When you are planning to stick to a healthy diet, travelling with family might get a little tricky. Since every stop has numerous fast food options, you may be stuck with unhealthy food choices. So here are some healthy food ideas to pack when travelling to ensure that you and your family are eating healthy, nutritious food during your trip.
15 Best Foods to Pack While Travelling
Here is a list of healthy snacks you could take with you while you are travelling.
1. Black Pepper Popcorn
Popcorn is an amazing choice of snack when travelling. If you are on a road trip, you can take a handful of this amazing popcorn and concentrate on driving without making a fuss. This makes them the best food for travelling in car. Instead of getting a stale version of popcorn you find at the gas station, you could make some on your own through recipes which include cheese, extra-virgin oil and fresh black pepper which is so much more delicious.
2. Green Chutney Sandwich
You could take this delicious chutney sandwich with you during your trip, which is better than the street foods you will find. This sandwich can be easily prepared and will not take a lot of your time. All you need is some buttered bread slices – apply some green chutney in between to have a spicy delight during your journey. You can store it in an airtight container and it will stay fresh for around 3-4 hours.
3. Wheat Flakes Nut Mix
Most of us tend to buy snacks from shops outside before going on a trip or while on the trip. You can skip these practices and replace all of them with food made from home. Take a handful of almonds, pistachios, peanuts, nuts, and roasted Bengal gram of your choice and put them in a bowl. Mix them together with some lemon juice, cornflakes, olive/ mustard oil and you’re ready to go!
4. Chole Masala
Also known as chana masala, this is an amazing spicy gravy chickpea dish which you can cook as a sandwich filling. It also goes very well with rotis, rice, bhaturas, and pooris. It has a unique taste because of the addition of so many Indian spices like cinnamon, cumin, garam masala, bay leaf, and turmeric. So the next time you are planning on going for a trip, try this chole masala to fill your sandwiches.
5. Paneer Bhurji
Paneer bhurji is another very popular dish you could take with you that is made out of cottage cheese (paneer) combined with a mixture of spices. You could pack them with a few rotis, bread, pav, pooris, or parathas. You could also use it as a stuffing for your kathi rolls, bread rolls, or sandwiches. It is very easy to make them before your journey. To make it even healthier, you could add some vegetables like peas, carrots, and capsicum. Leafy greens would also work.
6. Fruits
One of the best foods to rely on while travelling is fresh fruits. Fruits are always available and can be bought from every place. However, it is best to not get any sliced fruits from outside because when the pieces are exposed and not stored properly, they might get contaminated and cause several health problems due to bacteria. Fruits are light and get digested easily, providing you with instant energy which you will need for a long trip.
7. Bread Dhokla
This is another quick-fix dish which is very easy to make, convenient to pack, and tasty. This dish is made with a batter of bread crumbs along with some rava. The ginger and green chillies added to this makes it a very delicious food. You could take this along with some delicious green chutney. You and your family are sure to love this on a nice journey.
8. Banana Chips
Banana chips are amazing for our taste buds, and they can be bought easily as they are always available in the market. They are an amazing snack to take along with you on your trip, and they can be easily made at home. It’s very simple. Take some raw bananas and chop them into thin, fine slices and deep fry them. Sprinkle some red chilli, salt, or pepper on top of them. You will need an air-tight container to store them so that they last for a few days.
9. Chakli
Chaklis are a type of snack that is very easy to carry with you during your journey. They are ideal and handy and your family would love to have this tasty snack when on the road. This snack is made from spiced rice flour made into a soft dough with butter and curd. This snack can be easily stored in a dry airtight container for about two weeks so you would not have to worry about it getting spoilt!
10.Nuts and Bolts Trail Mix
A trail mix is a mixture of nuts and dried fruits that are eaten as a snack food, but some crackers and dried cherries/cranberries would make take the trail mix better than what you will get anywhere else. When you are cruising on the highway, this will make a really good snack.
11. Mix Seeds
These days, it is a raging fitness trend to snack on energy storehouses like sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, watermelon seeds, and other dry food items for travelling. Most of these seeds are rich in energy, and they can satiate a person’s hunger keeping them full for a long time. You could make them with different kinds of seeds, dry fruits, and nuts of your choice along with some coconut shavings. You are sure to soak in all the protein, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and other nutrients.
12. Muffins
When you are on a trip or staying at a vacation home, muffins will always be a quick solution for an amazing breakfast even if you do not have many types of equipment in hand. Before you leave home for the vacation, you could bake a batch and keep them in the freezer to later use them as a snack. They are fairly easy to make, and the kids will absolutely love them!
13. Indian Snacks
Many people who travel really long distances rely on desi snacks to have a taste of home during the journey. Travel snacks can be easily stacked and taken along with them during the journey. Thepla, matthi with achaar, papad, fafda, khakhra, and papdi could help to add a spark to your journey, and are great ideas for food while travelling in a train.
14. Cheese Crackers and Cookies
Homemade cheese crackers are really good and an amazing snack to take for a journey. To make them even more nutritious, you can substitute them with whole grain crackers and onion powder to season them nicely alongside some grated cheddar.
Sometimes, you can travel along with something sweet to consume on the road. Making your own cookies are better than getting the packed version, since fresh ones do not have preservatives or artificial flavourings.
15. Homemade Vegetable Chips
Vegetable chips made from home are better than potato chips as they are healthier. Making a big batch of these chips would make them an on-the-go snack. You could make uniform thin slices of vegetables, and you can make them from anything like carrots, beetroots, or parsnips.
How to Pack Food for Travelling?
Here are some few ideas on how to pack healthy food when planning to travel.
1. Plan Ahead
Obviously, it is best to plan in advance for your trip.
2. Cook Earlier
If you are bringing food, you need to prepare and pack it earlier. You could make items like whole-wheat sandwiches, tortillas, etc in advance and pack them the previous night.
3. Get the Right Bags and Containers
Make sure your bag has a firm base and strong handles that won’t break. Use a small bag that will not add too much weight to your luggage.
4. Use Disposable Containers
If you do not want to bring back empty containers, bring disposable ones that you can discard after use. If you want to be eco-friendly, you can avoid plastic and use disposable bamboo or wooden containers and cutlery.
5. Pack Spare Ziploc Bags
Use spill-proof Ziploc bags to seal off containers with liquids and pack some spares in just in case.
6. Avoid Foods That are Easily Spoiled
Avoid foods that spoil easily. For example, if you carry milk on a long trip, it will spoil without refrigeration. Also avoid carrying fragile items like glass containers or delicate cookies that can get powdered at the bottom of your bag.
Whether you are heading for a vacation or a business, you might fall back on your nutrition game. Going away to places is very tempting, because you want to try so many different things and eat too much. You might be stuck in a train or flight for hours, but you should not let boredom tempt you to eat unhealthy food. Therefore, prepare a snack that is healthy and will also energise you during your journey.
Source: parenting.firstcry.com
