willgetyoufit

Tips for healthy eating on the go…

Healthy eating at a restaurant:

• Choose an omelet filled with vegetables or a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter
• A bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit

At the hotel continental breakfast bar:

• Choose a whole grain cereal with low-fat milk.
• Fresh fruit
• Yogurt or hard-boiled eggs are good sources of protein.
• Avoid sugary muffins, sweet-rolls, and pre-sweetened cereal.

***When you stop for gas and restroom breaks, if possible, find a local grocery store which will have a better selection than the gas station***

 At the service station:

• Look for single-serving whole grain breakfast cereals and low-fat milk.
• Protein bars can make a good breakfast food substitute, but watch out for extra sugar and calories–read the labels.
• As a last resort, choose a hot breakfast sandwich or small breakfast burrito over donuts and sweet-rolls.

 Fast food restaurants:

• Fruit and yogurt parfaits will give you some calcium and protein without too much saturated fat.
• Drink low-fat milk or water.

 Snacks in the Car

Snacks should be low in saturated fats, low in sugar and nutritious. Take a cooler with ice packs to keep your snacks and beverages cold.

 

• Load up on fresh-cut vegetables and fruit. Bring along a small cooler with ice packs to keep your snacks fresh.
• Bring plenty of water
• Individually wrapped portions of string cheese or deli meats can be kept in the cooler with the fruit and vegetables. They are a great source of calcium and/or protein.
• Bring baked whole grain crackers along on your trip. This is good for added fiber and nutrients.
• You can also pack sandwiches made with whole grain bread/ whole grain crackers and peanut butter or lean meats.
• Nuts such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts contain polyunsaturated fats and are easy to take on a trip in either individual bags or larger containers.

Lunch and Dinner

Lunch and dinner on the road usually means going to a restaurant. If possible opt for full-service restaurants that offer more choices.

• Order a soup or a salad to eat with your main course. Soups and salads are generally healthy and start to fill you up so that you eat less of the more calorie-dense main meal.
• Skip the entrée altogether. Soup and salad might be enough for a healthy meal.
• Split a meal with your dining partner. Most restaurants serve huge portions, so there is usually enough food to share. This saves calories and money. Besides, sharing eliminates the temptation to take leftovers back on the road, where they can’t be properly stored.
• Select foods that are prepared with healthier, low-fat methods. Baked chicken is healthy, but fried chicken has too much fat.
• Eat the vegetables. Most entrées come with at least one vegetable. If not, be sure to order a vegetable side dish.
• Skip dessert, or choose some fruit. A full meal that ends with a sugary dessert may make you feel sleepy.

At the Hotel

If your trip requires a hotel stay, you might get a bit hungry after a long day of travel. If going to a restaurant is not an option, you should still find healthy foods.

 Eating at the hotel:

• Find a local grocery store and buy healthy snack items such as fruit, nuts, or healthy choices from a salad bar or deli section.
• If your only choice for a snack is the hotel vending machine, skip the candy and chips and look for nuts or microwave popcorn.

Follow these easy tips for better nutrition on the road, and have a safe and healthy road trip.

Great Snack Items:

Fresh Vegetables: These are the best source for vitamins, for example, and for the fiber your gastrointestinal system needs to function properly.
Dehydrated Vegetables: These are important because you can get most of the nutritional benefits that come from fresh vegetables, but they will last much longer on the road. For example, dried sweet potato packs a hefty portion of your daily requirement of potassium as well as Vitamin A. Any of the vegetables you can prepare in your dehydrator before you leave home will be ideal for a trip.

Fresh Fruits: Again, you can pack a few fresh ones for your first day or days on the road. Maybe the most important reason to take along fresh fruits is their ability to leave you satisfied. Bananas won’t keep for very long, but they’re important because of the nutritional punch they provide; they’re excellent for carbohydrates, fiber, potassium, and Vitamin C. Kiwifruit, which is excellent for Vitamin C, is also a good one, and it will keep longer. Apples keep well and provide a bundle of nutrition, including Vitamins A and C.  Citrus fruits are great because they have a lasting effect on the stomach (they cause the pH of the stomach to stay elevated which burn more fat over time).

