Skip to main content

Eating Healthy on Spring Break



As you get ready to leave for Spring Break, you should also think about how you can make healthy choices while you are away and on the go. Making healthy choices will help you feel better, boost your immune system, and increase your chances of staying healthy while you are away. Keep in mind that planning ahead is one of the keys to making healthy choices!

TRAVEL WITH SNACKS
It is wise to plan ahead and pack snacks and beverages to take on a trip. This will help you make healthy choices and stay hydrated while you are away. There are many healthier options available at convenience stores that you may encounter on the road, such as:
  • Trail mix with dried fruit, nuts, and seeds
  • Almonds
  • Fresh fruit and veggies
  • A bagel or crackers with peanut butter or another nut butter 
  • Dry cereal
  • Cereal and/or granola bars
  • String cheese and yogurt (if you are taking along a cooler)
  • Hydrating beverages such as water, sports drinks, or 100% fruit juice
EATING ON THE ROAD
It is important to choose foods that contain a balance of carbohydrates (a variety of fruits and vegetables along with whole grain breads and cereals, pasta, rice and potatoes), proteins (peanut butter, eggs, chicken, beef, fish, yogurt, milk, and nuts), and healthy fats (olive oil and nuts). When possible, tailor your meals such as by specifying a baked, broiled, grilled, or roasted preparation versus fried. You can also ask for sauces and salad dressings “on the side” to allow you the opportunity to control the amount that is added to your foods.

Here are some techniques to eating healthy when at popular restaurants on the road:
  • Mexican: Choose a burrito or soft tacos with grilled veggies along with beans, chicken, fish, or steak.
  • Fast food: Pick a grilled chicken sandwich, hamburger or veggie burger with lettuce and tomato.
  • Sub/sandwich shop: Turkey or ham with cheese sandwich, soup and salad or vegetable stir-fry sandwich with grilled chicken. If you like mayonnaise on your sandwich, ask for less mayo (or low-fat) to decrease the amount of fat it will add to your meal.
  • Pizza: Choose cheese pizza or add some veggies along with a side salad. Avoid adding pepperoni or lots of other meats.
  • Italian restaurant: Avoid heavy cream sauces and choose a red sauce. Add a side salad with a low-fat or vinaigrette dressing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

4 Tips To Avoid Stress Eating During Finals

It's the week of finals and suddenly there's so much to do and not enough time to do it. With projects, papers, studying, all-nighters, and early wake-ups, indulging in your favorite (and maybe not so good for you) foods seems like the perfect way to relieve some of that finals stress. When we turn to food to relive stress, it tends to be food that comforts us and makes us feel good, which a lot of times is a carton of ice cream, a slice of pizza, or your favorite piece (or bag) of candy. The truth is, finals may not only be a stressful time of the semester but a time where weight gain occurs in stressed out students. The combination of a large amount of sedentary time studying and test taking, little to no exercise, and stressful or late-night eating is a recipe for weight gain. Another truth is that we may not even recognize that we are in fact stress eating due to being completely preoccupied. So how do we avoid this stress eating before it takes place? Here are four tips to...

To Juice or Not To Juice?

Depending on who you talk to, juice is either part of the latest health trend or on the list of things to avoid. Understanding what juice does and doesn’t offer can help you decide if it is right for you. The Up Side: Fruits and vegetables offer a variety of health-promoting nutrients, many of which are still available in the juice squeezed from them. Juices can be a convenient and tasty way to get those nutrients. Juices also offer a way to get fruits and vegetables that you may not usually eat in the whole form. For example, cranberry juice is a popular alternative to whole cranberries and a great way to get some important antioxidants. People who don’t normally eat spinach may find that when juiced with other vegetables and fruit, they enjoy it. The Down Side: With about 50-115 calories per cup, fruit and vegetable juices are not low calorie drinks. For that reason, drinking a lot of juice could potentially make weight management more difficult. Research suggests that people who dri...

Plant Forward

A New Way of Eating There’s a relatively new term buzzing around the food world that you may or may not have heard of, plant forward. What does that mean you ask? Plant forward focuses on more vegetable centric dishes with meat playing more of a supporting role. Think blended burgers, stir-fry’s or grain bowls where meat is almost like a condiment. Flavors are bold and it’s all about the dish’s deliciousness whether it happens to be vegan or vegetarian, or not. Diners aren’t interested in completely removing meat from their diets so embracing a diet that is mostly plants with some meat here and there provides a comfortable middle ground. The Challenge with Red Meat Conventional animal agriculture is resource intense and less than stellar for the environment. Ruminant animals release methane gas into the atmosphere which is about twenty five times more intense than carbon dioxide. Let’s face it, our country’s enormous appetite for beef is not so great for our health and the heal...