Clean Eating- Airport Edition

As many of y'all know, I travel for work. Lately, I've been traveling A LOT for work. While I would rather be home, I do like to get out and away from the normal routine. Truthfully, when I'm home for over 3 weeks, I'm wondering when is the next time I get to fly off to a far away place. Lucky/not lucky for me, it seems that I have a trip almost every week this summer which means --> I had to develop a plan on how to stick to my clean eating lifestyle while traveling for work or better yet, in an airport on a flight delay.

So, let's jump right on it!

1. Commit

This is often overlooked but what I feel is the most important part. Before you step foot in that car/airport/bus you MUST COMMIT to eating clean no matter what. Take out a piece of paper, write down what you are committing to and sign it. Take the time to remind yourself why you are committing so that you can tie into that larger goal of WHY you are working towards eating clean. Commit first.

2. Plan ahead

Pull out that itinerary and plan ahead. Will you need snacks? Do you have a layover? Is the plane ride right in the middle of your usual lunch? Plan around your schedule.

Water: I ALWAYS have an empty water bottle with me so that I can fill it up post security. Let me tell ya, if you don't have a water bottle, I can bet shelling out $5 for a bottled water post security is going to be less likely. Seriously, $5 for a liter of water is the going rate...so grab that empty water bottle and find a filling station. Atlanta has water bottle fillers everywhere. If you can't find one, look for a water fountain OR a restaurant who has a soda machine. You should be able to fill your water bottle with ice and water for no charge. Depends on the restaurant so ask ahead. I have had no problems getting free water this way (and its cold--> BONUS).

Snacks: Before you leave, I recommend having at least two options for snacks. My go-to's are almonds, peanut butter and Shakeology. I have these in my work bag at all times just in case there is a flight delay or shaky moment in the plane with nothing around. I can't tell you how many times I have pulled out my Shakeology, poured it in my shaker bottle and made a meal in the middle of the airport. It's a lifesaver. It buys me at least 3 hours before my next bored/hunger pain comes. If you are not into shakes, peanut butter packets are the bomb.com. They'll satiate your hunger and provide you nutrients for your body to function cleanly. My favorite are Justin's Almond Butter packets which I find at Rouse's or many other grocery stores next to the regular jars of peanut butter. Make sure you get the ones with no added oil or sugar. These packets I love because: #1 they are thin so they fit in your bag easily and #2 you can tear just a little baby hole and control the amount of PB you get without having a napkin/knife/etc available. GOLDEN.

Wowser. That's a lot of options!

3. Make Good Decisions

Okay, okay, okay, but Jen, I had no time to prepare and I don't have snacks... now what? It's all good. Take a deep breath and go back to that commitment. You're going to look at as many shops as you need to find REAL FOOD. That means you can identify every ingredient on they label and see it in real life. I.E. no chemicals. OR better yet choose something that doesn't need a label.

If your looking for a snack, there are bananas everywhere grab one and eat either alone or with Peanut Butter for an extra boost. There are also many places these days with other options like veggies and hummus, clean salads, boiled eggs, and more. Airports have gotten the memo and are more and more adding clean foods to their stores. Cheers. From. The. Crowd.

Breakfast: My go to for breakfast is Starbucks Classic Oatmeal with a cut up banana. Throw away all the 'good' stuff they send with you. You won't need the brown sugar with the banana cut up, save the nuts for a time when you are in a crunch (it's already in the perfect packaging) and throw away the raisin packets. The dried fruit is COVERED in oil and nobody wants that. When ordering coffee, go for black. I add soy milk, no added sugars. I highly suggest you finding your 'go-to' breakfast while on the road to help eliminate some of the decisions you have to make. Yogurt/apples/fruit... all are good clean choices. Just make sure that you are ordering unsweetened options.

Lunch/Dinner: This one usually takes the longest to find the right option but it is absolutely possible. My favorite options are Chipolte/Qudoba/Moe's type places where I can make a rice/bean/veggie bowl with no added cheese/sour cream. I like it because you can control what goes in your bowl right from the start and its super filling. Other options are some of the salads. I do want to caution you that you will want to stay away from the heavy cheeses, dressings and oil. I often buy a salad and then take away some of the cheese, squeeze lemon and add pepper. No dressing for me because you just don't know what's in the dressing. That dressing will make your lunch go from a GO to a NO.

4. Flip for Ingredients

The most important thing for you to do while looking in an airport for clean eating foods is flip the package and read the label. Ask yourself two questions: Do I know what each one of those ingredients is? Can I see the ingredient in real life? If the answer is yes and yes, you are good to go. Here's an example on a spring roll I found recently. It made it past my test.

And that's it. It's fairly simply and definitely takes some will power, but this is all something you are capable of learning and practicing on your next trip.

If this is something that interests you and that you feel like you could use some more tips please email or facebook me. We learn about all of this in our challenge groups that I hold monthly. Email me at jennifergunnell@gmail.com or facebook me at Jen Gunnell and I'll be happy to get you on the right path to clean eating success.

Hope you have a GREAT trip full of yummy clean foods! Let me know how it goes. I would LOVE to hear!