How I Eat Real Food While Traveling (Simple Bento Box Setup)

This picture is old—like 2015 old—and I’m pretty sure it was taken sitting on the console of my Jeep. But honestly, this is still exactly how I eat when I’m on the go, so it works.

What you’re looking at here is one of my stackable bento box setups that I take with me when I travel. I don’t rely on restaurants, and I don’t leave food up to chance, especially with food restrictions. I bring my food with me, and this is one of the easiest ways I’ve found to do that.

How I Pack Bento Box Meals for Travel

In these containers, I’ve got cut-up mango, homemade ranch, kalamata olives, red grapes, apple slices with almond butter, walnuts, and a mix of blueberries and strawberries. Then in the larger container, I’ve got all the things I would normally put on a salad—broccoli, grape tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, cucumber, carrots, and celery.

I also usually carry a separate container with just greens in it. Nothing fancy, just a big container of lettuce or whatever greens I have on hand. That way, I can go two different directions depending on what I need.

If I just want a quick snack, I’ll grab a few things out of the containers—maybe some carrot sticks, a strawberry or two, an apple slice dipped in almond butter—and keep moving. It’s quick, it’s easy, and I don’t have to stop anywhere or figure anything out.

But if I’m actually hungry and want a full meal, I’ll turn it into a salad. I just take my container of greens, add whatever sounds good from the bento boxes, and build it how I want it that day. Sometimes that means a more savory salad with veggies and ranch, and sometimes it’s more of a sweet and savory mix with fruit, walnuts, and apple slices.

I usually keep a few simple dressing options with me too. Sometimes it’s homemade ranch, and sometimes it’s one of my homemade salad dressing packets that I keep in the console of my truck. Having those ready to go makes it really easy to throw together a salad anywhere without having to think about it. If I’m doing more of a sweet and savory salad like this, I’ll usually go with something like olive oil and balsamic from one of those packets instead of ranch.

This is one of those things that makes traveling so much easier for me. I’m not trying to find something safe to eat, and I’m not stuck with whatever happens to be available. I already have food I know I can eat, and I can turn it into a snack or a full meal depending on what I need.

It might look like a lot when it’s all laid out like this, but in reality, it’s just simple food, prepped ahead of time, that gives me options. And when you’re traveling, having options is everything.

If you want a structured way to plan your food for travel, start with my Travel System Workbook.