After a few months of writing articles, I’ve accumulated some questions from our readers and I hope that they are an inspiration for you to stay fit and healthy on your travels and during the summer months ahead. This month we look at how to keep you wallet and stomach full while staying healthy at the same time.
“Dearest writer dude, my mate and I would like some hot tips on staying healthy while backpacking through Europe at a minimum cost.” Hayley S.
Well Hayley, there are numerous ways to stay healthy and fit when travelling. There are many things you can include into your day while travelling that will simply save you money and many of them are better for your health as well. Some of the points I mentioned in last months column include: Walking as often as possible, preparing your own meals and snacks whenever you can and getting a good night’s sleep. All of these will save you money.
Eating healthy and cheaply
Consider how much money we spend on an average day and think of how little long term benefit we get from it. Consider that the £2 cup of coffee you buy could get you 12 apples and the £3.50 sandwich you buy everyday at lunch could over time get you enough bread and sandwich fillings for 3-4 sandwiches a day. So often it’s simply time and effort that dictates what we choose to eat, from take away food, ready meals or unhealthy simpler options. Here are some helpful hints to maximise your shopping experience, giving you more time to get out and have fun.
- Make sure you’ve always got basic ingredients like rice and pasta – it’s easy to make a quick and cheap meal with these and a few vegetables. Not eating is not an option so mare sure you have few excuses available.
- While frozen produce might be more expensive than fresh, they are always better than tinned options and are useful to have in emergencies. Keep frozen fruits and vegetables on hand if you have access to a freezer, both are fundamental to a well rounded diet
- Not all foods are created equal. Many foods have a very small nutritional value, especially if they are highly processed. Check out the world’s healthiest foods website (http://www.whfoods.com) for example to see what foods are better than others in overall benefits. If you can incorporate as many of these as possible, even if they are a little more expensive, you’ll be all the better for it.
- Eat less meat. We tend to eat more meat than we should in proportion to our diets and this tends to be where a large part of the food budget goes.
- While we may have favourite foods and due to changes in world agriculture we can now have whatever we want, there are many reasons to eat whatever produce is in season. Foods imported from great distances are much more expensive and likely have more pesticides and have been picked before they are ripe so they can travel. Learn to eat the foods in season locally as they’ll be much fresher and cheaper.
- Explore your area for cheaper shops and markets. Often smaller shops and areas outside of tourist or city centres will be vastly cheaper alternatives. Also look for farmers markets where you can buy local food fresher without the supermarkets mark ups.
- Take the time to plan your shopping. If you go shopping, don’t go when you’re hungry and vulnerable to impulse (likely unhealthy) buying, and make sure you make a list and stick to it.
- Figure out how much money you can spend while at home or when you are travelling and figure out where you are and aren’t willing to compromise. Fresh organic produce may be great but it tends to be more expensive and seemingly beyond most budgets. Set up your priorities when it comes to shopping, compromising on some items will allow you more money to spend in other areas.
Sadly in our Western culture we fail to place a huge focus on how we treat our bodies, and nowhere is this more indicative than the food we consume. The short term ease with which we consume cheap and almost worthless food, while pouring money into selfish pursuits, decrying the cost of getting fit and eating well as prohibitive, will lead us to ruin.
