What an experience! My trip to Georgia by train is something I will

never forget. I caught the last California Zephyr to cross Iowa

last week. I don’t know if service has started up again or if I

will be able to make the return train trip this Friday all the way

back. I suppose if I can make it by train to Chicago, I could take

a bus from Chicago to Iowa. My heart goes out to everyone affected

by the flood waters!

When I left the Iowa flood waters behind on Thursday last week and

prepared myself for a sleepless two days and nights on the rails, I

knew that at least I was prepared with nutritious low calorie food.

When I’m traveling and the food choices are limited, I like to have

some alternative possibilities. I had purchased and brought along

with me canned, dry, and fresh food that would keep well without

refrigeration and not be too heavy to carry.

Here’s a list of what I brought along:

• 3 small pop-top cans of tuna fish packed in water
• 3 small single serve foil-wrapped packages of regular mayonnaise (I

  don’t know if it is possible to get light mayonnaise in the small

  pkgs.)

• 2 medium apples
• 2 medium oranges
• 1 can mixed nuts (no peanuts included, I chose Planter’s Pistachio

  Lover’s Mix at 160 calories per oz. I believe that would be

  equivalent to about ¼ cup.)

• 4 cups of Oatmeal –Hearty Raisin – General Mills – I measured each

  cup into a separate mini-size ziplock bag. ( I chose this cereal

  because it is high fiber and low iron. If you are 50 years of age

  or younger, you may want to choose a cereal that is good source of

  both iron and fiber.)

• 2 small cans of tomato/V8 juice
• Sunkist dried prunes (a partial package)
• 3 single serve cartons of enriched vanilla soy milk
• Kashi TLC Crackers

This amount turned out to be plenty (Just about enough for my

return trip also)!

Here’s an example of one day’s worth of meals and snacks for a 1200

calorie diet that includes one purchased item. By dinner time in

the evening I wanted to supplement what I had with something from

the restaurant or snack bar. The choices were limited. I scanned

the possibilities offered on the snack bar menu to see what I could

find and I settled on the 4 piece Spicy Chicken Wings for a little

chicken meat. I knew I would need to avoid eating the skin to keep

the total fat and calorie count down. Even so, the chicken wings

were tasty!

(Note: The nutrient balance for the 1200 calorie meal plan comes

out fairly well but somewhat short for calcium. So if you are on a

1300 to 1500 calorie diet, you might want to add another good

source of calcium for some of your additional calories such as

string cheese or yogurt (if any is available for purchase.)

Simple 1200 Calorie Diet To Go (By Train, Bus, Car, or Plane)

Breakfast

1 cup Oatmeal Raisin Crisp – Hearty Raisin (230 calories)

8 oz. soy milk – enriched vanilla

1 small can tomato/V8 juice

Water, unsweetened tea or coffee

Snack

1 Orange (fresh)

Lunch

3 oz. Tuna Light (96 calories)

1 Tbsp. regular mayonnaise

15 Kashi TLC – Original 7 grain crackers

Snack

1 apple w/skin (81 calories)

Supper

4 Spicy Chicken Wings – skinless (160 calories, The only item I purchased for the day’s menu.)

¼ cup Mixed Nuts

2 Sunkist prunes

water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or diet soda

(Always remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day.)

Total Calories = 1192

Total Fiber = 19.8 grams (A little short on fiber but not bad for

1200 calories when traveling. The recommendation is for women to

have 20-25 grams of fiber per day.)

Fat = 33%

Carbs = 45%

Protein = 22%

Calcium = 499 mg (Women between 19 and 50 years need approximately

1,000 mg a day, 51+ need 1,200 mg a day. This would be a good day

for a supplement of calcium with Vitamin D)

Iron = 16.9 mg (Women 19 to 50 years need 18 mg of iron, 51+ need 8

mg

Remember to bring along some napkins or paper towels and a few

plastic spoons. You can add the soy milk right into the zip lock

bags of cereal to eat. Simple, easy, and nutritious.

So tell me, what kinds of foods do you carry with you when

traveling to eat low calorie nutritious food? Let me know. I would

like to share your ideas with my other readers.

Thanks!

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