Have food, will travel

June 25, 2012

Do you get the travel bug at this time of year? With longer days, warmer weather and less traffic on the roads, many of us plan our getaways for the summer months. Whether that means a flight to another country, a road trip with the kids, “roughing it” while camping or a weekend at a country resort, food is a huge part of any holiday.

To ensure you’ll have healthy food choices while away from home, it’s prudent to bring at least some of your own (especially for anyone with dietary restrictions).

So what can you bring that will survive the trip?

Foods to Bring Along:

• For your first day away, try freezing a few dishes in plastic containers and bringing them with you. Allow them to defrost while you’re on the road, and they’ll remain cold (while serving double duty to keep other foods chilled, too) until later in the day.
• Take along dry or dehydrated items you can rehydrate later. Some choices are dried fruits, nuts, roasted chickpeas, rice cakes, pita chips, nori “chips,” old-fashioned oatmeal (simply add liquid and allow to soak overnight; no need to cook); or premixed grain-free “porridge” (again, add liquids later). Cold cereals also work well (e.g. puffed rice, corn flakes, etc.). Individual packets of protein powder mixed with water can stand in for milk, or use tetra packs of alternative milks.
• Protein sources will help curb hunger longer. Try packets of trail mix, nut butter, protein powders, or protein bars.
• Raw veggies and fruits are the ultimate travel food! Most are already wrapped in a natural packaging for portability. Sure, bananas, apples, grapes, grape tomatoes and baby carrots are terrific, but what about raw green beans (a great sweet snack), snow peas, broccoli or cauliflower florets, edamame, figs, prunes or kiwis?

Other Tips:

• Buy single-serving sizes. You won’t have to worry about storing leftovers that way (just discard whatever you don’t use, such as small cartons of soymilk or juice, fruit, cups of cereal, etc.).
• If you’re at a hotel, call ahead for a refrigerator in your room. Most hotels are happy to bring a full-sized fridge up for you.

Some travel-worthy recipes:

• Raw Spicy Sunflower Crackers (high protein)
• Olive Oil Crackers
• Homemade “Stalks and Branches” Snack
• Trail Mix
• Grain-Free Granola Balls

About the author

Ricki Heller

Ricki Heller is a whole foods chef, TV personality and author of the Canadian bestseller Sweet Freedom: Desserts You’ll Love without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy or Refined Sugar (one of only three cookbooks endorsed on Ellen DeGeneres’ website) as well as three e-cookbooks. She has appeared on Canada AM, Breakfast Television and appears regularly to discuss healthy eating on Rogers’ Daytime and In the Know. She writes the popular food blog Diet, Dessert and Dogs, where she chronicles her ongoing challenges with candida, offers entertaining anecdotes about life, shares sugar-free, vegan, whole-foods recipes and provides a platform for her two chatty lab-border collie cross dogs, Elsie and Chaser. She lives near Toronto with her husband and two “girls.”

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