Did you know?
Traveling, as many of you know, exposes us to air-born bacteria and diseases. We're all to aware of the Swine and other flu’s passing through our communities. Exposure to disease, although a huge area of concern, is only part of what puts our bodies into stress while traveling. Our sleep, schedule, and diet are also vital parts of our lives that are often severely compromised. I don’t think getting sick after travel is about one thing only. It is more like an accumulation of many stress factors that can bring us home feeling horrible. So, what can we do to protect ourselves while traveling?
Chef Teton Commentary – Help!
Good question. I travel several times a year across the ocean from Maui to the mainland. I teach, attend trade shows and visit friends and family. Experience has proven that traveling is tough on me. After a flight I usually get a bout of hay fever! Now, my hay fever is not just a little sneezing, itchy eyes and fatigue. It is often violent and can last a couple days if I have really put myself out. Each time I travel I get a little better at it and take more precautions.
The last time I traveled from Maui to California, which is where I am now, I did not get allergies! Yeah! A few weeks later I traveled to Florida and landed there without any allergies either! Double Yeah! Both times I made a schedule that did not throw me off course. I drank plenty of water during my flight, ate my own food, and gave myself plenty of time so I did not have to hurry. While in Florida I attended an Avatar Course, and was in a hotel conference room for nine days with 1000 people from around the world. I made most of my meals in my room due to the timing of the course, and the availability of good food. Fortunately there was a Whole Foods Market nearby and we were able to bring food to our room, but my meals were quite different than my usual. I felt pretty good throughout the entire course, although I had some sleep deprivation. Then I flew back to California and by noon the next day I was down with a fever, sore throat and cold like symptoms. They call it the flu – some thought I had the Swine. I never checked. It has now been over two weeks and I am still moving slow and coughing. Yuk.
Did I catch something in the airplane or airport? Did I catch something from someone at the course? Did I really catch anything at all, or just develop a condition? If my immune system had been stronger would I have been subjected at all?
I am not sure I will ever know the answer. But, I do know that I came home exhausted. Had I been in worse shape my flu may have turned into an infection and/or another complication. And, if I had been in better shape, I may not have been down for so long.
I am still in California, and in September I am traveling back to Florida to attend the Masters (Avatar) course. That means another nine days in a conference room with people from all over the world, more airplane travel and hotel camping. So, I ask myself, what can I do better? As I ponder this question I am going to Blog about my experience.
I thought I would share of what works for me during travel and hope to receive some valuable feedback from you at the same time. It is a little embarrassing to tell you what works for me, when actually it did not work for me in the end. In hindsight I see plenty more I could have done better, which I will start doing now and the next time.
Before I list some of my travel foodie tips I want to say that maybe the days of throwing caution to the wind for that one day, one week, or whatever the time frame is, is over for me. When I let go of my practice, dietary or otherwise, I seem to pay for it in one way or another. Plenty of people seem to be doing just fine on airport and hotel food, and fast paced travel, so I think I can too. But, what I have found is that all the stresses add up, so I have to make discerned choices. When I throw myself into a completely different environment, I disrupt my sleep patterns, my exercise regime dwindles, and I seem to get off my supplement routine as well. So, I guess I better tighten it up.
Here are a few Foodie travel tips I hope you find useful, along with a yummy recipe!
Pack & Go Raw
Nut Butter and Fruit:
Banana’s are the best because they are wrapped in their own protective peel. Dip into almond butter and you get good fats, protein and carbs. Apples work too – any fruit for that matter.
Manna Bread & Nut Butter:
We lived on this in our hotel room, Carrot Raisin with Almond Butter.
Chopped Veggies and any other raw food entrees you have prepared:
You usually don’t need to keep chilled unless you just made them. That’s why I like to make my meals the night before I travel so they are chilled when I take them out of the fridge, and ready for eating within a few hours.
