Eating while travelling

Tips for Healthy Restaurant Eating

You often get a limited choice of options when eating out or when you are on the road!
Here are some useful tips to make the most of restaurant dining

• Choose the restaurant carefully and early, don't wait until you are hungry before you decide where to eat
• Wait staff are there to assist - don't hesitate to ask for meal descriptions and to ask to modifications to what is listed.
• Choose foods for their nutritional value not for the taste appeal alone
• Be aware that most western restaurants are geared for high protein/high fat eating
• Increase the carbohydrates in the meal by asking for extra rolls, a larger serve of rice or pasta, or fruit juice to go with it.
• Avoid excess low-nutrient kilojoules/calories food such as soda, fries, garlic bread
• Ask for less cream or cheese content
• Avoid food that is high in fat or deep-fried
• Always have a bottle of water on the table

The Risks :

Foods and water can be a source of contamination and have the potential to make you sick if care is not taken. The main concern when traveling overseas is "travellers' diarrhoea" which can be caused by a wide range of infectious agents. Other problems you might experience include nausea, vomiting and fever. The likelihood of becoming sick while traveling will depend on a few variables:

• Your destination - are you traveling to a third world country?
• The duration of the visit - a longer time spent in a country increases the risk of contamination
• Standard of accommodation and food hygiene - Destinations where accommodation, sanitation and water quality are of a high standard pose low risk to the health of travellers. This applies to good quality accommodation in most major cities around the world. Destinations where accommodation is of poor quality, hygiene is inadequate and clean water is unavailable may pose a serious risk for travellers. This applies to more rural and remote areas. The risks of illness may be greater in poor countries, however locations with poor hygiene are still present in any country.
• Behaviour of the traveller - It is still the traveller's responsibility to take care of themselves while away. The following information will give you some tips on staying safe to avoid getting sick.

$ How to eat on a budget while travelling

• Carry a small cooler or an insulated lunch bag
• Bring your own water bottle
• Granola bars or fruit and grain bars & lots of nuts
• Packets of instant oatmeal or cream of wheat

Step 1

If you're traveling by plane, pack small non-perishable items such as packets of trail mix,  granola bars, and packages of crackers and cheese or crackers and peanut butter in your checked luggage. You should also include a few fruit and grain bars or baggies of nuts and trail mix in your carry on luggage. If it will be a short flight, baby carrots or pieces of fruit such as berries or apple slices are also an option for your purse or backpack. You will appreciate having something nutritious and tasty with you when everyone else on the plane is choking down airline pretzels.

Step 2

If you're traveling by car, pack a small cooler or an insulated lunch bag. These make perishable items easier to bring along. Instead of packing sandwiches, which can get soggy during a trip, opt for small plastic containers of pasta salad (oil and vinegar based may be a better option than mayonnaise-based), individually wrapped string cheese sticks, fruit, good quality dark chocolate, and possibly deli-cut lunch meats. In a separate bag, pack items that don't require cooling. Consider items such as dinner rolls, nuts, dried fruit, cheese crackers, pretzels, and other snack foods. Between these two containers, you have the makings of a gourmet picnic lunch plus half a dozen snacks.

Step 3

Once at your destination, take advantage of any free food you're offered. Many hotels offer muffins, donuts, juice, and coffee for breakfast, and some even offer waffles or French Toast. Don't feel guilty if you'd like to splurge on a nice egg and sausage breakfast once while on vacation. But, you should keep an open mind about eating breakfast at the hotel. There's a stereotype that hotel breakfasts are of poor quality. But you may be surprised at how nice breakfast offerings can be at even modest hotels. Unless it's explicitly against the rules, you can often bring a muffin or piece of fruit back to your hotel for a bedtime snack as well.

Step 4

Check with the concierge to see if there are other options for free or inexpensive food. Some hotels offer free energy drinks or fruit inside their fitness center. Almost all hotels and resorts have coupon booklets that provide 10 to 20 percent off meals or drinks at nearby restaurants. It's part of the hotel job's staff to provide information about local restaurants and attractions, so if you're on a budget, don't hesitate to ask for recommendations for inexpensive local Mom and Pop restaurants or good coupon deals.

Step 5

Consider buying one or two meals from a local supermarket instead of eating out at a restaurant for every meal. Often, the deli at a local supermarket can provide you with sandwiches, salads, chips, and beverages for half of what you'd pay if you bought the same meal at a restaurant. It's easy to make healthy choices when you buy from a supermarket. You'll be walking right past the produce aisle, so it's easy to pop a few pieces of fresh fruit into your basket for dessert instead of filling up on ice cream or cheesecake.

Weird Food! For those who dare!

Weird  Food Country Weird  Food Country Crocodile Steaks Australia Crocodile Kebabs Kenya Elephant Steaks Kenya Guinea Pig and Chips South America Ostrich Burgers Australia, Kenya Piranha Salad Brazil Zebra Kebabs Kenya Putrefied shark Iceland Congealed sweetened pigs blood Thailand Stewed chicken testicles Vietnam Burnt sea slug Vietnam Cuttlefish Vietnam Raw fish bowels Vietnam Cold shredded jellyfish China Smoked horse Kazakhstan Sheep stomach Kazakhstan Wichity grub soup Australia Camel curry Australia Smoked emu Australia Raw ostrich Namibia Springbok Namibia Water buffalo skin Laos Wildebeest Tanzania Smoked reindeer Sweden Duck's gizzards France Smoked donkey Italy Horse burgers Slovenia Turtle Peru Dog China Curried frog, inc head and guts Thailand Live lemon ants Ecuador