August is upon us and all I can think about is the beach, the sun, and getting away to have a little fun.  I myself am getting ready to take a long awaited 10 days off to visit with family in a secluded part of France – getting all of the sun and R&R that I could possibly ask for!  I, of course, have been planning my take-along snacks for the past couple of weeks and I think I’ve got it all together, though it may require an extra suitcase!

Over the last year or so, I’ve been trying to live an extra healthy lifestyle while living in a sustainable way as well.  Over time, I’ve found it more than possible, easy even, to do both at the same time.  The biggest challenge has been when traveling.

The challenge with traveling seems to always be that we are bombarded with all kinds of food, and most of us will agree that it’s usually not the healthy kind.  While we are in transit from home to our awaited destination, the food choices are mostly limited to fast, overly processed airport-, bus-, or train-terminal junk – not good for us, and not good for the environment.  Once we arrive at our destination, we want to try the local fare and we also like to take a break from being health conscious because, let’s face it – it takes thought and planning and energy that while on vacation, we simply don’t want to deal with.

Relax...it's your vacation!

There are a few ways to overcome all of these challenges as you step into the plane or car headed on your way out of town.  The first and most important point is to remember that you are on vacation.  Give yourself the break that you need and stop stressing!  I’m not saying to go eat donuts all day, but if you don’t eat quite as well as you would at home, certainly don’t beat yourself up about it.

Bringing snacks with you is easer than you think 

Secondly, I always take snacks with me so I have healthy choices at all times.  Some of my easy-to-transport favorites include:

• dried fruit
• nuts
• seeds
• snap peas
• baby carrots
• oranges
• bananas
• dark chocolate
• pretzels
• snack bars

If I have time, I’ll even make my own trail mix before heading out:

• sunflower seeds
• pumpkin seeds
• almonds
• coconut
• dark chocolate chips
• raisins
• dried cranberries

Just throw them all into a ziplock and shake & take!  For most of these snacks, I buy in large quantities and then pack them into ziplock bags that I reuse trip after trip. 

Put it in a box...

When I’m taking food that’s more substantial, I’ll pre-make any meal that I want to tote around with me, and I’ll pack it in a stainless steel compartmentalized lunch box that’s easy to wash when I need to.  One of my favorites is the Tiffin lunch box. 

Not only is this healthier because we’re not ingesting toxins from plastic containers, but it’s so much better for the environment to have a re-usable food container that lasts, rather than using and throwing away plastic.

...and a bottle.

Along that note, drinking water is another important element of vacation.  It’s really important to stay hydrated when traveling, and of course when at your destination as well.  Drinking water on the run has its downside, though, and that especially has to do with the number of plastic bottles that are not recycled.  Whole Foods carries water bottles that have a filter attached – they filter out tons of junk, allow you to stay hydrated, and you don’t have to find a place to buy more water – you can fill up at the drinking fountain!  It’s cheaper for you, and much much better for the world we live in.  They cost about $35, but they filter out up to 200 gallons of water, which leads to a savings of approximately $1000 given the price of bottled water today.

These are just a few ways in which you can ensure good health and care for our planet while on vacation.  I’m sure you’ll come up with more ideas, so please share those with all of us here at IzzitGreen.  Enjoy your vacations with lots of fun, good health, and a very small carbon footprint.  And remember, give yourself a break – after all, there’s nothing better for your health than a little stress-relief!  Happy August to you!

Kendra Strasburg, Holistic Health & Wellness Consultant, helps her busy clients everywhere to enrich their lives with healthier eating, living, loving, and moving. For more information, visit www.healthiswellth.com.

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• Welcome to My Farm
• Separation Anxiety

Image from Flickr user Stewart shared with a Creative Commons Attribution License.