meal, so was looking for a protein, fiber rich carbohydrates, colorful produce, and healthy fats.

Options were:

White bean escarole soup

Rice

Portuguese chicken

Pasta with chicken sausage and a leafy green

Red sauce

Braised carrots and parsnips (maybe in butter)

Salmon and arugula salad

Eggplant rollatini

Another thing I’m forgetting

Cold buffet includes cold cuts, sandwiches, salad bar and dessert options.

I was hungry for a hot meal so wasn’t interested in the cold buffet section. I chose protein from the salmon, Portuguese chicken and beans from the soup. Carbs came from the pasta and beans. Fiber was in the beans, carrots and parsnips, and salad. Veggies and beans provided green, orange, white, red. Healthy fats were from the salmon and fats in general from the chicken and whatever was used on the carrot parsnip thing. I feel pretty good about this meal for the above reasons and it actually tasted much better than anticipated.

Example 2: Family lunch at a traditional Bavarian restaurant. I ordered Münchener Schnitzel which is pork flattened out and marinated in mustard and horseradish, then breaded and fried as a normal schnitzel would be. Served with German potato salad, little side of preiselbeeren sauce (translates to lingonberry which is like a cranberry) and ordered a side salad since it didn’t come with a non starchy vegetable. The side salad serving was at least 2 of my fists, which is roughly 2 cups of varied colored non starchy veggies. I ate all of the salad and most of the potato salad (maybe a fist size portion?) and one of the pieces of meat. Contained lots of colored produce, all macros, fiber, I didn’t overeat for a change and everything tasted great.

Example 3: Went to an amusement park in Germany. Quick breakfast at home: nectarine and plain skyr, unsure of milk fat %, but label said creamy. The meal contained all macronutrients and held me over for a while. Snacks were an apple and part of a bavarian pretzel. Not many healthy options that I wanted for lunch. I had a small sandwich which was a white bread roll and salami and a slice of pickle. Not sure if there was a thin slice of cheese because they were brought by my sister in law. Later on we went for a bowl of goulash and one bread dumpling and split with my son. All meals contained all macronutrients for sustained appetite control and goulash contains tomatoes, onions and red bell peppers. Snacks later were nuts we brought with us and water. Dinner was eaten at home. I think the goulash was salty because I felt very swollen the following day.

Example 4: Italy was a total wildcard because I ate out every meal and had pasta most days for lunch and dinner. I tried to start the day off with a balanced breakfast when able, maintain portion sizes, skip the bread that was usually brought to the table and get ample movement daily. Some small restaurants did not offer salads on their menu so I tried to look for dishes that also had some vegetables in them at those places. Drinking enough water was a bit difficult because the bottles sold were not that large and I was sweating like crazy in the very high heat with little air conditioning available. We did buy some fruit and nuts to keep in the room for snacks and additions to breakfasts. Most hotel rooms have a mini fridge which can hold some high protein yogurt/skyr and fruit which can come in handy. Especially when the breakfast included in the hotel price consists mainly of pastries and granola/chocolate cereal.

If you find yourself eating at restaurants often during your trip, sometimes the only thing you can do is try to choose a meal that will keep you full, contains fruits and/or vegetables, is lower in sodium and try to watch portion sizes. Splitting meals or ordering a salad or other vegetable side and an appetizer or smallish entrée are all good options that will help overall. Once vacation ends you can course correct if needed upon your return to you regularly scheduled life.

Traveling with IBS can sometimes result in a flare just because. In this case, it could be helpful to bring along a hot water bottle, ginger or peppermint tea or lozenges and some Citrucel supplements which should be well tolerated due to it being a low fermentable fiber option. Skyr is low/no lactose and easy to keep in a mini fridge. Choose nuts other than pistachios and cashews if trying to keep GOS intake low and choose low FODMAP fruits and veggies for fiber. 

In closing, the main criteria: include colorful fruits and vegetables when able, when you can’t order something that would qualify as healthful ensure portion size is reasonable by splitting or taking home leftovers, include all macronutrients for satiety, skip foods that irritate your gut to avoid surprise bathroom stops, and stay well hydrated.