| One of the key themes in this 3-part series is this: Whether you’re at home, on vacation, or traveling for business, some nutrition fundamentals always apply. Here are the go-to principles I follow when making food choices on the road: |
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| Anchor Your Meal with Lean Protein |
| This could be plant- or animal-based (or both!). One of my personal goals is to eat more fish. |
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| Eat Your Veggies—or Colorful Fruit if Veggies Aren’t Available |
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| Include High-Fibre Carbs, adjusting portion size based on your activity level |
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| Use Fats for Flavor |
| Ideally choose: olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, and nut/seed butters—keep an eye on portions, especially if eating on the road makes it harder to find the ideal options. Avoid deep fried foods. |
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| If you’re unsure what counts as lean protein or high-fibre (“smart”) carbs, check out the Fat Loss Accelerator Food List for a refresher. |
| While traveling can make it harder to tick all the boxes, aim to hit as many of these fundamentals as you can, as often as you can. |
| Read on to see what I packed to save money by making my own meals, how I managed food prep with just a tiny hotel fridge and sink, and how I chose meals when eating out — all while balancing remote work and consults during a 5-day hotel stay for Jake’s 2025 Karate Nationals. |
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| P.S. Stay tuned for next week’s blog and video on Jake’s tournament nutrition — a separate approach from mine, since our goals for the trip couldn’t have been more different! |
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| What I Packed |
| Packing food ahead of time let me prep my own meals, save money, and stay on track. |
| Lean Proteins |
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| Sliced BBQ chicken breast seasoned with Italian spices |
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| Package of tempeh |
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| Individual packs of protein powder and BCAAs (or packed from home in small containers) |
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| Smart Carbs |
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| Nature’s Path Superfood Oatmeal (individual packs) |
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| Canned hummus (ingredients: chickpeas, sesame paste, salt – basic and low-fat) |
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| Nature’s Path Puffed Brown Rice cereal |
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| Powdered peanut butter (great for travel-friendly snacks) |
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| Fruits & Veggies |
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| Grape tomatoes |
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| Apples and bananas |
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| Miscellaneous |
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| Pre-prepped lunch (from our regular Meal Prep Sunday): Purple rice, chicken breast, spiced kabocha squash, and asparagus |
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| What I Bought (Closest store: T&T) |
| After our mid-day hotel check-in, I did a grocery run to supplement what I brought: |
| Protein |
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| BBQ salmon tips (Smoked and Pre-cooked! for later in the week when I ran out of chicken I brought from home) |
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| Smoked tofu (surprisingly delicious!) |
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| 0% high-protein yogurt |
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| Deli ham, lean corned beef (mostly eaten by Jake) |
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| Veggies & Fruit |
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| 2 bags of pre-chopped coleslaw |
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| 2 cucumbers |
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| 2 clamshells of Strawberries (on sale!) |
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| Asian pears (for me), apples (for Jake) |
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| Later in the week: 2 bagged salad mixes for variety |
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| Miscellaneous |
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| Sushi plate for Jake (California roll + sushi pieces) |
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| Light House Sweet onion dressing (for salads & Jake’s sandwiches). |
| (Unfortunately not Olive oil based, but flavours salad nicely with a small portion and low calorie load) |
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| Cheese (for Jake’s sandwhiches) |
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| High-protein milk (for Jake’s breakfasts) |
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| Unsweetened soy milk (for my puffed rice + strawberry dessert) |
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| Sample Itinerary – Day 1 ( Travel Day Wednesday) |
| 5:00 AM – Quick 25-min run with the dog. Then finished packing my cooler with the items listed above and out ran the door. |
| 6:30 AM – On the road to Richmond |
| Breakfast (Packed and eaten while driving): |
| Protein shake (protein powder + water), banana, licorice tea while driving |
