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Successful Traveling Part 1 - The Airport
Hey Hey Diva friends! So I always get a lot of questions about traveling. From navigating the airport, to being in a new place, to working around the feelings of relatives who made food....I'm going to answer all of your questions in a short blog series all about travel and food!
I recently took a short trip to Michigan and I would say this is the most difficult trip in terms of food that I've had in quite a while! BUT I'm also here to tell you - if I can do it YOU CAN TOO.
Me with a RISE bar - my new and current obsession...
So let's lay the foundation for the whole series:
Priority #1 YOU MUST KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES. Because let's face it. If we don't have them, we will break them....because they don't exist. It's the same as stealing when you have no moral absolutes. Who's to say it's wrong?
What are your non negotiables? Do you have any? If not - set them. NOW. I
ll give you mine. My #1 non-negotiable is that I will not eat anything with wheat or gluten in it knowingly. This is for several reasons. a) I know enough about how it affects your body now to know it's not good whether you have coeliac, a sensitivity, or no observable reactions to eating it. It still causes inflammation and gut damage. So it's not for me! b) I've had a documented HIGH sensitivity to it. Again. Not worth it.
What will I negotiate on? Dairy and sugar. These are 2 things I normally don't have in my home but when in a pinch I'm not as concerned about them sneaking into my snack bars or restaurant orders. You might have a severe dairy reaction however, which would make that a non-negotiable for you. Gas? Skin rashes? It might be better to skip it....
Ok. Now that you've laid the foundation this allows you to easily make choices and know what you're willing to say yes or no to on your trip. So let's get right down to it and talk about airport foods.
Airport snacks
This one can be tricky as it varies from airport to airport due to size and city! There are however, a few staples that most airports provide. Keep in mind, these are not necessarily foods I recommend make up a majority of your diet - this is surviving on your negotiables in sticky situations.
- Nuts (just avoid the mixes with chocolate and sugar added)
- Chips (when possible choose a better brand like Terra or Jackson's Honest)
- Yogurt or parfait ( go for greek, high protein and low sugar options)
- Fruit. Most airports have stands with apples and bananas
- Snack bars. Cliff bars, kind bars, Lara bars and That's It bars are usually available. Just make sure to read all the labels s you don't get some of your non-negotiables in there accidentally. No one wants a gassy neighbor on the airplane.
In flight food
Depending on your flight, if it's really long, at the right time of day, or first class you might have the option to get an in meal flight. They usually have a gluten free option that includes a salad and protein. Skip the yucky dressings and extras. Top your salad with some nuts and skip the alcoholic beverage options. Go with water or black coffee if it's before noon. Oh - and skip that warm cookie they serve up at the end :P
If you aren't on a flight that serves a meal no worries! Sometimes they offer snacks like popcorn, chips or nuts. If they don't, that's ok too because you planned ahead and packed some snacks in your carry on!
Carryon Snacks
These are good for in airport, on your vacation or on the plane....anytime!
- Fruit ( grapes, apples, oranges and bananas travel well. Just be careful of the last two if you have blood sugar issues).
- Nuts
- Shakeology ( I bring mine every trip along with a shaker bottle so I can get some cold water and drink it up whenever I'm hungry!
- Lara bars
- Thunderbird bars
- Jerky (read the labels to avoid lots of sugar and/or wheat which is usually in soy sauce)
- Simple Mills crackers
- Mediterra Bars (a really nice and delicious way to actually get some greens while traveling)
- Rise Bar (whey or vegan protein available) a great tasting protein bar with only 3-4 ingredients that you can pronounce.
- Water - had to throw this in there. DRINK ALL THE WATER when you travel it's SO important to stay hydrated. Ever notice you get constipated when flying? It's super easy to get dehydrated when traveling. My tips to stay hydrated:
- Drink water before you fly
- Drink a bottle during flight
- Drink a bottle during your layover
- Drink a bottle on your second flight
- Grab another bottle when you land.
