Traveling Healthy

Are you traveling for the holidays?
I know traveling and trying to eat healthy can be difficult. However, with a little bit of prep and planning it doesn't have to be.  You have some options.

The easiest, I find for me is just to take my food with me. I go with the fastest food on the planet! I pack things like apples, carrots, mandarin oranges, almonds, dates, bananas, kiwi chips, Suja green juices or shakeology powder and some water.

If you don't have space to pack your own food or just don't want to,  here are my tips:

1) Stick with water for liquids. No sense getting extra calories in through your drink. This is good advice anytime.

2) The airports usually have apples and bananas in some of their shops ( although anything you buy at an airport will cost you more. )

3) Now that almost everyone has smartphones, it is easy to google things like juice or smoothie bars.

4) At restaurants, choose salads with dressing on the side. Pick things like baked fish, poultry. Steamed vegetables. It is wise to not even look at the menu but to just ask the server, what vegetables they have on hand and then pick your source of protein you'd like. If you make sure you are getting plenty of fruit and vegetables on your trip it will fill you up and you won't have as much room for the not so healthy items. Some restaurants have healthy options noted on their menu though for your convenience.

5) Make sure you continue to move! We are traveling for Thanksgiving this year. My plan is to do some jumping jacks, squats, and jogging in place at the rest stops and potty breaks. 24 hours in the car can cause constipation so it's good to move as much as you can when your not in the car. I plan to do a pretty intense workout before I leave. I am also taking some workout videos that don't require equipment to do during my trip. You can also just do body weight exercises easily in a hotel room or small space if you don't have access to a gym. Take advantage of all the sight seeing and walking opportunities when you travel. Take the stairs when possible. Park further away and get some walking in.

6) Make sure to let those around you know in advance that you are trying to continue your healthy eating during the trip. Support is crucial to success.

7) Sleep and relaxation are great for digestion and weight loss.  So find time to relax and enjoy your trip.

These are some of my go to favorites when traveling. If you have found additional tips that help you, comment below. I'd love to hear what works for you.

Almond Pulp Crackers

I like to make my own almond milk. I do this because I know exactly what goes into it. I also do it because my family likes the taste better than store bought. One of the benefits is not only do I get fresh almond milk but I also get pulp which can be made into so many things. I have made peanut butter cookie bites and brownie bites (both healthy by the way) and today I made these almond pulp crackers. I'm not quite ready to post a recipe yet as I still have some playing around with it to get it perfect. They did taste good though. I made an apple cinnamon (top left), a garlic cheesy hemp (top right) and Garlic Italian (bottom). So far taste testers have picked the garlic cheesy hemp as their favorite. I agree it is the best so far. All ingredients for this recipe are in the healthy category. They are vegan and gluten free. Here are some more pics.

Almond Cinnamon:

I wanted to make a sweet cracker that could be eaten for breakfast or as a dessert. I have a sweet tooth.

Garlic Cheesy Hemp:

I used nutritional yeast in these to give them the cheesy flavor. These are by far my favorite and have turned out the best.

Garlic Italian:

These have great flavor but fall apart easily. I need to figure out that part. But because they fall apart easy, I am going to use them as a salad topper or with zoodles.

Eating healthy doesn't have to be hard or time consuming. It just takes a little bit of prep and getting your timing right. I recently did a workshop teaching others how easy it was to make their own homemade almond milk. They couldn't believe how quick it was. It is a staple in my kitchen. Because I do not eat tons of meat, most of my protein and fat comes from plant sources. I use almonds a lot due to their fantastic nutritional content.
Let me know what you think. Are you ready to bring some excitement into your diet and life!

Food and Connection

Most of the times when we are craving food, what we really want is connection. Someone to listen to us, validate us, and spend time with us.
We reach for that snickers bar or pan of brownies when we are sad and no one is around to comfort us. Food doesn't reject us like people do. It is always there. But it doesn't have to be this way. We can crave and desire God. He will always be there and never go anywhere either.
 So many of our traditions and activities are centered around food. A women's get together, a holiday, a church potluck. We become inundated with food and bad food choices at that. There are solutions to this as well.
I have been wanting some girl time. So today, I got together with a good friend. We talked and connected. We also made a healthy meal together. We took a social encounter and made it healthy.

This is creamy garlic roasted red pepper zoodles. The recipe came from pichofyum.com. It was so nice.
It was so fun to cook together, visit and eat.

I also made a dessert for the occasion. Healthy Homemade Banana Coconut Cream pie. X marks the spot on this healthy dessert. It was so yummy.

When the meal was over I felt fulfilled both from my friend and from the healthy food. No guilt here. If you need help turning a recipe healthy or more ideas on how to be healthy in today's world, let me know and stay tuned.

Surviving the Holidays

Are you worried about the holidays wrecking havoc on your health goals? They definitely can but you don't have to let them.  Here are some tips to help you enjoy the season without effecting your waistline.

1. Make your decisions now instead of later.   By this I mean, plan and decide now how often you will partake of foods that are not on your plan. By doing this you don't have to put yourself on the spot and be tempted in the heat of the moment. Once you have decided, stick to it. Tell friends, family and colleagues in advance your choices. It helps when everyone is on the same page.

2. Eat ahead of time.  When you eat a healthy meal before the party or event, you are less likely to binge during.  You can still have a small favorite something but this will keep you from hanging out by the buffet table.

3. Take a health treat with you to share. You can be an inspiration to those around you by bringing a healthy yummy alternative.

4. New Traditions. Many holiday traditions tend to be centered around the food. This is sad because what we really crave is connection. If you focus on being entertained by the people instead of the food, this will take you far. Incorporate some new games or activities into your holiday that strengthen family bonds.

5. Continue to make time to work out. This can help with holiday stress. If time is a real factor, try little things like taking the stairs, parking in the back of parking lots, or even doing 10 mins here and 10 mins there. 50 jumping jacks or 50 squats doesn't take very long and you could do them multiple times throughout your day.

6. Hydration. Make sure you are getting plenty of water. We need this anyway but especially to help us flush our systems. Also if you drink a huge glass or two of water before a party or gathering you will feel fuller as well.

These are just a few tips. At this time of year it is important to be thankful for our health and know that with out it we may not get to celebrate in all the ways we want to. Your health is the most important gift you can give yourself this holiday season. The cool thing about this is that it is a free gift that only costs you some time, awareness, self-control and love for self.