Traveling can be stressful at times. Whether you’re traveling for work or vacation, being out of your normal element can bring upon added stress. If you’re new to keto and are not keto or fat adapted, eating keto when traveling can seem like a daunting task and may even make you want to forgo eating keto. I’m here to tell you that doesn’t have to be the case.
How to Eat Keto When Traveling
One fear people have about going keto is that it is super restrictive, and that’s simply not the case. Yes, it does cut out a lot of processed crap that you probably shouldn’t be eating anyways, but it encourages you to eat whole foods that are free from preservatives, artificial colors, and sweeteners.
So, in a sense compared to the normal Standard America Diet (SAD) it could be considered restrictive, but it’s jam packed with so many health benefits that it most definitely outweighs any of the negative inconveniences.
Now that you’re gone keto, you know how to prepare your own ketogenic meals, what the heck so you do when you want to travel? Simply put, the same exact thing you do when you’re at home.
Think of wherever you’re traveling to as your hometown, you most likely will have a grocery store or supermarket, restaurants, maybe even a health food store (if you have one, that’s more than I have!).
Where are you staying? A hotel? Does it have a mini fridge and microwave? An airbnb? Are you sharing a room or do you have the whole house to yourself? Most airbnbs that I have stayed at either have a full kitchen or at least a kitchenette. These are things that you should be aware of when traveling so you can decide on what types of foods and snacks you can keep on hand during your travels.
When traveling, most likely you will eat out a few meals if not all of your meals depending on your housing arrangements. What I like to do is preform either a google, yelp, or trip advisor search to help find local restaurants and check out the menus beforehand for keto friendly foods.
Some of my favorite keto friendly restaurant foods are:
- burger with cheese, no bun + bacon + avocado + onion topped with mayo + mustard and wrapped in lettuce
- grilled fish + melted butter or olive oil + green veggies
- salad + protein (fish, chicken, steak, etc.) + egg + bacon + avocado + mushrooms with an olive oil & vinegar dressing
- taco salad minus the fried shell and beans
- steak + veggies
If my housing has a fridge I like to keep organic heavy whipping cream & cold brew coffee because this makes a super easy keto snack.
Keto foods I keep on hand that don’t need to be refrigerated:
- nuts (pili nuts, macadamia nuts, and pecans are my fav!)
- olives
- nut butters
- jerky
- exogenous ketones
- MCT oil powder
- sardines
- tuna
- quest bars
- keto cookies
- keto brownies
- lily’s chocolate
- coco polo chocolate
Look for foods without Maltitol and Xylitol because these sugar alcohols with raise your blood sugar and can kick you out of ketosis!
3 main takeaways for eating keto when traveling:
- Think ahead, does the place you are staying having a place for you to keep non-perishable foods or a way to cook foods?
- Scope out restaurants and grocery stores before you travel. Look at the menus ahead of time so you’re not rushed and freaking out when sit down for dinner.
- When in doubt, bring keto friendly foods like the ones above that don’t have to be refrigerated. Or you could fast, but that’s not as fun as eating!
