In preparation for a 6 day business trip to California here are FIVE Meal Planning Strategies I used to ensure I stay committed to clean eating while in transit AND to ensure that my family also eats well while I’m away.
Strategy # 1: Create a Meal Plan for Daddy’s Survival..lol 🙂
Yesterday before I left I designed a Meal Plan for Mike, Mackenzie & Nathan. Here’s the plan.
I made sure to include meals that only required reheating to help ease meal time craziness for SuperDad!!! lol
Then I got to work in the kitchen! I cooked and stored all meals and snacks in containers between coaching calls (one of the many peaks of working from home…lol). I reviewed the plan with Mike after the kids went to bed and posted it to the fridge for easy reference. I also labelled the food containers in the fridge so he knew what to eat when.
Strategy #2: Design an En-Route Meal Plan for Yourself
I designed an en-route Meal Plan for myself, so that I had lots of healthy choices to support a long day of travel; 23 hours to be exact.
Here is what I packed in my carry on:
- Brita Water Bottle – BEST investment EVER!! I refuse to pay $300 for a bottle of water.
- Two Salads. One with chicken and one with can tuna.
- Bag of chopped celery, carrots, snap peas and grapes
- Container of almonds, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds
- Blueberry Almond Muffins
- Chewy Fudge Protein Bar
Strategy #3 – Make Breakfast the Night Before
I prepared a veggie egg scramble the night before to enjoy with fresh grapefruit before I left for the airport. And I made an Avocado Nut Smoothie, stored it in a thermos and drank it before I cleared security at the St. John’s Airport.
Here is what my 23-Hour Day of meals looks like today:
4:30am – Veggie Egg Scramble
7:30am – Avocado Smoothie
11:00am – Chicken Salad
2:30pm – Almond Muffin & Chopped Veggies
6:00pm – Tuna Salad
9:00pm – Chewy Fudge Bar
12:00am – Nuts & Seeds with Chopped Veggies
3:30am – Protein powder in water, hand full of almonds
Strategy #4 – Packed Food in Your Suitcase
In my suitcase I packed:
- Hamilton Beach Blender
- Bag of protein powder
- Cans of tuna
- Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Blueberry Almond Muffins
- Chewy Fudge Bars
- Mixed bag of nuts & Seeds
- Brown Rice Cakes
Strategy #5 – Book a hotel with a kitchen or mini fridge AND Pick Up Items at a Local Grocery Store
I made sure to book hotels in San Diego, Los Angeles and Costa Mesa with a mini fridge. I will also be picking up a rental car tomorrow morning so that I can stock up on a few items to keep in my fridge, like coconut milk, mixed greens for salads, almond butter and fresh fruit.
Here’s how I plan to combine what I brought from home with the items I’ll pick up at the grocery store in San Diego to support my clean eating commitment.
I’ll make a smoothie for meal one each day, enjoy the oatmeal cookies, muffins, fudge bars, seeds & nuts, rice cakes with almond butter and fresh fruit as snacks throughout the day and a mixed green veggie salad topped with tuna. I’ll enjoy one meal each day at a restaurant, consistency of some type of protein and vegetables.
There you have it!
Taking the time to plan and prepare in advance is not only saving me money on this trip, but I’m also enjoying zero stress about what Daddy and my babies are eating, and I’m avoiding eating foods that do not support my health and weight management goals.
You absolutely can eat healthy away from home.
For more clean eating travel tips check out this blog I posted when Mike and I took a trip to Toronto before Nathan was born.
I hope you find these meal planning tips helpful. If so, be sure to leave me a comment below. And if you have a great meal planning tip to share I’d love to hear from you, so please post below.
Happy Healthy Travels!!
xo