SPRINGING INTO HEALTHIER EATING

As spring break approaches, many students and teachers are preparing to escape from the cold weather of Iowa to places that are most likely tropical, sunny, and fun. Many people might also be traveling to somewhere even colder than Iowa, or might just be traveling to somewhere else in Iowa. Regardless of the destination, vacations usually mean fast food, hotel waffles every day, or relying on snacks for meals. However, there are many ways you can enjoy your vacation while still eating healthily. 

Eat Locally

When you’re on vacation, you might stay within your comfort zone by relying on familiar fast food restaurants, packaged snacks, or free waffles from your hotel’s lobby. While these might be more convenient than trying to find new restaurants to eat at every day, always relying on these options is unhealthy and also prevents you from exploring different flavors and dishes. 

Try to find restaurants, bakeries, or cafés that you can only find in the place that you’re traveling to. This doesn’t have to be expensive, as there are many small businesses that offer cheap meals that are still of great quality. Small businesses tend to order their ingredients from local farms or other local businesses, which allows them to offer delicious dishes that are still healthy. Additionally, instead of eating breakfast at a hotel every day, try to find a nearby café, bakery, or breakfast restaurant that offers healthy breakfast items that will keep you full for a long period of time. For lunch and dinner, you can find hidden gems and try new foods that you can’t easily find back home.

The unique romanesco broccoli is a perfect spring vegetable with a cool look; photo by Lili Nandell

Replace the Packaged with Fresh

While traveling, many people rely on packaged snacks such as Chex Mix or Goldfish to stay full when there aren’t any restaurants nearby. However, these snacks are obviously not very healthy and don’t make up for a missed meal. If you are traveling somewhere where there are grocery stores, fruit stands, or any other place that sells fresh fruits or vegetables, try to purchase some and snack on those instead of packaged snacks.

Keep in mind that you will also most likely need somewhere to keep the fruits and/or vegetables where they will stay cool and away from direct sunlight, which can be difficult while you are traveling. If the place you are staying at has a refrigerator or something similar, try to keep your produce in there. If you are staying somewhere without a refrigerator or you are in a car or other mode of transportation, try bringing a cooler if possible to keep the produce away from the sunlight and in a cool environment. 

Water is Your Friend

Often on vacation, many people forget to drink water. Packed schedules, the cost of plastic water bottles, and inaccessibility are just a few of the reasons why you might forget to drink water while on vacation. One way to remember to drink water is to bring your own reusable water bottle from home. Having a reusable water bottle that you can fill up in many places can make it much easier to drink water during busy activities, is cheaper than buying water bottles whenever you need water, and can allow you to have access to water in places that do not sell bottled water or have water fountains. Many people often go on vacations to places that are hot. In these places, hydration is incredibly important. However, reasons such as the ones that were previously mentioned can make it difficult  to drink water while on vacation, which can lead to dehydration when traveling to places that have high temperatures. It is important to make sure that you are bringing a water bottle or are staying somewhere where you have easy access to clean water, especially when you are staying somewhere hot. 

In Reality…

While it is important to try to eat and drink as healthily as you can on vacation, it is often difficult and/or too expensive to go to a restaurant every day, buy fresh fruits and vegetables, and always have access to water. Relying on fast food, packaged snacks, and hotel breakfast sometimes is often just a part of travel and does not automatically make someone an incredibly unhealthy person. However, always relying on these things when you’re on vacation even if you have easy access to healthier alternatives and are able to easily buy them is unhealthy, which is why you should try to choose the healthiest alternatives if possible access-wise and price-wise. If you are going on vacation this spring break, will you remember how to eat healthily?