Travel Healthy by Eating Right

Foods to Keep You Fit Whether You Fly or Drive

By Dr. Robyn Benson

Are you getting ready to take a much needed trip for spring break, or a time to head to a warmer climate and escape from the allergy/flu season? Airports are super busy right now and we want you to be be prepared for healthy travel especially when it comes to food!

Did you know that at least 80% of your health is related to the food choices you make each day and will determine your overall vitality, longevity and well-being?  When you travel you are often exposed to illnesses, jet lag, exhaustion and other perils so it is even more critical to eat healthy, real foods.

By now, you know that your body—and every cell inside of  you—require high-energy food that is alive to help you thrive. But while you may be accustomed to a well-stocked, healthy kitchen free of GMO foods, it’s not as easy to eat well when you’re traveling. Airports, train stations and highway travel centers are full of fast-food chains serving processed food containing chemicals and preservatives. Airplane fare is limited to snack and junk food with no nutritional value. And many grocery store chains in the U.S. offer little in the way of healthy, organic food. But this doesn’t mean you have to go hungry while you’re on the road, or consume food that is not good for your body.

In my book Travel with Vitality: 7 Simple Solutions to Sleeping Well, Staying Fit and Avoidling Illness, I distill my experience as a lifelong traveler and 24 years of practice as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine into simple, useful steps that show you how to eat well when traveling anywhere in the world, and how you can  eat well each day of your life!

You can, for example, pack organic fruits and vegetables to last a few days when you’re traveling domestically. You can also purchase frozen healthy and delicious meals and pack them in your suitcase to enjoy after you arrive at your travel destination. Artisan Bistro, for example, has partnered with practitioners to create a menu based on proven, effective weight management and research. Their meals feature the finest all-natural, organic and sustainable ingredients, designed to ignite your metabolism. Choose from wild-caught fish and free-range meats and other meals that are free of GMOs. They even offer meals free of gluten, dairy, soy and peanuts to work with any dietary requirement and deliver foods right to your door. (robynbenson.com/store/ to order and enter Practitioner Code 126178. to receive a 10% discount.)

Travel with Vitality provides a wealth of other practical, helpful and critical information about what to eat when you’re traveling. Did you know, for example, that parasites often hang out in salad bars? Avoid them and leave room in your carry-on to pack a seal-able container with a homemade salad of organic greens and healthy colorful vegetables full of carotenoids and phytonutrients.  Or  bring a healthy gluten-free chicken sandwich you’ve made at home. And instead of eating GMO peanuts handed out on the plane, bring your own trail mix, granola or a combo of nuts and seeds—organic flax, chia, pumpkin seeds and cashews. The fiber helps you feel full and keeps your blood sugar balanced.

Also check out the delicious travel bars at Travel with Vitality.  We have these at my health center, and they get raving reviews.

When traveling by plane, always pack an empty BPA-free water bottle with a filter so that you can fill at any water fountain once you’re past security, saving you from buying expensive bottled water in the airport that comes in toxic plastic bottles.  My favorite one is called lifestraw. I love how they have a powerful pay it forward program and send free bottles to children in India, Haiti etc for each bottle sold. Lifestraw.com.

If you’re taking a road trip, pack a cooler with ice, cool beverages, salads, gluten-free sandwiches, fresh fruit and vegetables, kale chips, beef jerkey and other perishables so you can eat while on the road. Always bring your own packaged sea salt full of minerals to complement any meal you have. Add a pinch of sea salt to water one to two times a day to ensure water absorption into your cells and to keep your electrical body fully charged.

Heading to a hotel? Check before you go to see if your hotel room has a refrigerator. If not, see if you can request one. Often they’re readily available, for a nominal fee and, in the long run, you’ll save money.

To learn more about how to eat wisely when you’re on the road, pick up a copy of my new book Travel with Vitality: 7 Simple Solutions to Sleeping Well, Staying Fit and Avoiding Illness and my companion book, Travel with Vitalty Food Guide (to be published in May 2016), where you’ll find dozens of recipes and tips for eating well whether you’re traveling by plane, train, car, bus or boat, including this healthy recipe for truffles, designed to give you an energy boost without the side effects of caffeine and too much sugar.

Tom’s Terrific Truffles (Makes 4 truffles)

1 scoop Paleo Protein Deluxe (travelwithvitality.com)

4 tablespoons cacao powder

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon warm water

½ teaspoon Celtic or Himalayan salt

Mix all ingredients to a paste-like consistency. Form into 4 balls the size of golf balls and roll into loose cacao powder. Let chill for 10 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

To learn more about Traveling with Vitality and to leave a review if you received value: Travel with Vitality.

I appreciate your comments and ideas always so please write below.  Perhaps you have a healthy travel recipe to share with us?

Cheers to your healthy travels!

Robyn

 

About Dr. Robyn Benson

For 24 years, Dr. Robyn Benson DOM, author, speaker, adventure enthusiast and world traveler, loves to help each and every patient achieve optimal and sustainable health.  She brings a wealth of services to you including acupuncture, herbs, IV therapies and leading edge energy medicine and technology to help solve your health challenges.  Robyn is the founder of The Self-care Revolution the Santa Fe Soul Center for Optimal Health and the recent online program the Healthy Travelers Global Summit.  Robyn can be reached at 505 986-1089.