Often when traveling, be it for a longer vacation or just a day out, I end up wanting a somewhat healthy meal/snack and not sure what to get. I find what's available depends a lot on where you are, so since this is an international community maybe we can all share tips for places we know?
Personally I tend to look for fairly simple, filling, cheap things. Something that's not too greasy/sugary cause feeling sick while traveling isn't fun lol. I'm also vegan and trying to avoid packaging, though that's often difficult.
In Germany (where I live) there's bakeries on every corner, though most tend to close early in the evening. A lot of German breads are whole grain (like, proper whole grain, not white flour mixed with a wee bit of whole grain) or have mixed seeds in them. So even a simple bread roll (German: Brötchen) (€0.40~1.00) with nothing else can be quite filling and somewhat nutritious. Most supermarkets also have a selection of bread and bread rolls, sometimes a little cheaper than at bakeries.
Bakeries usually also sell bread roll sandwiches (German: Belegtes Brötchen) (€3~6... just a guess, somehow finding prices online is super difficult), usually topped with sliced cheese and/or sausage and a little bit of lettuce/tomato as garnish. Some bakeries also have vegan sandwiches (Kamps and Backwerk are some chains that do).
Bread is quite a large part of German culture, so if you're here as a tourist you're not just having a snack but also experiencing the local cuisine ^^
If it's late and most bakeries are closed and you happen to be at a large station there might be a store of the chain Ditsch still open. Their main attraction are their freshly baked pretzels (German: Bretzel) (€1.15). They're plain white flour, so defitely empty calories, but German pretzels are baked, not fried, so it's not thaaat many calories and still fairly filling.
If you want a proper meal there's döner kebab (€6~9) shops even in small towns. Most offer two different types of flat bread (regular döner uses a pita style bread procket, or dürüm döner uses a flatter bread rolled like a burrito), a range of raw vegetables for salad so you can pick what you like, and either grilled meat, soft goat/sheep cheese or falafel as filling, plus a sauce (most don't have vegan options). It comes in a paper bag so you can eat it on the go, though be warned it can still be a bit messy. Originally from Turkey, but it's now one of the most popular street foods in Germany too.
In the UK (where I often travel) you can get "meal deals" (£3.50~6) at most supermarkets, consisting of one "main" (eg. a refrigerated sandwich), a snack (eg. an apple) and a drink. Some shops also have meal deals that include a larger warm meal or drink (not sure if you can heat it up at the store though). Whether you can find something "healthy" is a bit hit or miss in my experience, but I usually got quite a large discount for what I got, so at least it was cheap? XD
If I'm in London (or a few other large cities) I usually go to a chain called Wasabi, Their main thing is sushi, but they also have a selection of warm rice/noodle meals (£8~10) and soups, and a great vegan selection for all of those. I usually get the large veggie sushi set (£9) for a full meal or an onigiri (£3) for a snack. The most "expensive" on this list, but probably also the most healthy, basically just rice and mixed raw vegetables. (Also there's no such thing as "cheap" in London, so imo those prices are absolutely good.)
(Prices as of May 2023, based on online info. Ranges are guesstimates, can absolutely vary more based on region and store.)
regional take-out/eating out tips for traveling
Often when traveling, be it for a longer vacation or just a day out, I end up wanting a somewhat healthy meal/snack and not sure what to get. I find what's available depends a lot on where you are, so since this is an international community maybe we can all share tips for places we know?
Personally I tend to look for fairly simple, filling, cheap things. Something that's not too greasy/sugary cause feeling sick while traveling isn't fun lol. I'm also vegan and trying to avoid packaging, though that's often difficult.
In Germany (where I live) there's bakeries on every corner, though most tend to close early in the evening. A lot of German breads are whole grain (like, proper whole grain, not white flour mixed with a wee bit of whole grain) or have mixed seeds in them. So even a simple bread roll (German: Brötchen) (€0.40~1.00) with nothing else can be quite filling and somewhat nutritious. Most supermarkets also have a selection of bread and bread rolls, sometimes a little cheaper than at bakeries.
Bakeries usually also sell bread roll sandwiches (German: Belegtes Brötchen) (€3~6... just a guess, somehow finding prices online is super difficult), usually topped with sliced cheese and/or sausage and a little bit of lettuce/tomato as garnish. Some bakeries also have vegan sandwiches (Kamps and Backwerk are some chains that do).
Bread is quite a large part of German culture, so if you're here as a tourist you're not just having a snack but also experiencing the local cuisine ^^
If it's late and most bakeries are closed and you happen to be at a large station there might be a store of the chain Ditsch still open. Their main attraction are their freshly baked pretzels (German: Bretzel) (€1.15). They're plain white flour, so defitely empty calories, but German pretzels are baked, not fried, so it's not thaaat many calories and still fairly filling.
If you want a proper meal there's döner kebab (€6~9) shops even in small towns. Most offer two different types of flat bread (regular döner uses a pita style bread procket, or dürüm döner uses a flatter bread rolled like a burrito), a range of raw vegetables for salad so you can pick what you like, and either grilled meat, soft goat/sheep cheese or falafel as filling, plus a sauce (most don't have vegan options). It comes in a paper bag so you can eat it on the go, though be warned it can still be a bit messy. Originally from Turkey, but it's now one of the most popular street foods in Germany too.
In the UK (where I often travel) you can get "meal deals" (£3.50~6) at most supermarkets, consisting of one "main" (eg. a refrigerated sandwich), a snack (eg. an apple) and a drink. Some shops also have meal deals that include a larger warm meal or drink (not sure if you can heat it up at the store though). Whether you can find something "healthy" is a bit hit or miss in my experience, but I usually got quite a large discount for what I got, so at least it was cheap? XD
If I'm in London (or a few other large cities) I usually go to a chain called Wasabi, Their main thing is sushi, but they also have a selection of warm rice/noodle meals (£8~10) and soups, and a great vegan selection for all of those. I usually get the large veggie sushi set (£9) for a full meal or an onigiri (£3) for a snack. The most "expensive" on this list, but probably also the most healthy, basically just rice and mixed raw vegetables. (Also there's no such thing as "cheap" in London, so imo those prices are absolutely good.)
(Prices as of May 2023, based on online info. Ranges are guesstimates, can absolutely vary more based on region and store.)