Airport Meals
Ok, so you have a super long layover and you are SO TIRED of SNACKS. Ugh I know, I get it. So here are some options:
- Bunless Burger
- Nachos with corn chips
- Smoothie from Jamba Juice or whatever smoothie bar they have at that airport
- Meat and Rice ( just avoid soy sauce and asian meats dipped in sauces you don't know about)
- Omelet
- Steak and veggie side
- Sushi
- Salad ( either from one of those kiosks or a restaurant)
Yup! All of those are options at an airport!! Will it be as good as home? No way. But stick to those non-negotiables, drink your water, and your tum tum will thank you when you finally get home :)
What are YOUR travel tips (or questions!) Post them below!
Next up....how to navigate family when traveling (or they're visiting)
My milkshake's better than yours
Hey hey Diva friends!
ok, ok, stop.... get it out of your system and just sing it now "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard...d*** straight, it's better than yours."....WHEW! Ok. Don't feel bad, it was totally going through my head while I was making this post ;) Now back to business....My milkshake IS better than yours and I’m going to tell you something that no one else will.
You deserve a milkshake.
You deserve a milkshake that isn’t going to send you onto a blood sugar roller coaster and mess with your healthy gut flora. You deserve this milkshake. A perfect treat on a day when you want a nourishing clean energy boost.
Raw cacao is beneficial in so many ways. Not only does it contain phenylethylamine which helps boost happy hormones, it’s also loaded with magnesium. A large percentage of the population is deficient in magnesium but it’s important for healthy digestion and a relaxed nervous system, so drink up!
Ingredients
Serves 1
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 tablespoon of raw honey or stevia
Directions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth.
When you’re gut health is off kilter it’s important not to overload your body with refined sugar. That’s where recipes like these come in. You can’t just flip a switch and never want a milkshake again, so it becomes about creating healthy substitutions to unhealthy foods.
Sugar feeds bad bacteria, fungus, and yeast in your gut and promotes digestive distress and hormonal issues. The more you can swap it out for healthy recipes like this the faster you’ll be on track to feeling amazingly energized and balanced.
If you’re seriously interested in getting healthy, restoring your digestion and boosting your energy then check out my new comprehensive program Get Gutsy With Me,
In the program you get a ton of delicious satisfying recipes that you can enjoy without guilt, and that will help rebuild your intestinal flora.
Or join me on my Facebook page Stop dieting and Live your Life! where I’ll be sharing more information, tips and recipes to help you live a happier, healthier life, along with a Holiday Survival guide packed with tips and recipes for free this Holiday Season!!
p.s. up the cinnamon for some fall flavor or replace it with 1 drop of peppermint essential oil for a Christmas twist on this delicious treat.
Comment below - what's your favorite holiday treat?
Eating organic for under $15/day
Hey Hey there Diva friends! I'm SUPER excited to bring this blog post to you today. As someone who used to eat the S.A.D. (The aptly named Standard American diet), I too once though that healthy food must be more expensive.
Stated simply, eating whole food, natural, organic, unprocessed foods is NOT more expensive and doesn't have to be. When we originally began our pantry transformation our first step was to take all the wheat filled gluten foods we normally ate and replace them with gluten free processed foods that mimicked the familiar treats. In that instance YES we would spend more money if we continued to purchase gluten free oreos instead of regular oreos. The bills would also remain high as long as I continued to buy a lot of junky snacks, chips, ice cream in ADDITION to the healthier foods on the list....
What I noticed as we progressed in our thinking and continued to tweak our diets however, was that if you really focus on eliminating processed foods (gluten free and all) it is highly probable that you with either break even or SAVE when changing your diets. The KEY is to focus on real foods. The bulk of my grocery cart is almost always from the produce section (fruits, veggies, herbs...) with a little meat (grass-fed organic) and a few canned/boxed/bagged items here and there like flax seed, non-dairy milk, and canned tomatoes or beans.
As I became more aware, it's become a habit for me to listen for the persons total in front of me at the check out in curiosity. What I have discovered is that people who use coupons, shop the sales, and stock up on chips, canned goods, frozen goods, cheap bread, snack items and soda, almost always pay over $200 for their cart. When I check out my total ranges somewhere from $130-200 for the week depending on how thorough my list was ( aka if I have to go back later in the week), if I included any splurge/treat items, and if we needed any household items that week (those always add up).
