Hello, my friends!

Before we start, you might have noticed something different at the top of this email. The Grazelletters has a new name: Proof & Practice.

The science, stories, and practical tools you signed up for aren't going anywhere.

I know, I know. The Grazelletters sounds charming and clever (self-proclaimed, and I'm proud I came up with it. No AI involved, seriously). It's a great name for a newsletter if people already know you. But I want anyone who finds this to know exactly what they're getting from the first word.

Proof (science) + Practice (real-life implementation)

That's it. Proof & Practice.

I wrote a new welcome post on my website too. I'm also thinking about writing a full issue on the story behind the name change — hit reply and let me know if you'd like that.

Okay, let's proceed.

I watched an Instagram reel last month of a wellness influencer packing fresh coconuts for a flight. Whole coconuts. Because apparently coconut water is healthier than whatever water they sell at the airport, he said.

I wonder if he got past security tho.

But this newsletter is not about that.

Last year my husband and I spent 3 weeks in the Philippines visiting my family.

I was 4 months pregnant at the time. I'd been eating plant-based (imperfectly, roughly 90% of the time) for 3 years already. My meals always had a larger portion of legumes and vegetables, even when there was a little chicken or seafood in them occasionally.

One Sunday, we were supposed to eat dinner at my family's house. There was some miscommunication about who was preparing or bringing food. We got there and all that was ready was cooked rice.

It was 8pm. My husband and I went out looking for food in the area.

We could only find liempo (grilled pork belly). I was fine buying that since my family loves those. But we tried looking for vegetables too. No one was selling them at that hour.

I was super hungry and pregnant. It wasn't the most nutritious meal, but I had to prioritize getting calories in for my baby. So I ate liempo with rice.

Did I like it? Meh.

I still would've loved veggies with it.

The next morning at the hotel, I went right back to my usual like nothing happened. They had oats and lots of vegetables at the breakfast buffet. Which is actually one of the reasons we chose that hotel.

I figured: I eat healthy most of the time. One meal shouldn't matter.

That meal was Flexible Consistency in action. And it's the kind of moment most travel eating advice completely ignores.

And look, the standard advice about packing healthy snacks for the road? That's good advice. I'm not knocking it. But what I’m going to share with you is a framework takes it 3 steps further. Because food packing covers the easy part.

What happens when the snacks are gone, the plan falls apart, and you're staring at a menu with no good options? That's where most people get stuck. And that's what we're solving today.

We're covering 3 moves for eating well when travel gets messy:

These aren't aspirational. They're practical. And they work whether you're at a theme park, an airport, a tourist attraction or a family dinner where the only green thing is the tablecloth.