Preparing for international travel

Friends! I’m going to be honest…I’m totally overwhelmed with everything we have going on over the next 2 months!

First, we are hosting a German exchange student through Keegans school. We were hoping to be in our new home and have lots of space for her but the timing didn’t work out so it’s crunch time to GET ORGANIZED in our small home and make space for her! In June, Keegan will go to Germany and live with her. It’s gonna be such a cool experience for him!

So right now we are in clean, pack, and organize mode….but just to make it more complicated, I decided to change the carpets before she gets here. Like I said, I was planning to host her in a brand new home, and when we started cleaning out the spare room to make this work I just didn’t feel good waiting on the carpets until after she’s gone. So we are getting new carpet and will have to pack everything in our bedrooms away, get it installed, and then unpack before she gets here… HA!

Right after we host her, we are all going on international travels. She is leaving back to Germany, Keegan and Patrick are going to Japan with his school over spring break, and my parents and I are going to Europe.

Pretty much as soon as we all get home our new home will be completed and we will need to sign off on it, close, and decide when to move in!

WHEW!!!!

It’s a lot on top of our already busy work schedules.

I’m definitely a planner, and one thing I’ve had to think about is traveling away from home with food sensitivities. Last November Keegan got his food sensitivities tested for the first time, along with a genetic test.

When we acted on the results, the change was immediate and dramatic. He felt better physically, and he seemed like a different kid emotionally. It was like a dark cloud lifted. He was happier, less moody, his gut felt good again…it was amazing!!!

We now have 3 tests that show he is sensitive to Gluten - a food sensitivity test, a stool test, and a genetic test. indicating predisposition.

When I researched being gluten free in Japan, apparently it’s a bit tricky.

I’ll be traveling to Prague and Vienna and it seems like it won’t be as big of a deal.

But for both of us there are precautious to be had.

Here are a few steps we are taking to make sure we stay healthy on our trips:

1) We will print out celiac travel cards.

I you go to this website you can choose which language you need and print out a card that you can show when you get into restaurants that says that it’s important your meal doesn’t contain wheat! Super helpful!

2) We will be taking gluten enzymes.

There are several to choose from, but the one I’ll send Keegan and Patrick with on this trip is Wheat Rescue by Microbiome Labs. The reason I’,m choosing this one for this occasion is because a) the bottle count is perfect for the amount of time and meals they will have while there - one at each meal. b) it’s a more comprehensive product including probiotics and beneficial yeast which will be supportive overall to their guts when on this trip

3) Keeping up on out normal supplements like vitamin C and Glutathione

Those are two major antioxidants that support your body under stress. Travel and flying is stressful on your body even if you don’t feel it emotionally! I personally feel crappy when flying and need to support my body extra.

4) STAY hydrated on the flight!!

I will be very focused on staying hydrated on our long flights!

5) Personally, I will also be ordering a new Vogmask for the long flights.

After my cancer journey in 2019, I am extra conscientious of any toxin exposure and stressor on my body so these are just a few steps I’ll be taking to be prepared. I’ve already gone through a liver support process for a month which should give my body some breathing room and I will be getting some Vitamins iVs before our travels to really give myself that extra boost!

What tips do you have for traveling with sensitivities?

Successful Traveling Part 3 - Hotels

Hey Hey Diva friends! This is the 3rd installment of my travel series  - if you missed part 1 - airport click here. Part 2 - driving click here.

Today it's all about the hotel and/or friends house you may be staying at. For this blog we are assuming you have access to a refrigerator at your location.

Having a fridge and microwave makes the biggest difference! This way you can stock up on all the good stuff. We like to scope out a grocery store or Whole Foods nearby and pick up the following items:

• Veggies
• Hummus
• Hard boiled eggs
• Plantains
• Sweet potatoes ( you can microwave them if the room has a microwave)
• Sweet potato or root veggie chips like Jacksons Honest or Terra
• tuna/salmon packs for lunches or snacks
• Guacamole single serve packs
• Almond/coconut milk
• Green juices

You might also pick up a few things like a cold brew coffee you like, sauerkraut or a apple cider vinegar shot to stick to your gut health habits that you've incorporated at home!

Depending on where you might be staying you'll have access to a lot of great foods or none at all. Some hotels have an awesome breakfast and others make it truly difficult. If you think you'll have trouble accessing breakfast at your location make sure you think ahead and make some paleo muffins, bring some GF oatmeal (if you tolerate it), focus on fresh fruits, and green juices to get all the nutrients in each day!

If you have access to make breakfast or to purchase it, eggs, veggies, and fruit is always a great way to choose a balanced, fresh, breakfast! I will often use Shakeology as my breakfast when traveling as well - protein, probiotics and greens at least keeps me satisfied until I can find more food!

What tips or tricks do you have for travel food?

I'd love to hear them below!

Taking a Mental Health Day

Hey Hey Diva friends!

I'm still reeling from all the Christmas hustle :) I am a party planner. I love the preparation side where I get to make lists, buy gifts, plan some meals, and celebrate with family. I think I often enjoy the process more than the actual event! As a result...I've been doing a lot of sleeping this week :) But for us it's not over yet! 

