I would like to get back to the essentials…

Greens, of course.  So yes these include spirulina and wheatgrass and other superfoods but you can also make your own green smoothies and dehydrate and powder the leftovers.  You can freeze or dehydrate greens when they are in season and make your own greens powder too.  Yes in doing so we do lose some nutrients, maybe a lot of nutrients and it does require prep.  This is however lightweight and having it on hand can mean the difference between a desperate stop at a fast food stall in the airport and going for what you really want which is ultimate health.  You will be so happy with yourself when you pull out your powdered specialty smoothie while in unfamiliar territory.  One benefit of this is that you can use up your leftover smoothies when you make too much and you can go for really exotic flavours and make it your own, whatever seems the most practical.  You can literally make your own instant green smoothie mix for travelling.

Goji berries are a good source of amino acids and they are portable. They are not going to go bad and they mix well with other nuts and seeds to create an instant trail mix for when you can’t find trail mix.  Goji berries provide energy that is sustained and can be a real lifesaver in long lectures or long flights if they are tolerated by you as a nightshade and with some sugar content.  Some other higher protein dried berries to look into are currents and mulberries.  Currants have many benefits and their phytonutrients are very valuable for our digestive bacteria, heart and brain health.  Having some shelf-stable dried food in my bag really helps me to stay on track sometimes.

Chia: small, light and makes you feel full. Hey it’s not pretty but it is practical.  Again if the choice is chia or fast food you will be rejoicing that you had them stashed away somewhere safe.  I like to soak them overnight on long flights, camping or car trips.  I try to make sure that I chew them very well if I am just eating them as is.

I celebrate fruit.  It comes in its own package! I often carry lemons in my purse for salad topping but apples and oranges travel well and can be so welcome on a road trip.  With the lemons I like to use Dulse or Kelp flakes, taking up very little space in my bag but giving my road-trip or restaurant salads a sense of the exotic.

I like to bring good quality salt along because it takes up so little space and weight and has high value compared to table salt for me.  Kelp or dulse flakes are good alternatives for this also.

Carrot sticks and other hardy vegetables such as cabbage and beet sticks travel really well and maintain their crunch for some time.  I like to ferment yogurt on the road.  This enables me to make dips almost instantly and consuming these root veg with my yogurts gives me prebiotics and probiotics.  This helps to keep the immunity up while away from home.

I often bring a small amount of raw olives or nuts and seeds when I need more calories and am not able to find any food. I like to save these for last and use the other foods first for some reason it makes me feel like I still have a back-up plan. The nuts and seeds can of course be candied or seasoned with tamari and herbs or just eaten the way they are. They can often also be purchased in situations when it seems like there are endless gas stations and no health food stores in sight.

Do you pack any of these essentials when you are out? Do you have anything to add? I would love to have some new ideas for travelling with foods or even foods to put in the glove box for passenger emergencies. Please let me know in the comments what has worked for you!