Healthy Travel Day Tips (plus 25+ snack ideas)

Let the summer travel season commence!

Here we go! The most fun and hectic time of the year. I’ve been doing this work for many years and I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard “oh it’s too crazy to focus on nutrition over the summer.” Don’t be that person. Summer might mean you have some more meals out, a few more glasses of rose or tortilla chips than usual, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel. There are always opportunities to improve your nutrition—even at the airport where the food is objectively terrible. Your health doesn’t wait until school’s back in session, and if you’re doing something fun over the summer months, I want you to truly enjoy and feel good for it.

Being prepared is half the battle. The other half is managing your expectations. I know, I ranted about this in last week’s meal prep email, but summer travel often involves a little more packaged food and less time to cook on the weekends, but there are always solutions.

WHAT & HOW TO EAT ON TRAVEL DAYS
It’s very easy for a travel day to turn into a graze fest. Sure, I too like to nosh on popcorn while watching a movie on the plane, but don’t let yourself get to the point of snack purgatory—you know, that in between phase where you’re not full or satisfied, but also feel a little ill.

My recommendation is to try and stick with your regular eating schedule. Bring breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner depending on the time you’re traveling. Here are some ideas:

Breakfast
Try to get 20+grams of protein.

• Hard boiled eggs (x3) or egg bites

• Greek yogurt and berries

• Protein bar + nut butter packet (we’re doing what we can!)

• Overnight oats

• Smoothie (if you’re not flying)

Lunch & Dinner
99.9% of all airport foods suck. Do yourself a favor and order a Sweetgreen before your flight. If you’re in LA, you can go to Erewhon or order Goop Kitchen ahead of time. Yes, you can bring it through security. If you’re making something at home, here are some ideas:

• Mediterranean grain bowl with chicken, lettuce, cucumbers, hummus, olives, olive oil and vinegar

• Turkey sandwich on Ezekiel bread with cucumbers and carrots

• Pasta salad (pictured below—great in tupperware or for a BBQ, see last week’s meal prep the recipe)

• French lentil salad with a hard boiled egg

• Peanut butter & jelly sandwich with Ezekiel bread and Chia Smash jam (great for kids!)

TRAVEL SNACKS
Even though we are avoiding the graze fest, it’s essential to have a few snacks on hand. You never know if you’re going to be delayed, so it’s good to be prepared with a little extra nourishment (or an emergency stash) and a treat so you don’t fall for the nuclear gas station or in-flight options. You should see my carry on when we travel—I take this very seriously.

Here’s a list of 25+ snacks for the plane, train, car, whatever. If you’re traveling with kids, don’t skimp out on these. I thought about making a separate list for kids in here, but I’d give Ozzie almost all of these. High protein snacks are starred.

Something salty-ish

1. Dry roasted edamame*

2. Pumpkin Seeds*

3. Spicy sunflower seeds

4. Ella’s Flats* (great with nut butter, avocado, hummus, sprinkled on a salad, etc.)

5. Flackers

6. Chomps Sticks*

7. Beef Jerky* (I have found the Country Archer brand in a lot of airports, including LAX and JFK — go for the sugar free option if available)

8. Seaweed (check for seed oils!)

9. Popcorn (check for seed oils!)

10. Nut butter packets*

11. Thrive paleo snack mix*

12. Lesser Evil snacks

13. Bone broth packets*

14. Brami beans

15. Roasted chickpeas (this is the only brand I’ve found without seed oils)*

16. Grass-fed string cheese

Something sweet-ish

17. French Squirrel Berets (their cereal clusters are also amazing)

18. Protein bar (my favorites here)*

19. Bear Fruit Rolls

20. Hu Kitchen chocolate covered cashews

21. Eating Evolved chocolate cups

From home

22. Fresh fruit with nut butter

23. Hard boiled eggs*

24. Frittata muffins (aka egg bites)

25. Crudités and hummus

26. Greek yogurt with fruit

27. Cottage cheese cup

SUPPLEMENTS I DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT

• LivOn Labs vitamin C

• Magnesium

• Melatonin 3mg (if going to a different timezone)

• Probiotic

• Zicam swabs (do this so you don’t get sick!)

• Electrolytes

• Individual collagen packets (so convenient to add to your coffee or smoothies on the go!)

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SALES SALES SALES
Asides from summer travel, the other exciting thing about Memorial Day are the sales. A few of my favorite brands are having some big ones. Take advantage of it!

• Material Kitchen (20% off so many amazing things I love, like this knife and cooking set + stand, a great nonstick pan, and The Good Sheers)

• LINNÉ Botanicals (30% off Protect sunscreen—it’s so good. For other products, you can always use my discount code: MIAXLINNE)

• Avocado Green Mattress (a good time to make an investment!)

• Higher Dose (20% off the Sauna Blanket, PEMF Mat Line, and Red Light Devices with the code MDW2024 5/24-5/28)

• Moda Operandi (I can’t with this sale. It’s dangerous.)

• SOLD OUT NYC (my favorite t shirt is 20% off with the code MD20—I’m going to stock up!)

• Oak Essentials (20% off all skincare this weekend, including my favorite cleansing balm)