My favorites at Whole Foods: Grilled salmon, rosemary chicken breasts, kale salad, grilled vegetables (lots of zucchini, peppers and onions). Their selections change each week, at least in the Whole Foods that I visit in Houston on Westheimer Rd… I also love their rotisserie chicken, and they’ll cut that up into quarters if you ask. Their salad bar is also very fresh with a wide variety of organic items. A small cup of oil and vinegar dressing and I’m all set.

Pictured here is a Greek salad topped with grilled salmon. I try to keep most of the feta cheese away, but I do like a little bit.

The cost for a typical meal of a protein (salmon or chicken) plus a vegetable is about $7.00 to $9.00, which is much less expensive than eating in a restaurant and not much more than a cheeseburger, fries and a drink at McDonald’s (and oh so much healthier).

I buy a few organic apples for morning snacks and also choose some almonds from their extensive nut selection.

A lot of shoppers actually eat lunch right at Whole Foods (assuming your local store has an eating area). So even if you may not have access to a frig or microwave, you can still eat healthy meals right at their store.

Some of their stores also have custom-made smoothies for a great start to your day.

No Whole Foods near you? Just look for a grocery store that has prepared items with healthier selections — many stores have this now. And who would’ve thought about eating out at a grocery store? It’s just not part of that “Travel is Glamorous” thing!

Is it possible to eat healthy while traveling?

Yes, it is! Sure, there will be times when finding a healthy salad will be like trying to find a four-leaf clover, and spotting anything resembling healthy on a plane will get you wondering what planet you’re on. But there really is an improving selection of healthier foods in airports, hotels and restaurants – really! Sometimes you just need to get creative in finding it.

To see if it really is possible to eat healthy while traveling (with the side benefit of holding myself accountable for eating well), I’ll post my meals along with details on location, cost, ease in eating healthy as well as any meals that I thought might be healthy and found them to be the opposite.

Please share your favorite on-the-road healthy meals also. Let’s all help each other eat well, and hopefully encourage more venues to serve more than sandwiches and fried foods.

Clink-clink of my glass (of water!) toasting to your health!

Just like using antibacterial hand soap, antibacterial mouth wash adds another layer of protection between you and the dreaded “airplane cold!”

Trying to eat healthy in restaurants? Bored of grilled chicken and salad? Hate feeling deprived? Good news! You can make any meal healthier with just a few “no big deal” changes.

1. Get It Your Way.

• Request them not to brush your fajitas, steak, chicken, or fish with butter (ask for some melted butter “on the side” if you’re worried that the meat will be too dry)
• Ask for your pizza to be prepared “light on the cheese”
• Request half the meat and double the vegetables in your stir fry.
• Ask for the dressing, sauces, and butters “on the side” so you can “dip and stab”.
• Order black beans or whole pinto beans rather than refried beans at the Mexican restaurant

2. Make Miss Manners Mad.

• Trim the visible fat off the meat
• Pull the skin off roasted chicken and save 100 calories
• Scrape off the breading and drain the excess sauce into your butter dish
• Pat the pizza with a paper napkin – every little bit counts

3. Control Your Portions.

• Order ala carte to get just what you want
• Ask for luncheon or appetizer portions – even if it’s not on the menu
• Take just roll or slice of bread and give the basket back to the server.
• Get the doggie bag with dinner and immediately put away half your meal (even if you won’t be taking it home – out of sight, out of mind).
• Use chopsticks – you’ll eat less.
• To eliminate the temptation to keep nibbling when you’ve had enough, salt your food heavily or pour on the hot sauce.

4. Check the “Price” Tag on your waist. Did you know that:

• A large cinnamon roll has over 800 calories and contains more than a half a stick of butter?
• Your morning mocha or large fountain drink contains more than 300 calories?
• Each of these has 100 calories: mayonnaise on your burger, cheese slice, 2 strips bacon, sautéed mushrooms, sliced avocado, 1 large onion ring, 7 potato puffs, 10 regular fries, or 20 skinny french fries. Take your pick – not them all!
• If you eat just 10 calories more than your body needs, you’ll put on a pound of fat each year.

5. Make Leaner Substitutions.

• Order fresh fruit instead of juice – lower in calories and more filling
• Ask for egg substitutes instead of eggs – even in your omelet
• Order Canadian bacon or ham instead of bacon or sausage.
• Instead of prime rib, order the sirloin or tenderloin
• Request pasta with tomato sauce instead of cream – or ask for half the cream sauce.
• Instead of a full meal, order salad and a shrimp cocktail

Dr Jo helps busy people stay healthy, sane, and productive. She has presented more than 1000 programs at conventions and company meetings. Dr. Jo’s the author of three books, Dining Lean, Dr. Jo’s No Big Deal Diet and How to Stay Healthy & Fit on the Road, available at www.drjo.com. Sign up for her “Escape the Monday Madness” enewsletter at http://www.drjo.com/enewsletters.htm.

• Drink plenty of water. Although you can request water from your flight attendants, it is a good idea to bring plenty of water on board with you. You may either purchase bottled water once you pass security or bring an empty bottle with you to fill from a water fountain.  (Note: some airports do not allow any liquids to be brought onboard, as I recently found out in Hong Kong.)
• Use eye drops (eye drops may now be carried through security) whenever your eyes feel dry.
• Use saline nasal gel if your nostrils feel clogged up and uncomfortable. Saline nasal gel, found near the nose and eye drop section of a drugstore, can help keep the inside of your nose moist and make breathing more comfortable. Apply in the restroom and wash your hands before and after. You can put it on a cotton swab and coat the inner 1/2 inch of your nasal passages. This really works for preventing your nose from painfully drying out.
• Bring lip balm in a 3 oz or smaller container and use it to protect your lips from becoming painfully dry.
• Bring a small container of hand lotion or cocoa butter if your skin dries easily.

Traveling to New York, Washington DC or San Francisco and need a doctor? ZocDoc is a free service that allows patients to book doctor appointments online; helpful when you’re traveling and get sick. Check out doctor ratings, which docs take your insurance, and find specialists.

Let them know what cities you’d like to see and hopefully they’ll add more.

Fight-back strategies to stay hydrated during and after your flight:

• Drink lots of water before and during your flight. Although you can request water from flight attendants, it is a good idea to bring plenty of water on board with you. You may either purchase bottled water once you pass security or bring an empty bottle with you to fill from a water fountain.
• Limit your intake of coffee and alcohol – they dehydrate you more.
• Carry your moisturizer in your hand luggage to slather on mid flight and before you deplane, splash your face with water and follow by your moisturizer.
• Bring lip balm in a 3 oz or smaller container and use it to protect your lips from becoming painfully dry. Bring a small container of hand lotion or cocoa butter if your skin dries easily.
• Nasal passageways are easily dried out by airplane air, so take along an over-the-counter nose spray to diminish congestion.