Olive Oil & Dressings:
If you don’t have time to make your own salad dressing and put it into a small travel (spill proof) container then put some Olive Oil into a small container and take it with you (under two ounces and you can fly with it). This is the best precautionary food item you can take traveling. If you can get a decent salad, then you will have a dressing for it. Most restaurants do not serve good fats, and bad fats are as bad as sugar. Take Apple Cider Vinegar too, and always travel with your own Celtic sea-salt. They have the coolest little travel containers at Grain & Salt Society.
www.celticseasalt.com
Raw Cacao Candies:
This is one of the best foods to take. Light, small and does the trick. I make the best raw cacao candies with honey, Agave and coconut cream concentrate:
Smoothies:
You can’t take a smoothie on a plane, but you can take it with you as you leave, and drink it before you get on the plane. I always travel with a cup with a lid so I can make my next favorite thing during my travels.
Green Powder Drink:
Barlean’s Greens were not voted #1 best tasting greens for nothing. Mix with water (they mix easily) and down they go down – tasting amazing all the way. They have two flavors - both fantastic. They always feel so good in my tummy. I could not live without these greens. Sometimes I forget to take them, but on this next trip I vow to take them everyday – if not twice a day, as they have valuable ingredients for strengthening the immune system. Barlean's Cod Liver Oil, Fish Oil and Flax Oil is also excellent and comes in capsules - good for traveling.
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Pack & Go Cooked
Love baked Yams:
Bake them the night before and chill. Take out of fridge in the morning and by the time you eat them (just like an apple; skin and all), they are room temperature and delicious. They work – fill you up and relax you. Russets and Red Potatoes works as well. If you have olive oil and salt for the baker, then all the better.
Sandwiches:
there are so many great breads out there for making great sandwiches. Try raw cheese, some cultured veggies and greens. If you eat it on the plane, it might create a rather unique aroma!
Hard Boiled Eggs:
I need to be in the mood for eggs, but they seem to serve me well while traveling. If you are an egg eater, remember to bring your salt! If you are into potato chips for a treat, try them with those olive oil potato chips with pepper. Yeah, I know, not the greatest raw food, but a once in while on a travel they will do.
My New Don’ts
For me it is all about Coffee and Wine. These are the two things that mess with my sleep, which messes with my whole experience.
I love coffee so much, but simply cannot drink it except once in a while. It picks me up, but drops me down hard. It ruins my sleep and puts me out of balance in so many ways. But, what’s a girl supposed to do when she has been flying all night and has to get up and be sharp the next day? Well, I have a cup of Jo – and then I need one the next day and then the next. The next thing you know I am back in the cycle of needing and/or wanting coffee everyday. Within a week or so my body does not want any more because the condition of acidity it causes in my system does not work for me, and I have to stop. Then I get headaches. It’s the vicious addiction cycle. Ah, but I do love it. I vow not to drink coffee this time. If I am tired the first day I will have to experience through it. At least I will sleep good that night.
As for wine, well, darn. I guess I will have to drink less. This may sound like I am a real lush, but quite the contrary. I can, at most, handle two classes in one evening, and that is rare. Two glasses are too much for me, particularly a couple nights in a row. It really messes with my sleep, and I feel sick the next day. At home, in my normal routine, I seldom drink alcohol. But, when I am traveling and playing with friends and dining out, the vino seems to flow around me, and thus the sleep cycle is really thrown off.
So, in spirit of saving one thing I love it will be wine. One glass while traveling and no coffee to wake me and I should sleep better and stay more stable…….right!?
Here are a few additions/supplements that I take now and will address more specifically on my Travel Blog, which I starting this week!
- Essential Oils
- Whole food Vitamin Supplementation
- Extra Vitamin C
- Vitamin D-3 Supplement (especially when indoors all day)
- Equipment and hotel kitchen plans
- Super Foods
- Sleep Help
- Nedi Pot
Please join me on my Blog and any advice you may have will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, and Aloha!
Making Every Bite Count,
Chef Teton