[missmurphtang]

Hi all!

My job involves a lot of travel and staying in hotels/b&bs. I really struggle trying to find healthy options, especially since usually the restaurant attached to the hotel is a pub with delightfully unhealthy options like battered fish and blue cheese burgers. They sometimes have a few salad options, but then I am never sure if those are actually better or not (and I end up hungry like ten minutes after eating lol). Any advice? I'm going away this Sunday and have looked at the menu of the place I'm staying and the healthiest thing looks either like steak without the chips (sub in veg or something) or the grilled chicken salad.

Any tips are very much appreciated!

[SenseAndSensibility]

To be honest, when I am in doubt I go with a steak!!! And pick vegetable sides or just ask them to leave out things like mashed potatoes (but you already suggested this). I don't know if this is your thing, but if you're worried about salads, try soups as well So much harder to over eat on soups, especially if it isn't cream based. Maybe not as filling though but as a substituted side its great for different flavours and to keep you from getting sick of chicken salad everywhere you go. My other suggestion is ask. Ask and ask and ask! Don't be afraid, even if the answer is no, no one is going to refuse a politely phrased question. Say "hey, can I get that without the dressing?" Or "Hey, can I get this burger with the sauces on the side?" "Can I get this without cheese?" Some burgers can be pretty good if you strip them down... Take away the bacon but keep the veggies and the tomatoes, etc. You might be able to fix up a lot of the "less" stellar options to be real winners!

And, assuming you eat multiple times a day on a trip maybe you can try and make something last lunch and dinner at restaurants. Order a pasta but ask for a to-go container right away. Before you even eat split the meal in half, saving the rest for later in the doggy bag. Its not on the plate anymore and harder to eat. Remember that veggie based sauces are better than cheese and cream, etc.

And drink water!!! Or tea!!! Stay away from in the sodas and juices. Hope all goes well and others who are experienced in travel chime in with great tips and advicd.

[IanG]

The UK is the easiest of places to stay and eat healthy. Find the nearest supermarket (always walkable in the UK) and buy the place out. On my last trip there over Christmas I ate freshly prepared fish and salad every day from Waitrose washed down with some great red wine with some dried figs and dates for dessert. Yummy.

I used the hotel restaurant for my morning latte. That was it. And I actually lost weight over the holiday. It was awesome.

At this time of year you don't even need a fridge. Keep the cool stuff in the car overnight for breakfast.

If you have a minibar fridge in the room, you can use that too.

[missmurphtang]

Thanks for the replies. There is a tesco close to my hotel I'll have a spy and see if they have any decent cold food that can be eaten. Don't drive so can't keep stuff cold in the car overnight lol but I can just buy it as and when. I think otherwise I'll go with steak and ask if they have boiled potatoes/baked potato I can eat with it instead of chips.

[mandalinn82]

I'm the queen of the grocery store stop for business trips. My accounting department never has any idea what to do with my expense reports, because it's always like, "I went and got breakfast for 6 days with this box of instant oatmeal" or what have you and it doesn't fit into the nice boxes on their form. So yes, given the choice, I'll usually end up with grocery store stuff.

If I am at a restaurant, I aim protein, veggie, salad (or two sides of vegetables). It's a really common request to get double vegetables instead of a starchy side, and I've never had someone refuse to accommodate it.