“It’s tough to eat organic food while traveling,” is an often-heard complaint! People say that it is comparatively easy to have organic food at home as one has direct access to farmer’s markets, organic stores, and supermarkets. But while traveling, it can get tricky and you may need to pack your food to ensure that you eat organic and healthy food.
Organic Food Options
Eating organic food while traveling is not too difficult. All you need to do is to plan. To help you out, here are the best and most effective tips to have the best organic food items while traveling.
Fruits & Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are your best options for a healthy snack. You can pack fresh, organic fruits like apples or oranges for a short day trip and dried fruits like almonds and apricots for longer duration trips. Pre-cut carrots, snap peas, and celery sticks are full of gut-healthy fiber and keep your digestive system healthy, and are great options too. [1]
Smoothies are a fantastic way to get an added punch of nutrition into your diet. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Just Add Water & Cook
Organic dry soup mixes and instant oatmeal mixes can be handy and take up very little room in travel bags. You can add hot water and you have a hot meal ready anywhere! You can even make your oatmeal mixes – there are several recipes available online.
Organic Chocolate
Organic chocolate bars, granola bars, and nutrition bars are great to snack on. They have high levels of vitamins, natural sugar, and fiber. You can take a variety of packs of organic bars based on your preference.
Organic Popcorn
Organic popcorn can work as your go-to-fix when you crave junk food items. Depending on your preference, you can choose the flavor of organic popcorn without having any guilt or fear of mystery ingredients. All you need to do is to mix the popcorn properly with melted butter and store it in a zipper storage bag.
Chia Seeds or Flax Seeds
Chia seeds, flax seeds, and other plant-based seeds such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds are a nutritious option. But they need to be kept in airtight containers so that they do not go rancid. [2]
What you eat between meals matters more than you think. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Probiotics
Probiotics are great to have while traveling. Fermented vegetables, yogurt, and kefir improve gut flora and they keep you from getting sick. For a traveler’s trick, you can opt for the non-refrigerated versions. [3]
Spices
You can also carry your favorite spices for their health-boosting and flavor properties. Sometimes, all you can get at a restaurant while traveling are fruits. Sprinkling cinnamon on fruits can make it tasty as well as healthy.
Nuts
This is one of the best examples of snack options for organic food while traveling. Packed with protein, minerals, and healthy fats, nuts can keep you full for a longer time and can also make you feel great. You can also add flavor to your meals by soaking nuts overnight and adding it to your oatmeal mixes. You can also add it to salads and overnight chia puddings.
Organic Powders
Organic matcha powder, coffee, tea, and cocoa powders are ideal powders to carry to make delightful beverages on the go. Different kinds of dehydrated powders such as mushroom powder can be added to soups.
Sprouted Wheat Pretzels
Sprouted wheat pretzels are made from wheat which has been germinated or ‘sprouted’ and olive oil. Due to this, the wheat is easily digestible and the nutrients can be easily absorbed by the body. Sprouted wheat pretzels are an excellent snack to have on hand while traveling.
Homemade Organic Granola
Make your granola with rolled oats and dried fruits or buy a good organic brand. You can also carry some non-perishable tetra-pack enclosed nut or soy milk to pour it over granola for a tasty, instant breakfast.
Roasted Chickpeas
Another tip to make your munchies for the road are pre-made batches of roasted chickpeas. You can have them plain with salt and pepper or spice them up with your favorite spices.
Many healthy foods are quite affordable. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Goji Berries
Goji berries are super-easy food items to travel with and they have numerous health benefits. They are rich in heart-healthy antioxidants and complex carbohydrates which keep you full for longer.
Canned Lentils
For organic dinner options, you can carry canned salt-free organic lentils. You can top it with fresh-cut red peppers, tomatoes, chopped cilantro, red peppers, and fresh lime juice.
Nut Butter
You can carry organic nut butter and can have it with apples or bananas. Almond butter with apple slices and peanut butter on celery sticks are healthy snack options and they also hit the sweet spot.
Eating Organic Food While Traveling
Now that you have a whole host of options for organic food while traveling, you can go with ease and forget your anxiety about your diet sensitivities. This will help you to make your travel familiar. Here are a few things that you may want to know:
Carrying Glass Containers
A glass jar comes handy to make your overnight oats and puddings. You can even have your soups and salads in it.
Allergy-free Organic Foods
Before you pack organic foods while traveling, find out the food items and ingredients that are new to you and try them at your home. This way, you will know whether you are allergic to any food or ingredient.
Plan Your Food Budget
Carefully plan the budget for organic food while traveling to prevent your habit of overeating. This can cause heartburn if you don’t plan and you may be then forced to eat simple salads.
Check For Organic Eateries
Nowadays, even the smallest towns or cities have restaurants that offer organic food items. Besides, most airports have organic cafes, which offer something healthy like soups and salads. So, in case you are planning to visit any restaurants in any new location, then research those places to know whether they serve organic foods. Also, try to find out whether restaurants make willing to make alterations to their daily meals on your request.
Cook For Yourself
While traveling to a new place, book rooms with a kitchenette to reduce your expenses. This way, you will also be able to cook organic food while traveling with the ingredients that you choose. So, if you are planning to cook food on your own, then don’t forget to research the grocery stores nearby.
Organic food is always good for our health and especially when we are traveling. Traveling can cause a lot of exhaustion, having organic food while traveling will keep you energized and healthy.
