Today is, for many people, the first day of a well deserved holiday, whether with children, a couple, with friends or, why not, by ourselves. One of the most affordable options is to travel by car even if the destination is far away from our starting point. During the journey the adventure begins, things may come up, yawns may appear, hunger awakes… the famous route stops. During these breaks which depending on the length of the route may be more or fewer, it is common to eat quick meals, often precooked, or sandwiches besides soda or caffeine drinks and some times ice-cream or factory-baked goods too.

When we mix all this it results in a contrary effect to the agility that we wanted to achieve – Let’s eat something quickly and carry on! – because precooked food, which are rich in fat, or a badly chewed sandwich with sauces such as ketchup/mustard/mayo lead to a heavy digestion. We should not forget the gas which soda contains or the refined sugar of the desserts either.

Once we arrive to our destination, we usually wonder “where can I eat?”. Well, there are going to be a few days abroad and we should know how to choose the restaurants or meals that will make our stay easier. Obviously this isn’t about restricting our diet or avoiding enjoying the gastronomic environment we find ourselves in, but it is about finding the balance between lunch and dinner.

The following are a few suggestions to take care of our diet during vacations:

1. In every main meal there should be a plateful or a side of vegetables or salad.
2. Avoid filling yourself up with soda during meals because, besides not completely enjoying the food, the following day you’ll feel swollen.
3. Combine fish and meat but, more importantly, check the quantity that you eat!
4. As for the sauces, they give the recipe a special touch but there’s no need to leave the dish immaculately clean.
5. Desserts can be healthy without giving up on their appeal: a fruit salad, a sorbet or a fruit brochette (even with chocolate) will always be better than a cake.
6. Prioritize oven-cooked or grilled food over coated or fried food.
7. If you have had a heavy meal, opt for an infusion for dessert, it’s ok not to eat a sweet every time that you go to a restaurant.

It will be important to control a little bit more your diet in case that you suffer from DAO deficiency (specially regarding sauces, precooked food, alcohol…), food intolerance (lactose or fructose), celiac disease (make sure that the food doesn’t contain gluten, even if it doesn’t look like it) or diabetes (be careful with pastries and sweets).

Happy Easter!