During travel and vacation, our healthy eating habits may take a back seat. It may be challenging to eat healthy while on a trip, but it doesn’t have to be impossible to keep your health on the right track. Healthy eating is important for maintaining overall health and wellness, plus it has an impact on life insurance coverage and rates.
Life insurance rates are based on age, gender, health status, occupation, and medical history. You can get life insurance for overweight individuals, but being at a healthy weight will give you cheaper life insurance options. You can compare life insurance rates online to find the best deal for you and your family.
We will discuss healthy eating tips while traveling, with a focus on why healthy eating is important for health and life insurance rates.
Planning Healthy Meals
Planning is the number one tip for healthy eating while traveling. This means you should plan your meals and make a list to plan for grocery shopping. You can also plan when you will eat out at restaurants and which meals you will prepare yourself.
If your travel plans include a road trip, plan to bring a cooler so you can pack healthy snacks and water. This will save you from stocking up on convenience store snacks and fast foods while en route. Non-perishable healthy options include nuts, nut butter, whole-grain crackers, or whole fruits.
If you don’t have access to a car during your vacation, you can plan to stay near local supermarkets to help you pick up your groceries. Some areas may also offer grocery delivery, so this is another option to get what you need for meals and snacks.
You can also plan to stay in a condo, house, or suite with a kitchen. Hotels can be limited on kitchen supplies and refrigerator space, so this is something to keep in mind if you will be making a few meals while on vacation.
Healthy meals and snacks should include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean protein, and low-fat dairy products. They should minimize processed foods, junk foods, and foods that have few nutrients.
Fruits and vegetables give us fiber and many vitamins and minerals. Fruit is always a great option for an easy breakfast addition, snack, or dessert. Raw sliced vegetables are great as a snack or can be added to omelets or a side salad or cooked vegetables are an easy addition to lunch or dinner.
Whole grains like oats, brown rice, quinoa, whole-grain pasta, whole-grain bread, whole-grain cereal, or whole-grain tortillas can add fiber, vitamins, and minerals to any meal. These foods can be eaten for snacks or any meal.
Lean protein options like seafood, fish, poultry, lean red meat, beans, eggs, nuts, seeds, or soy products should be eaten throughout the day. These foods give us protein plus many vitamins and minerals.
Low-fat milk, low-fat Greek yogurt, or low-fat yogurt can be used for breakfast, snacks, or dessert. Low-fat cheese can be served with almost any meal or snack. This helps ensure you are getting plenty of calcium and vitamin D for healthy bones.
Meals and snacks with fiber and protein will also help keep you full longer to prevent overeating. This is especially helpful if you can jump-start your day with a fiber-rich and protein-rich breakfast. Whole grains, fruits, or vegetables can be paired with nuts, nut butter, beans, cheese, tuna, or Greek yogurt to get a good mix of those two nutrients.
A few easy and healthy meal options are:
- Grilled chicken or fish with vegetables and quinoa
- Lean hamburgers with salad and a baked potato
- Veggie omelet with berries and low-fat milk
- Canned tuna with whole-grain crackers and string cheese
- Fruit and yogurt bowl topped with whole-grain cereal and sliced almonds
- Homemade pizza made with whole grain tortillas, low-fat cheese, and veggies
- Lean turkey tacos with black beans, lettuce, low-fat cheese, and tomatoes
- Low-sodium turkey on whole-grain bread with carrots and hummus
Seek out Healthy Options
There are many ways to find healthy food options while you are traveling, even if you’re not the one preparing the meals. Technology like mobile apps, food delivery services, and maps can help you find what you need to eat healthy while traveling.
You can find supermarkets that have a salad bar or fresh pre-prepared options. These hot or cold food bars can give you options for fruits, vegetables, lean protein, or whole grains. They may also have salad.
Browse online for restaurants that specialize in healthy foods or include a section on their menu with healthier or light meals.
Some healthy meal planning services also have local retail stores where you can purchase prepackaged healthy meals that you just heat in a microwave. These meals are usually a reasonable portion size and include the nutrition information on the container.
Indulge a Little
There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself on vacation, but keep it reasonable. Give yourself the freedom to have one treat per day. If you are planning to have dessert with dinner, maybe you can share with someone or try a sample size.
Eating should be pleasurable and enjoyable, so allow yourself small indulgences while traveling. If you do go overboard on vacation, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just get back on track with your healthy eating habits after your trip.
Life Insurance and Healthy Eating
Life insurance is vital to protect your family if something unexpected happens to you or a family member. It can cover end-of-life expenses and burial costs, which helps provide financial support to your family members. The best way to keep insurance costs lower is to eat a healthy diet to boost overall health and wellness.
Managing your weight comes down to eating a healthy diet and staying physically active. While it’s OK to indulge occasionally while traveling or on a vacation, there are things you can do to keep up with your healthy eating habits.
It just takes some planning and preparation to keep your family healthy when you travel. You can still enjoy your food choices and mealtime while staying on track with your healthy habits. There are health benefits of traveling with family or friends so plan your next vacation with these healthy eating tips in mind.
Melissa Morris writes and researches for the life insurance comparison site, EffortlessInsurance.com. She is a university professor of nutrition and a certified sports nutritionist.
