AT WORK
Pack a snack, along with your lunch, so you aren’t tempted by crisps and chocolate bars before you get home for dinner. Remember: leftover stews and soups are easily heated up and transported in a flask. For good packed lunches and snacks try our sandwiches (see here), Blueberry Muffins (see here), Caroby Fruit and Nut Balls (see here), Power Salad in a Jar (see here), noodle pots (see here) and Sri Lankan Squash Croquettes (see here).
TRAVELLING
When it comes to eating when you’re travelling, the only challenging part is being unprepared and stuck somewhere where real, wholefoods don’t exist. Take a fresh dish or two, such as a smoothie (see here) or Green Goddess Noodle Salad (see here), as well as foods that keep well and can be eaten with your fingers: Cinnamon, Raisin and Quinoa Breakfast Muffins (see here), Tahini Applejacks (see here), Multiseed Crackers (see here) or Lemon and Cranberry Biscotti (see here). Good portable snacks also include apples, cheese, avocado, raw chicory or Little Gem lettuce, nuts and dried fruit. For long trips to unfamiliar places, we like to have some non-perishables with us, including superfood powders such as spirulina, maca and baobab, to give us vitamins when fresh food is not so readily available; and tinned sardines and biltong (dried beef strips), which offer a good source of portable protein that you can keep in your handbag. Make a travel jar of our Quinoa Kettle Porridge (see here) for a hot breakfast in hotel rooms as well as at work. And keep hydrated with lots of water.
HOTELS + RESTAURANTS
Not able to prepare your own food? Then apply the ‘Better Than’ rule (see here) and look for the best option available: search for real-food restaurants and sources at your destination (researching these before you travel, if necessary); ask the hotel to clear your mini bar to avoid temptation – which will also leave you space to stock up on your own snacks/drinks; and keep hydrated. If you’re ducking into a supermarket, pick up a pot of hummus made with extra-virgin olive oil, and a whole red pepper or courgette. Give it a wash if you can and then dunk it into the hummus for a vitamin-rich, giant crudité. If you pass an artisanal delicatessen, pop in and get some good cheese to eat with apples and raw veggies, as above.
Just as you would at home, allow plenty of time between supper and bedtime for a good night’s sleep, so make an early reservation at the restaurant, avoid eating too much or too quickly – don’t be tempted to fall into pace with your companions, enjoy every bite and you’ll feel better for it. Mix and match the menu to suit – choosing, for example, the wild fish from one dish and pairing it with the vegetables from another.
For hotel breakfasts, ask for your eggs to be fried in butter rather than vegetable oil or choose poached or soft-boiled and pair with a side salad. Avoid the bread basket, sip water and remember that too much alcohol as well as too much food will disrupt sleep, which is not such an issue if you’re on holiday but not great on a work trip if you have an early start! If you can’t finish your meal, then ask for a doggy bag and take it home or keep it in your hotel fridge for the next day – eateries are all too happy not to waste good food.