5 top tips on eating healthy while travelling Australia

Achieving a fantastic holiday experience and having the vitality to fully enjoy it can be challenging when faced with limited food options or financial constraints. As an additional challenge many zones in Australia quarantine rules that prohibit travelling with fresh fruit and veg.

Here are my top 5 tips on eating healthy while travelling on a budget in Australia

1. Stash some healthy prepackaged snacks. This helps on long drives and if there are no food options open.

2. Instead of fresh fruit think about taking dried or canned fruit

3. Stay hydrated. In most petrol station and supermarkets you can purchase boxed or bulk water. Australia can be hot and dry so prepare ahead.

4. If you are in a remote area food establishments can open late and close early so ensure you check and plan ahead. The food choices at these places can be limited so try to choose the best option and supplement with healthy snacks.

5. If the healthiest option is expensive consider ordering an entree size. Portion sizes in Australia are usually generous and an entree sized meal must be just enough for half the price.

Meal names in different states of Australia vary. However, mealtimes are pretty much the same in all states.

The morning meal is almost always called breakfast or breaky. The midday meal however can be called lunch, dinner or tea depending on where you are and to make it even more confusing the evening meal can be called dinner or tea.

Smoko is reserved for when you take a break at work.

Midday meals are usually consistently served between 11am and 2pm, outside of these times you may not find an establishment that is cooking hot foods.

Evening meals are usually consistently served between 6pm and 8pm, outside of these times the kitchen may be closed.

In some rural areas food establishments may not be open all days. It is quite common for restaurants, cafes and takeaway stores to be closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Some regular food choices in regional Australia

• Sausage rolls - savory pastry snack consisting of seasoned sausage meat wrapped in flaky puff pastry.

• Pies - a savory pastry pie filled with mince, stewed meat or chicken

• toasties - toasted sandwich usually with ham, cheese and tomato

• potato scallop or potato cake - depending on what state you are in it will have a different name. A slice of potato that is battered and deep fried.

Sandwiches are also popular as well as burgers, pizza, fried chicken, dim sims and fish and chips.

You can see by these lists that fresh produce is sometimes hard to find when on the road. When we travel, I try to fill up with a decent breaky and finish the day with a good dinner. This will minimise the unhealthy meal choices during the day.

Although, one of the best experiences when travelling rural Aus is stopping in at the local bakery, grabbing a treat to eat and sitting out the front to watch the local happenings and take in the country vibe.