Meeting all your nutritional needs on travel is very difficult to do. Our routines are compromised with meetings and group excursions riddled with waffle stations and chicken wings. Every restaurant menu seems to call out delicious and fried.
Here is how you eat on travel with no guilt and no expectations.
Just as you pack for a trip, pack healthy items.
Attached are my favorite 10 things I learned to bring with me and my family on trips! I have found these items will help provide comfort and peace of mind so you can enjoy your journey! This set of reusable bags are perfect for travel to keep everything organized and clean.
Let me know your travel favorites!
1. Reusable tea bags
You can bring along nut mixes, supplements, spices, teas, and treats. They will fit nicely in these tea bags and are easy for individual portions for family members. These airline sized servings are easy to store in your carry on. Bring a collapsible cooler in your carry on, and things like cut carrots, green beans, cheese and celery can last for days.
Use disposable tea bags to add favorite loose tea blends. Put herbs to heal an upset stomach, calm a headache and help relax for a better nights sleep.
The other type is a burlap reusable bag to put snacks in, or bulk tea in with an infuser. Good for longer trips. Also great for the environment.
Here are the best reusable travel size linen bags I have found
And here are disposable tea bags
2. Organic raw honey in travel sizes
Organic and raw honey is full of antioxidants, antibacterial, anti-fungal, heals wounds, good for irritation eyes, soothes skin, and lowers cholesterol. A travel pack of raw organic honey is easy to take on the plane or keep in suitcase. If you don’t use honey daily in your regimen, think again how it can be of value in your health. And your kids love honey. On the plane or in a restaurant, let your children have soda water and put the honey in. Garnish with citrus and it meets their sugar need, also tasting delicious!
After a long day of travel, I mix equal parts honey and filtered water, (the amount fits on a plastic spoon) and I drop it into the inside corner of my eyes. I then lay down for about 10 minutes. You don’t realize how irritated your eyes get from traveling. Check out this link if you want to learn some great benefits of honey drops in eyes.
3. Tea/herbs are for healing and building immune system
I can not tout enough how herbs will help you. And especially on vacations where we may indulge more than we should (which is totally ok!) You should have teas everyday because they are powerhouses of nutrients. Herbs can warm, cool, energize, relax, purge, nourish and heal. Herbs are typically stronger than vegetables and fruits with their healing properties. Herbs from oregano to lavender have individual properties to keep your body strong!
Prepare to feel good on travel by bringing with you the important companion of herbs. Here is a list of my favorite teas to bring on travel and a description of why they may be what you need. Herbs are so important to feel good! Ideally if you want to fix a chronic illness or an acute attack of things like allergies, you should talk with a Traditional Chinese Medicine or an herbalist. They are trained and licensed to understand the right herbs for your body. Buying a few different herbs that you need in bulk and loose means you can create your own tea blends for you and your family needs. The taste and benefits are richer also because you bagged them.
You will notice some similarities with herbs because they share many properties and topping the list are anti-carcinogens and bad bacteria killers.
Here is a list of my favorite herbs I make everyday. At home I make about a half gallon of tea that I keep in the fridge. I suggest 1-2 glasses a day prepared warm or cool, but never with ice.
Mint on travel serves many benefits. It is antibacterial so helps to strengthen immunity. Mint helps with digestion, bad breath (which originates from the stomach) helps you breathe better, reduces inflammation, and relieve cold and flu. Good for nausea and turbulence.
Hawthorn is loaded with antioxidants and is number 1 in Chinese medicine for break down of food in your stomach. Also known as shan zha, when you are on travel and eating “fun foods,” you need hawthorn in your arsenal for digestive issues and immunity. This is an important herb to add if you have had your gall bladder removed.
Ginger is one of the most powerful healing herbs. We use the root of the flowering plant. It is a powerful antioxidant and anti inflammatory. After a long day of travel, ginger will help you recover fast and warm up joints and lower back that gets tight after sitting in planes and cars for hours. Ginger is also very healing for digestion, reducing nausea and helping fight the flu and common cold. It pairs with Turmeric creating a synergy of healing for pain and digestive issues.
Green Tea is an important herb to lower cholesterol, reduced risk of stroke, lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, weight loss, inflammation, memory, and preventing Alzheimer’s. Green tea has also been studied in prevention of cavities, stress, chronic fatigue, and arthritis.
Chai is full of antioxidants, digestive, weight loss, detox, blood sugar, stress, heart, inflammation, tumor growth, menstrual cramps, constipation, healthy bones, anti-fungal and antibacterial.
Hibiscus is a great plant year round to seep in your tea as it is full of antioxidants, and wonderful for inflammation, heart health, digestion, immunity, kidney stones, and as a liver detox.
Lavender use lavender for relaxing, headaches, it is anti bacterial and viral. Breath in to open up the lungs for a deeper breath.
Painful Joints and Anti-inflammatory In theory aches and pains are caused from trauma, cold and/ or blood stagnation. Unless the joint is warm to touch, you don’t want to use ice on your joints. You want to move the blood and warm the blood in your joints Adding turmeric, ginger, clove or cinnamon to your tea mix will keep your body feeling good by moving blood. Not only your joints, but an aching back and neck from lifting and sitting long periods on travel. Blood moves throughout the body so treat all your blood quality and not just a location.
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
Yes you can take organic raw apple cider vinegar with you on travel. And here is why you need to. Apple Cider Vinegar is antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral, use it topically or orally. To clean your hair and skin, or soothe from sunburn, apple cider vinegar has an unlimited amount of benefits. Check out some of the many ways to use apple cider vinegar here.
5. Diatomaceous earth food grade
Diatomaceous earth food grade is a source of silica. Silica is an important nutrient for treating high cholesterol levels, for treating constipation, and for improving the health of skin, nails, teeth, bones, and hair.
When you are on a trip, your stomach and digestion can be vulnerable. Diatomaceous Earth is great for most acute abdominal and digestive issues from poor yet fun diets that can occur on travel. Use Food grade diatomaceous earth is your home routine too. Read more about the benefits here.
Here is a link to a good brand and price of diatomaceous earth
6. Sea Salt
Instead of the white processed salt in the shaker, bring some Himalayan Sea Salt. Especially in warmer regions, salt is an important compound for contracting and relaxing muscles and maintaining proper fluid balance. Salt is important for preventing dehydration, for sending nervous system impulses and preventing low blood pressure.
7. Silicone Cup
Cupping is the lifting of the fascia and getting blood flow in an area stagnant. When we have knots in our back and we use this “suction cup”, we will almost always feel pain relief, and it is good for inflammation and relaxation.
8. Goji Berries
Nutritious, antioxidants, anti-aging, ant-cancer, sugar control, boost energy, cholesterol levels and immune system are just the top things adding goji berries into our diet can do for us. They taste a bit like raisins and many Asian cultures add to their daily glass of water like we would a lemon.
9. Essential Oils Essential oils can be personal. Though they have different qualities, test and smell different essential oils to see what feels good for you.
10. Guasha stone When we get muscle tightness and pain, use a guasha stone by going over the muscle and bringing new blood flow and white blood cells and healing to the area.