This one is “Sent from my iPhone,” so it’ll be short ‘n sweet. A couple months ago I wrote about how to eat on the road while traveling as a shredder. Though I mentioned it (and thus consciously processed it and should have remembered), I managed to forget one of the cardinal rules of maintaining a healthy diet while traveling: plan ahead and pack snacks. This rule is even more important when you have food allergies or sensitivities (like, for example, myself, who is gluten intolerant).

Due to a majors screw-up by both my Park ‘n Ride service and my airline, I found myself sprinting to my gate this morning to make my flight, despite adequate planning and time allowance. This necessity to sprint interfered with my original plan to grab a small, healthy (albeit overpriced) breakfast at the airport. I had a 5 hour flight (which was supposed to be a mere 3) and I had no snacks. And the in-flight options (for purchase, also overpriced) all contained a wealth of my gastrointestinal foe, gluten. When we landed, I’d subsisted solely on 8oz of orange juice in 18 hours. Needless to say, I was starving. And grumpy. And a little shakey.

Luckily I was able to find a decent, healthy meal at the only sit-down restaurant in the terminal that offered me enough substance and energy to power through the rest of my (exceedingly long) travel day, but I’ve learned my lesson. Even if it’s just a granola bar or apple, have something on hand! Traveling can be difficult enough, especially with delays. Don’t torture yourself by facing it with an empty stomach.