Tips for Eating Heart Healthy on Vacation
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If there is an "official" beginning to vacation season, then Memorial Day weekend surely must be the kickoff event. Whether traveling to celebrate a college graduation, or just getting away for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, millions of Americans will soon be heading to the beach, the mountains, Disney World, or perhaps the Caribbean for a pirate adventure. Regardless of the destination, a little more luggage around the middle always seems to accompany us back from vacation.
For the heart conscious, eating heart healthy while on vacation can be particularly challenging. Fortunately, with a little careful planning and advanced preparation, you can still manage to enjoy your vacation without stressing over your diet.
Method of Travel:
In planning your heart healthy vacation diet, consider what how you’re going to get to your destination. Some methods of travel naturally lend themselves to the opportunity for healthy diets while others present more challenges. For example, if you’re traveling by car or RV, maintaining a heart healthy diet is much easier since you can carry a wider variety of food with you in the refrigerator or ice chest. On the other hand, if you’re traveling by airplane, bus or train, your choices are more limited to food items that you can readily carry with you.
Accommodations:
Accommodations can make a huge difference in maintaining a heart healthy diet while on vacation. Look for hotel rooms that provide a free coffee maker and refrigerator. The hot water from a coffee maker can be used to make soups, rehydrate dehydrated food, instant oatmeal, and more. Access to a refrigerator also provides the opportunity to stock up on heart healthy foods and snacks once you arrive at your destination. If you are staying in one location for several days or weeks, then consider obtaining rooms with a small kitchenette which will enable keep you to not only keep heart healthy foods on hand but prepare simple meals as well.
A cruise can also be a great way to maintain a heart healthy diet during vacation. Heart healthy on a cruise? Yes!
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I'm glad you mentioned grocery store delis as a source of healthful food. We just returned from an overnight trip to Sedona. We had dinner at the Safeway deli and lunch at the Basha's deli. Salad bars are great, too, if you can find them.
May 26, 2011 - 3:06pmThis Comment