Keegan will be coming home New Year's Eve (he's currently visiting his bio mom in AZ) so we are having a second Christmas New Years Day which will be even bigger than the first. FUN!! :)

In the midst of all of this my husband and I realized we really needed some down time for our mental health as well as our personal relationship. I don't want you to think I'm complaining. We live a charmed life in every sense of the word! We have a great home, a great family, wonderful friends, jobs we love.....but sometimes life is life and occasionally it hits ya hard!

The past few months have just been cram packed with stress from work to family, to travel to Keegan being sick and trying to figure out what was up with him (update on that coming soon). So yesterday Patrick andI decided to take a 24 hour, last minute, mini vacation to force ourselves to relax. Literally. FORCE ourselves to relax haha. 

Sure we could have taken a "staycation" where we just stayed home all day but I knew I needed to get away from everything. If we were in the house we would have ended up cleaning, cooking, planning doing laundry....SOMETHING. So we shot down to Cincinnati and had some good food, went to a pretty cool sign museum I didn't even know was there, and enjoyed a BREAK.

(p.s. if you have a fitbit check your heart rate when you go on vacation - it always drops. Stress impacts us daily.....hourly....no by the minute!!!!)

Who wouldn't want to take a cuddle day with this smokin' hottie?!

                  American Sign Museum in Cincinnati Ohio!

It's so easy to get wrapped up in all the "stuff" in life. The hustle, the bustle, the cleaning, the cooking, the worry, the parenting, your work.....all GOOD things that can cause excess stress IF we allow them to. (I personally fall into this trap too often).

Stress is the #1 cause of disease and breakdown in your body and doing what I do as a health coach...knowing THAT stresses me out ha! So I have tried to become much more aware of relaxing intentionally. Taking time, cutting things out of my life when I'm able to that cause excess stress, allowing myself to slow down, and remembering to STOP. Be thankful. ENJOY LIFE.

So remember - if you feel like you can't breath this week, take a minute. Sit down. ACTUALLY breath. Feel your breath. Listen to your body. Let your mind calm down. 

Here are a few things you can do today if you can't hop out of the house and get away:

• Take an epsom salt bath and relax
• Sleep in
• Read a book you ENJOY
• Workout if you have the energy and burn off the stress
• Give yourself a facial
• Splurge on a massage or mani/pedi
• Watch a movie by yourself
• Meditate ( I love the apps "headstrong" and "calm")
• Really savor that morning cup of coffee. don't wolf it down but enjoy the process.
• Enjoy some high quality chocolate
• Close your eyes and list everything in your life you are thankful for that you can think of at this moment

And whenever possible - Get yourself out of that house and go on a fabulous vacation!!!

Healthy Tips for Travel

Traveling can be tough. We all have to do it periodically whether for business, vacations, road trips, or last minute emergencies. So how can we still prioritize our health when on the road?

The simple answer is: Don't compromise on your long-term health and nutritional values

That's probably a little TOO simple, so I thought I would share few more details.

Here are my top 3 tips:

1. Pack Snacks

Packing snacks has saved me from compromising choices many times! I. GET. HANGRY. Anyone else? No? Just me.....well if you're anything like me, when the hanger strikes then anything goes lol. So I always bring snacks and it changes from trip to trip but it generally includes things like:

• Beef jerky
• Crackers 
• Nuts/Seeds/Trailmix 
• Clean Snack Bars
• Dark Chocolate
• Shakeology

For this specific trip I had some fun things in the house and if you missed my live video you can check it out below: 

p.s. the Brami beans were no bueno :(

2. Know your non-negotiables

For me, my non negotiables are dairy and gluten. I will, however, relax on sugar when traveling which allows me some more freedom when I eat out! When you know for certain what you won't compromise on, it actually gives you freedom (and less stress) when eating out! For example - I usually stick to a meat and vegetable dish and will occasionally splurge on something fun like a gluten-free bun or gluten-free dessert! When going out to eat choosing a protein and vegetable is usually a great choice.

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Bison Burger with butter carrots and a gluten-free bun! The lemonade was hand squeezed and I'm sure full of sugar - but that was a treat!

My 2 days away:

Tuesday (on the road in the afternoon):

Dinner: Texas Roadhouse: 6oz steak +vegetables side + some of the crispy potato skin from the baked potato (+snacks in the car)

Wenesday:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with some fresh chopped salsa from the hotel continental breakfast + coffee with some dairy free creamer.

S: Starbucks tall mocha with coconut milk no whip

S: snacks in the car ( see video)

Lunch/Dinner: We stopped at Ted's and I had the above bison burger with a gluten free bun, butter carrots, and hand squeezed lemonade :)

3. Relax and have a good time - 2 days away won't kill you!

If your vacation is only a few days try to relax and not stress out about the details. If you are consistent in your day to day life at home then a few days will not ruin that. As long as it doesn't break your non-negotiable then enjoy yourself! If you are vacationing somewhere for more like a week, do try to plan ahead, utilize the hotel room refrigerator, google restaurants and menus in advance, and make sure to have those healthy snacks on hand!

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