Why I Pack Food Before I Pack Clothes
/It’s been more than a year since I last flew on an airplane, where I sit in cramped quarters typing this article. The past two summers, I took my kids to Italy, France and Switzerland—partly to show them corners of the world beyond the "bubble" in which we live, and partly because we haven't had a stable place to call home during the summers—or, currently, at all. This year, craving something more grounding, I rented a home instead of traveling. I'd almost forgotten the stress of booking transportation, packing clothes, organizing logistics, coordinating childcare, and stacking client work before and after a trip.
Planning the food, however, felt natural.
As always, I keep two travel lists: one for what to remember, and one for the nourishment I require. First, I focus on the latter.
Before leaving, I plan the meal I'll eat before heading to the airport, the food I'll bring on the plane, and the meal waiting when I return home weary from traveling. I think through delays, weather, illness, and long stretches without access to food I actually will eat.
I know travel changes the body's needs, though it’s hard to remember so until the effort becomes real. I sleep less while packing and answering last-minute emails. I'm still up early because even a few minutes of yoga make travel days more bearable. I stress about ignoring my children while running errands, washing clothes, and squeezing in grocery shopping. Running on adrenaline and less sleep, it's even more important to eat well—to nourish my immune system, support digestion, and avoid relying too much on caffeine.
This hustle shifts the nervous system and increases the need for nutrients to support adrenal, immune, and neurotransmitter function. Easily digestible, nutrient-dense whole foods fit the bill, but they require intention.
Hence, I organize my food before deciding what to wear on the plane, in overly air-conditioned hotel rooms, on city streets or suburban greenways, let alone which shoes match the secondhand dress I bought for my 30-year high school reunion.
I start by packing snacks because they're satisfyingly easy to check off the list: a high-protein bar, homemade trail mix, crystallized ginger, dark chocolate, an apple, and a travel-sized packet of almond butter. Then, I plan food for my travel day—chia pudding parfait on the road and a green salad with seasonal everything for lunch.
I always plan my first good meal after arriving.
This time, a few days before my trip, one of my high school besties beat me to the menu. When I started the conversation about whether we wanted to eat out before the event (because there was no way I would eat at the casino), Sarai resonded:
"I'm getting my menu organized for Saturday. We have a great farm stand in our neighborhood. I'll be mining it for as many ingredients as possible—the co-op will provide the remainder. I'm making roasted vegetables, lemon-orzo salad, and smoked salmon roll-ups from salmon we smoked ourselves from local fish. Any dietary restrictions?"
I was elated and, quite unusually, I had no alterations, only additional offerings.
"Incredible! I'll bring homemade sourdough made with local organic flour. Chocolate, too! PS, remember I'm allergic to shellfish."
Another of our loyal foursome contributed plums from her tree and an heirloom tomato from her garden.
We ate like queens.
Unsurprisingly, I don't eat hotel breakfasts so the meal planning ensued. We settled on organic yogurt topped with freshly picked blueberries, raspberries, and kiwis from Sarai's garden. I brought my favorite granola to share. I reveled in the fact that after so many years living our lives in different places, we are still so aligned in our ways of being.
This trip began in the Seattle suburbs, where freeways, fast-food restaurants, and gas stations dominate the landscape. With only a short visit for our reunion—and the event itself hosted in a casino sports bar—I had no interest in wasting time figuring out what to eat (or drink—we planned that, too).
Just as nourishment is easier when you take time to plan, travel becomes easier when you have access to grocery stores, farmers markets, or neighborhood restaurants. Whenever possible, I choose lodging within walking distance of those places so I can experience the food culture of wherever I am. Notably, I opt out of certain cultural trends, like White Claws at sports bars, choosing more natural, plant-derived forms to cultivate presence. (I considered that ancestors of the Natives who work in the casino would agree.)
Then, I was off to Seattle to visit dear friends who happen to be restauranteurs. They know I'm a qualitarian, so I knew I'd be in good hands.
I was right.
First stop: lunch at their friend's Mexican restaurant on Capitol Hill for authentic fish tacos and a hibiscus mocktail. Then, rushing across town to the Fremont Sunday Market before it closed, we indulged in one of the best cups of coffee I've had in years (supposedly decaf). To further my authentic Seattle experience, we decided dinner should be simple: fresh, local salmon and roasted vegetables.
At the Ballard Locks fish market, I asked all the important questions—How fresh? How fatty? Wild or farmed?—before choosing a mildly pink king salmon fillet to smoke on cedar in the Green Egg. At a neighborhood market, we picked up broccoli, Romanesco, garnet yams, and a banana for my trip home.
One thing was still missing: a pastry. Ash had that covered, though, with a stop at Ben's Bread Co. the next morning after a workout class on Phinney Ridge. Despite the woman at the counter telling me it tastes better warm, I bought a sourdough English muffin breakfast sandwich for my airplane dinner. It was cold, yet tasty.
Travel doesn't inherently mean ignoring health goals or overindulging. Those mindsets may result in a good story yet are unsupportive of wellbeing. If you'd like to travel feeling nourished rather than depleted, here are my favorite tips:
Plan ahead. Talk with your travel companions or hosts about food preferences, restrictions, and non-negotiables.
Do your research. Know where you'll buy groceries and eat.
Think through logistics. Will stores be closed when you arrive? Is the farmers market open during your visit? Will kids get hangry on long travel days?
Stay flexible. Part of travel is experiencing the flavors of a new place, whether that's a home-cooked meal or a regional specialty.
Expect the unexpected. Flight delays, bad weather, traffic, and illness are easier to navigate with backup snacks and water.
Prioritize nourishment. Travel creates extra demands on the nervous and immune systems, making it an ideal time to eat nutrient-dense foods.
Hydrate. Long flights, road trips, caffeine, alcohol, and duping out water at airport security make staying hydrated more difficult.
Plan your indulgences. The best treats are the ones that genuinely add joy to the experience.
Traveling presents so many challenges. A thoughtful plan focused on nourishment ourselves can ease our minds, support our bodies, and create opportunities to really understand a place through its food.