It's very frustrating to me when people say they cannot afford to be healthy and eat clean foods. Fruit and vegetables are some of the most inexpensive things at the grocery store! Even if you do something "expensive" like juicing or blending your veggies which uses quite a few at a time, it's still way more affordable than going to out to eat for most of your meals or grabbing that daily coffee habit. Not to mention you are substituting incredible nutrition for harmful toxicity that can shorten your lifespan at worst and at best make the life you have less enjoyable.
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To illustrate this point, I created an example meal plan, went to Krogers new Click List feature, input the items needed, calculated the serving size portion you would need per meal, and added up the total for one person in a day. I made sure the ingredients I chose were the ones I would personally use - organic, grass-fed when applicable etc...
With my ONE example ( which included a few more "expensive" items like juicing, Shakeology, and grass-fed beef) I found you could eat high quality, nutrient dense foods that will reverse disease and nourish your body for under $15 a day!
Here's the menu:
Breakfast:
- 2 pasture raised eggs = .81c
- Homemade green juice ( 1/2 bunch organic kale + 1 honey crisp organic apple + 1 organic lemon ) = $1.87
- Chia Seed Pudding ( 1 can full fat coconut milk from a can + 1/4 cup grand chia seeds + 2TBS honey) = .95...estimated over 6 servings
Breakfast TOTAL: $3.63
Snack:*
Many people balk at the concept of a $4.00 superfoods shake when I talk about incorporating Shakeology into their day. But when it includes superfoods from around the world, high quality adaptogens to help the body deal with stress, probiotics and digestive enzymes to help your gut health, not to mention the help it provides in curbing your cravings, I'd say it's worth it. Just replace the sodas or Starbucks with this instead.
*Replace this with some veggies, fruit, or a salad and while you won't get the nutritional variety, you will still spend the same or less and be getting quality foods in your day.
Lunch:
- Microwaveable Sweet Potato = $1.29
- Applegate organic, grass-fed hotdog = .75
- Whole bag of frozen veggies like peas ($10/10) ... may add some spices and/or grass-fed butter
Lunch Total: $3.04
Snack:
Organic honeycrip apple = .62c
1TBS peanut butter = .13c
Snack Total: $.75
Dinner:
Betty Crocker Crockpot Chili = $3.47 when having 4 servings
Dinner Total: $3.47
Total for the day $14.89
Of course your days will fluctuate, but this is approximately 1625 calories for $15.
Conversely you could always choose to have a day like this:
- Breakfast: McDonald's bacon egg an cheese biscuit (450 cal)
- Lunch: Subway 6 inch tuna sandwich ( 480 cal)
- Dinner: Chipotle burrito bowl with chicken, white rice, black beans ,mild salsa, cheese, guac and lettuce (890 cal)
For a grand total of: $13.94 and 1820 calories. This is all assuming of course that no beverages, chips, snacks, or extras were consumed.
You only have one body to live in.
Studies have shown that your gut health is directly correlated to your brain health. This means if you suffer from depression, anxiety, moodiness, or if you are prone to demential, Alzheimer's and brain fog in your family...these are things that can be prevented, and even reversed by the health of your gut. Processed foods not only provide lackluster nutritional value at best, but can cause inflammation to the gut as well as hindering the absorption of any nutrients you are actually consuming.
You won't be perfect over night. There is a learning curve. But the extra time and effort is ALWAYS worth it. Spending a few extra minutes looking at labels, making a meal plan, and cooking up some fresh veggies may give you an extra 15 YEARS in health, longevity, and LIFE.
I don't know about you, but I want the last 20 years of my life to be living not dying.
Change the mind, change the body.
Change the body, change the mind.
What are YOUR cost saving tips? I know there are many of you who are more budget conscious, and better at looking for cost saving tips that I am! I'd love to hear your tips below!!
To your health,
