How to Find Healthy Food When You Travel

I get this question a lot: "I travel for a living and often find myself at places like Subway because I can't find anything healthier. How can I eat healthier when I travel?" Lucky for all of you I spent the majority of my 20's living on the road as well! I used to be a band Tour Manager and would spend sometimes 2 months on the road straight so I know firsthand how hard it can be to eat healthy on the road. This is what I do when I travel for work.

Seek out Whole Foods

Most major cities have a Whole Foods now. They have a huge selection of prepared foods and an awesome salad bar, that has way more than just salad! Not craving a kale salad that day? No problem! I've had everything from brown rice & chicken curry to burrito bowls and even brown rice sushi from their prepared food section! Whole Foods is always a great option because there is such a variety of food that everyone will be able to find something they like there. This makes it an easy option to go to with co-workers! The thing I love most about Whole Foods is they have a list of food additives that they don't allow in their store, so you know you are getting good quality, real food. They often have organic prepared food as well which is fantatsic so you can avoid pesticide laden food!

No Whole Foods? Seek out Chipotle or Panera Bread

You can usually find at least a Chipotle or Panera Bread in most major cities. Chipotle announced earlier this year that they are 100% GMO free and they often use organic ingredients as well. My personal go to at Chipotle is their brown rice burrito bowl, mixture of both beans, sometimes chicken, mild, hot, lettuce + guac! Panera also announced this year that they are getting rid of corn syrup and food additives by the end of the year! They are slowly but surely cleaning up their menu, so I'm sure as the months go on, the better and healthier the options will become there.

Seek out local, organic spots 

Usually when I travel I love to find local spots to eat, if I have the time. If I don't then I do a quick to go meal from the above two options. I think it's safe to say that most of us have smart phones now and when I am in a new city I simply type in "Organic food", "natural food" and "vegetarian food" in my google maps to see what is around me. After I have exhausted all of those options and have not found something then I take to google and type in "organic food in Nashville" or wherever I am that day. Another option is to ask the hotel front desk people for a healthy, organic local spot, sometimes they know of a great place to go near by! Sometimes I will even seek out a juice bar and check out their menu ahead of time online. Often juice bars have great prepared food options like quinoa bowls and salads that are great for on the go!

Worst case, seek out a grocery store 

This is always my last option and it's usually when I am in a very small town with little to no options. Almost every grocery store these days contains at least some organic food options. I was recently in such a small town that they didn't even really have resturants for about 20 miles and I was able to go to their local Kroger and find organic lettuce, veggies & a can of tuna. I made myself a salad loaded with veggies and topped with tuna for protein. Obviously this is your last resort option, but it is still a great option and is significantly better for you than Subway and other fast food.