Ways to eat healthy while travelling

While travelling, you often tend to binge on unhealthy snacks. You can remain healthy by eating nuts and dried fruits, canned fish, peanut butter and anything local in small portions.

Chaahat Jain and chef Sarah Todd have listed a few tips on healthy snacking:

• Carry a stainless-steel water bottle for water. When dehydrated, especially while flying, we tend to confuse being thirsty with hunger pangs. It’s extremely important to stay hydrated during the flight.

Try to drink two litres of water and stay away from tea and coffee. Don’t stop once you have landed. It is essential that you keep up the fluid intake over the next few days. Pack some herbal tea bags and ask your flight attendant for some boiling water or simply ask for some freshly sliced lemon and ginger or a fresh chai at the hotel.

• Take fresh nuts and dried fruits, canned fish, peanut butter, and anything local and healthy. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be cut up in your room and dunked in some hummus or any local dip. Carrots, cucumbers, capsicums, organic yogurt and unsweetened almond milk can be eaten anytime.

• If you need a chocolate fix, buy some 70-85 per cent dark chocolate.

• Limit alcohol intake. It has calories and it dehydrates, so stay within your limits.

• Opt for ginger and peppermint tea as it aids digestion and great immune booster. Chamomile helps you calm and lemon and ginger act as a cleansers and immune boosters.

• Consuming healthy snacks at the right time and in the right proportion is the key to getting the most from your snacking habits. It’s better to eat small portions from a plate or bowl than snack directly out of a box or bag. By snacking directly from the bag, you risk overeating and gaining extra pounds.

Serving small portions gives you better control over the quantity of food you consume. There’s no point planning healthy snacks for work, healthy school snacks or even healthy late night snacks if you’re going to go overboard and blow your diet.

• Try to choose brown rice over white rice or try to have quinoa, barley or oats if possible.