Life

Here's What A Trip To Telluride Taught One Woman About Eating Healthy On The Road

by Molly Shea
Matt Kroll/Bustle

When food influencer Skylar Bouchard booked a trip to the Telluride Wine Festival, she couldn’t wait to dig into the Colorado town’s dining scene: the farm-to-table restaurants, carefully crafted food, and mountain-fresh organic ingredients. But she wasn’t the only one who’d be visiting Telluride — Bouchard was bringing her dog, Poppy, along for the ride.

“I’ve never gone on such a dog-friendly trip before, and it was such a wonderful experience,” she tells Bustle. “Bringing him on trips also forces me to be even more active, which is great for balancing my love for food.”

For Bouchard, finding balance also meant opting for organic food whenever possible. “The last thing anyone wants is to feel horrible while traveling,” she explains. “I find that incorporating high quality, USDA organic, non-GMO ingredients into my diet helps my body maintain its equilibrium.” She’s similarly big on packing produce into her meals, eating as locally as possible, and trying everything — while keeping an appetite for whatever comes next.

To find out how Skyler balanced not only her own food values while she was traveling, but also the values she holds for Poppy, Bustle partnered with Castor & Pollux® to learn how each of them successfully made their way through Telluride. Here's what Skyler had to say:

For Skyler, Organic Produce And Farmer's Markets Are Musts

Matt Kroll/Bustle

Bouchard is a huge fan of visiting farmer's markets, especially while she's traveling to new destinations. "Farmer's markets give such good insight on the local ingredients in that area and what chefs are incorporating into their menus," she says. "Going to farmers markets is not only a fun activity, but a great way to eat healthy snacks in the middle of the day."

On this particular trip, Bouchard picked up some fresh organic peas, fava beans, and some organic fruit from her trip to the Telluride Farmer's Market, the latter of which came in handy as healthy snack option to keep in her hotel room.

For Poppy, It's All About Packing His Favorite Certified USDA Organic Food

Matt Kroll/Bustle

Bringing Poppy along on her travels kicked Bouchard’s trip up a notch. “Dogs radiate unconditional love, all the time,” she says. “To have him there with me was just an added element of happiness to my trip.” To keep Poppy as happy as he kept Bouchard, she made sure to have Castor & Pollux’s ORGANIX Organic Chicken & Oatmeal Recipe at their hotel. “Not only is it good for him, but he digests it extremely well,” says Bouchard, who notes that Poppy has a sensitive stomach, making it all the more important for her to feed him food that helps support healthy digestion.

Travels aside, Bouchard says she feeds her dog Castor & Pollux because it’s America's #1 organic pet food. She’s careful to keep her own meals full of healthy, tasty organic food — so why wouldn’t she do the same for Poppy? “Like any dog owner, I want my pup to live as long as possible and to be as healthy as possible,” she says. “I would never want to risk anything by feeding him anything but the best quality food. That’s why I chose Castor & Pollux Organix. Plus, he loves the taste!” For a dedicated food-lover like Bouchard, that makes all the difference.

This post is sponsored by Castor & Pollux®.