Citrus fruits

• Clementine
• Kumquat
• Minneola
• Mandarin
• Orange
• Satsuma
• Tangarine
• Tangelo
• Lemon
• Rough Lemon
• Lime
• Leech Lime
• Grapefruit
• Pummelo
• Sweety
• Ugli

 
Dried Fruits: They contain more sugar and more calories, but they can be safely stored for a long time and are not as bulky as fresh fruit. These two factors make them ideal for the traveler. You’re probably going to find yourself in a situation where you can’t obtain fresh fruit, and these are an excellent alternative. For example, dates are a good source for iron.

Raw Crackers: You can make these ahead of time. They will keep even longer than raw cookies. Preferably whole grain or wheat crackers.

Raw Granola: Make a hefty batch of this ahead of time. It fills in a lot of the cracks in your dietary needs on a trip. It can be breakfast, it can be a snack, and it can also be dessert. Take plenty of this one along. Look at this website for a recipe: www.recipezaar.com.

Almond Milk: This can be packaged in glass bottle and will keep for a long time. It can certainly make a good breakfast along with your granola.

Nuts: These are perfect for traveling. They’re easy to pack, they don’t take a lot of space, and they pack a hefty punch when it comes to nutrition. Be sure to include almonds in your selection; however, peanuts, pecans, and walnuts are also very good choices.

RTD Meal Replacements:

Oh yea protein drink (only the carb conscious 18g protein variety)

• 18 Grams of Protein
• Only 2 Grams of Sugar
• Lactose Free
• Unprecedented Taste
• Carb Conscious

A Summary of Macronutrients

By: William Moore

        Macronutrients are chemical substances that are needed by the body in relative amounts in order to maintain the body’s normal growth and development.  The three types of macronutrients are carbohydrates (simple and complex), fats (saturated and unsaturated) and proteins (constructed from various amino acids).  Carbohydrates (carbs) are the body’s most preferred source of energy since they are the easiest of the macronutrients to metabolize.  Simple carbs are digested quickly and are usually made up of refined (machine processed) sugars that have been stripped of most of their vitamins and minerals.  Examples of simple sugar sources are juices, soda, candy, and white bread.  Complex carbs take longer to digest and are usually good sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals.  Examples include vegetables, whole grain, cereals, breads, and pasta.  The bulk of our carbs consumed should be complex.

Fats, although digested very slow and metabolized for energy relatively slow, contain the highest amount of energy per gram in relation to the other macronutrients (9 Kcal/g in fat to the 4 Kcal/g in carbohydrates and protein).  Fats also play several roles in the body such as protection of organs, thermal insulation, and aiding in the absorption and production of certain vitamins among other things.  Of the two types of dietary fat (among the several other types of fat in the body), saturated fats (sat. fats) are difficult to oxidize (breakdown) and, in excess, is linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease.  Sources of sat. fat are dairy products, certain animal meats and certain processed foods among several.  Unsaturated fats are a bit easier to oxidize and are less toxic within the body but they also provide somewhat less energy than its saturated counterpart because of its unsaturation.  Sources include avocadoes, nuts, vegetable oils and olive oils.

Proteins are chemical compounds of various amino acids that the body requires to grow and function.  Proteins can even be used as energy in certain circumstances.  Of the 22 amino acids, 9 are essential (cannot be synthesized in the body and must come from dietary sources) and the rest are nonessential (synthesized in adequate amounts in the body).  Sources of protein are eggs, meat, fish, and milk.  Protein also comes in different qualities whereas some of the sources don’t contain complete proteins (proteins with complete amino acid profiles i.e. some aminos are missing).  The best quality proteins are eggs, whey, and meat.  Incomplete, poor quality proteins come from plant sources.  However, incomplete proteins can be mixed to yield complete proteins (i.e. rice and beans).

Download: A Summary of Macronutrients by William Moore