How To Eat Healthy In A Hotel 2.0
My initial grocery haul when I got in town: steak, ground beef, smoked salmon, hard-boiled eggs, raw cheese, yogurt, butter, fruit, honey, and salt.
The Age-Old Question: What Do We Eat?
I often get asked how and what I’m eating. As I’ve said, diet preferences are highly individualized, and what works for one person may not work for another. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the human diet. I follow an animal-based diet with fermented vegetables and the occasional salad. At a minimum, you should avoid seed oils, refined sugars, and ultra-processed foods. Most would concur that this is just common sense without necessitating a long-drawn-out scientific study for validation.
Recognizing the deluge of diverse dietary advice out there, we've shared a post about harnessing intuition and common sense to discern the best approach. No one at ReWild America is trying to be a guru or tell you how to do anything – we only offer a perspective to help you form your own conclusions.
Another hot topic is the question of what to eat while traveling, whether overnight or on a multi-week trip away from home. One of our most popular posts is:
Elevate Your Hotel Dining Experience
Building on that, let’s discuss a recent hotel stay of mine, facilitated by a nearby Whole Foods, a reasonably spacious mini-fridge, and my travel go-to: a compact George Foreman grill. Regardless of whether you're into Animal-Based, Paleo, Keto, or a whole foods regimen, the following examples will offer adaptable ideas for your specific diet.
All the stuff I brought from home was in my checked baggage. I get desiccated organs in supplement form, so I don’t have to cook liver pâté in the bathroom.
Thinking ahead and planning is one of the first ways to set yourself up for success when trying to eat healthy while traveling. While I’d typically opt to stay at a hotel with a full kitchen or an outdoor grill, this hotel had neither. In the past, I’ve made do without cooking, but on this trip, I decided to bring the George Foreman along. And I am so happy I did!
Your typical hotel mini-fridge, packed with the most nutritious foods it’s ever had the privilege of cooling.
Pro tip: Grab some plastic containers from the grocery store’s food bar. They don’t charge you for them and they are good for leftovers, or if you break the lid off your salt shaker trying to open it. Just don’t put any hot foods in them!
My go-to hotel breakfast. Some combination of hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, fruit, and honey. There are endless combinations for this breakfast when you switch up your fruit and yogurt. Having the salt on hand is key to enjoying the hard-boiled eggs morning after morning. If you’re watching your carb intake, forego the honey.
The George Foreman grill in action. This is going to be part of the standard load-out from now on. I set it up in the bathroom and turned on the exhaust fan to remove any smoke. However, the Foreman grill produced very little smoke. Eating quality meats while traveling is a great way to ensure you’re satiated and aren’t tempted to call your ex, Dominos, in the middle of the night for a late-night booty pizza call.
An easy animal-based dinner prepared in my hotel room bathroom. The dates with butter are a real treat if you’ve never tried them.
No more microwaveable meals for you! Now, steak is an option without spending on room service. The steak pictured was on sale for $13. Had I gone to a restaurant, it would have been $40 and not as good as the one I could make myself.
Do you still feel hungry? Smoked salmon, fruit, and cheese are an excellent combination for a snack. This could also be a meal if you’re on the smaller side. Again, you can switch the Salmon out for deli meat and switch the cheese and fruit for unlimited combinations and flavors.
Cottage cheese and red seedless grapes are another great snack option. I love the combination so much that I’d consider it a desert.
Conclusion
Traveling doesn't mean you're stuck with only fast food and restaurants. Sure, dining out is fun occasionally, but remember, it's pricier, and many places cook with less-than-ideal oils. Instead, use the tips I've shared to protect both your wallet and your well-being.
Plan ahead, and you'll always have tasty, healthy options at hand. Quick note: some hotels aren't fans of in-room cooking. So, if you whip something up, be sure to clean up and stash that cooker away! And those food combos I talked about? Feel free to mix and match to your liking or change food groups altogether. Think outside the box, stick to your goals, and don’t do something you’ll regret in the morning.
Related Posts
How to Eat Healthy During an Extended Hotel Stay
How To Navigate Diet And Nutrition Advice
Seed Oils Exposed: Why You Should Avoid Them and Healthier Alternatives