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| In Richmond by 7:30 – Balancing Jake’s Weigh-in/Pre-comp Meetings/My Work |
| 9:30 AM Pick me Up |
| Tall non-fat latte with sugar-free vanilla |
| Lunch (Packed from home): |
| Purple rice, chicken breast, Yves veggie sausage, kabocha squash (cooked with Olive oil), asparagus |
| Afternoon Pick-Me-Up: |
| Tall Pike coffee with a splash of milk |
| 3:30 PM Hotel Check-In complete, filled our Hotel fridge and snack made : |
| Powdered PB mixed with water = pudding! |
| 4:30 – Cami Walk then to T & T to pick up the groceries listed above |
| Dinner |
| Jake had sushi brough from T and T. I made a large salad: coleslaw mix, grape tomatoes, cucumber, with palm size amount of chicken I brought from home with about 1.5 TBSP of the Sweet Onion Dressing. |
| Dessert: |
| Puffed rice + strawberries + soy milk + a sprinkle of Splenda (from the hotel coffee station!) |
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| Pro tip: I reused various sizes of Tupperware and plastic bags throughout the trip, washing them in the hotel sink to make and pack our meals on the fly. Flexibility and creativity go a long way when you’re traveling! |
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| Meals After Day 1 |
| For the rest of the trip (aside from two meals out), I followed a similar structure: |
| Morning Routine |
| Woke up at 5:30, 5 min rolling using the softball I brought from home, did 5 min of dynamic stretching, while I sipped on a scoop of BCAA’s in a shaker cup. Then I Ran or jogged with Cami each morning (2 days I did harder Intervals, most days easy steady state-runs varied from 25-45 min) I squeezed in two 30-min strength sessions during the 5 days as well during the afternoons. |
| Breakfast post Run: |
| Pack of Nature’s Path Superfood Chocolate Oatmeal (made with hot water from the hotel Nespresso) + sliced strawberries |
| Protein shake (whey + water) |
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| Nespresso coffee with soy milk |
| Mid-Morning Snack: |
| Powdered PB “pudding” and an Asian pear + hotel Nespresso coffee with soy milk (packed in my mini coffee thermos) |
| Lunch (Back at Hotel) |
| Walked Cami, then had lunch and did some more work. |
| Salad base: coleslaw mix, tomatoes, cucumber, Sweet Onion dressing |
| Protein: rotated between chicken, tempeh, smoked tofu, or BBQ Salmon Tips |
| Carbs: ~½ cup canned hummus (Tamam brand—clean ingredients, smart carb choice) |
| Afternoon Snack: |
| Nespresso coffee + ~¾ cup high-protein yogurt |
| Dinner |
| A repeat of lunch (minus the hummus). Later in the week for variety, I switched to bagged salads that had some toppings like tortilla strips. I used only half the dressing and skipped the cheese. |
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| Nutrition Tip: Not all bagged salads are equal. I checked nutrition labels and chose those with lower calories and fat per 100g. Fat isn’t the enemy—but many bagged salads use less-than-ideal oils. |
| Dessert: |
| Puffed rice + strawberries + soy milk + a sprinkle of Splenda (from the hotel coffee station!) |
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| Pro Tip 2: Even though I had to make several trips between the Oval and the hotel to juggle work, keep an eye on Jake, and get Cami out, I chose to walk each time. The extra steps really added up—and honestly, it felt so much better than hopping in a car, even with an umbrella in hand to fend off the Vancouver rain. Bonus: our room was on the 9th floor, and I took the stairs about 80% of the time instead of the elevator. Little choices, big impact. |
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| Meals Out (2 total) |
| We only ate out twice—once for takeout sushi, and once at Brown’s Social House. |
| Sushi Night |
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| Miso soup |
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| Shared sashimi (5 pieces each) |
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| Edamame (saved half to add to lunch salad the next day) |
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| A few pieces each of salmon/tuna roll |
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| Dinner at Brown’s Social House |
| Order: Fish tacos with a side salad with dressing on the side. Water to drink. |
| Nutrition Breakdown: |
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| Lean protein: Grilled fish ✔ |
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| Veggies: Coleslaw and pico de gallo in taco + side salad ✔ |
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| Smart fat: Avocado and light dressing ✔ |
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| High-fibre carbs: White flour wraps—not high fibre, but given that I hit all my other checks above, and there was a decent amount of movement in my day I didn’t stress about the choice. |
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| Final Thoughts |
| I hope this gives you some ideas on how to stay on track during your next trip. This is what worked for me. Having a consistent breakfast and repeating the salads saved money and time, made on the road prep easy, and just switching up the Salad proteins and making little flavour swaps added variety. |
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| If any of this feels overwhelming, start by revisiting the Nutrition Fundamentals at the top, then scan through the blog again and try to identify how each meal aligned with those principles. |
| Still need help? Let’s chat! You can book a 1:1 Nutrition Coaching session or join the waitlist for our next Fitt in 6 or Drop 2 Sizes group program. |
