Nutrition Nook – Eating Healthy in Restaurants or During Travel

By Janet Thompson 

Have you ever said… 

“I travel so much I can’t eat healthy.” 

“We’re on vacation, so we’ll worry about healthy eating when we get home.” 

“I eat out a lot and it’s impossible to eat healthy.” 

On The Road Again 

I used to travel a great deal, which means I was often not eating my “normal” food. If I were to adopt the philosophy that we can’t eat healthy while traveling or in restaurants, I would be doing my body a huge disservice. Remember that your body doesn’t take a break from the effects of unhealthy eating while you’re eating out, on vacation, or away from home. Your body still expects you to cherish and love it enough to fuel yourself with nutritious food. 

When you come home and step on the scales, you don’t want all the memories of that wonderful trip or meal to fade with the guilt and depression that often accompanies gaining weight or the scolding from your doctor because your cholesterol, blood sugar, or blood pressure are off the charts. 

We often associate eating out as a special occasion, especially when on vacation. Since we’re indulging or splurging, we can carry over that same “special occasion” mentality to eating. I never feel like I’m denying myself anything. I use the same guidelines when traveling that I do when eating out anytime. Here are a few of my eating out healthy habits that might help you too. 

The Menu—Top 10 Tips 

1. The first healthy decision starts when they hand you the menu or you’re perusing the menu board. This is the restaurant’s marketing tool. Most restaurants don’t worry about feeding you healthy. They just want food to taste good, which often means extra butter, salt, and sugar, and for you to spend a lot of money. Knowing this, don’t be enticed to eat something you normally would avoid or can’t afford.
2. Don’t stop to read about any item with the description: fried, breaded, gravy, rich sauce, buttered, or containing any ingredient you typically wouldn’t eat. That eliminates about three-quarters of the menu items. Often meat or fish is offered on a salad entrée or as an addition for a cheaper price than as a main entrée.
3. I don’t eat red meat or carbs, so that usually reduces the menu to one or two choices. Then I choose between those based on what I feel like eating. Recently, we were out to lunch with friends after church and there was only one item on the entire menu I could eat and that was the salad bar where I could build my own salad.
4. Drink water! It’s free and you should always drink a lot of water, especially when traveling.
5. Choose half or small portions. Or split something with whomever you’re eating with, providing they’re choosing something you should eat. Stop eating when you’re full. If the portions are large, only eat half and ask for a to-go box to save for another meal. When traveling, there’s usually a refrigerator and microwave in your hotel room. Otherwise, let it go. Better to go to waste than waist!
6. Sometimes eating from the children’s menu is good for smaller portions, but beware – often it’s fried and breaded food like chicken nuggets and fries or grilled cheese, which might be bad for you even though it’s cheaper and a smaller portion.
7. Ask for any sauces or salad dressings on the side.
8. Restaurants usually give chips or French fries as a side with sandwiches. Ask for fresh fruit, a small salad, or sliced tomatoes instead. If they don’t substitute, then hold the fries or chips so you won’t be tempted to munch on them. With a main entrée, they will usually substitute extra veggies for the starch.
9. Avoid “value meals” that include fries and a drink. You don’t need the fries and water is free, so just order the sandwich/taco/burrito or salad by itself.
10. Choose flame-grilled, baked, broiled, or poached meat or fish. Pan-fried means lots of butter. Be sure to clarify if “grilled” is on a grate or on a grill. The grill is usually extra greasy and you wouldn’t want to know what they use for “grease” on those grills.

When Traveling Be Prepared 

1. Breakfast can be a huge diet buster with all the fattening, high fat, high sodium choices. If you’re eating breakfast out, or it comes with the room, use the menu guidelines above.
2. I bring my own snacks. If you read my “Going Nuts” article in the July/August Christian Living Magazine, I wrote that my daughter once said, “My mother takes her nuts everywhere with her.” That’s a true statement. I always have a baggie of mixed nuts I’ve created from raw, organic, unsalted nuts. I mix walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, macadamias, and whatever other nuts I have on hand. You’ll never find me on a trip without my homemade “trail mix.” Dried fruit without sodium sulfite can also be added to the nut mix, or eaten on its own. If you like protein bars, be sure and check label ingredients. Cheese sticks, jerky, carrots, celery, and fresh fruit are also good for snacking. Avoid chips and crackers.
3. If you’re staying for a while, stop by a local grocery store and purchase a flat of water and healthy snacks.
4. When starting out on a trip, I always pack a lunch for the first meal whether on a plane or by car. I usually make almond butter or peanut butter and sugar-free jelly sandwiches. They don’t need refrigeration and are a welcome break from airport food.

Go The Extra Mile 

1. Walk.
2. Take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible.
3. Take a stroll around the restaurant before or after a meal.

Above All Enjoy Yourself 

Treat yourself to an occasional dessert or favorite food. The last night of a recent vacation, we ate at a restaurant with nothing on the menu that appealed to me. So, I enjoyed a chocolate, peanut butter milkshake and sweet potato fries for dinner, without guilt, because I’d been very careful the rest of the time! 

Enjoy your eating out experience or vacation and take care of your body by eating well, using sunscreen, and fitting in some exercise! 

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT 

Cilantro and Pepita Salad Dressing 

1 Tbsp. Original Ranch Salad Dressing Dry Mix (such as Hidden Valley brand) 

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 

2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped 

2 Tbsp. roasted and salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 

2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese 

1/3 cup olive oil 

Directions 

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except the olive oil. Process until well blended. Slowly add olive oil while blending and process until dressing is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Refrigerate until well chilled. Serve over chilled greens and sprinkle with extra pepitas and crushed tortilla strips. 

Janet Thompson, award-winning Christian speaker, freelance author, and author of 20 books, is also the founder, director, and God’s servant of Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry and About His Work Ministries. Her passion and focus is mentoring the next generation. Her tag line is, “Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness.” She has a BS in Food Administration, MBA, and Master of Arts in Christian Leadership. Check out her books and sign up for her free weekly online blog and monthly newsletter at womantowomanmentoring.com. Join her on www.facebook.com/Janetthompson.authorspeaker, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X, and Instagram.