Happy Monday!
For me, blogging consistently throughout the month of October accomplishes two goals:
#1 Helping women who HAVEN’T been diagnosed with breast cancer use nutrition, food and fitness to elevate their health – from whatever level of health they’re currently at.
#2 Helping women who HAVE been diagnosed with breast cancer use nutrition, food and fitness to optimize healing. That means during treatment, “assisting” radiation and/or chemo without further compromising health, and after treatment, to regain strength and vitality, and reduce risk of recurrence.
Today, I’m writing a healthy tip for travel.
If you’re working to optimize your nutrition and fitness routine, but get thrown off track when wanderlust kicks in, this tip that may help you stay steady.
First of all, realize that NO ONE eats a perfect diet, 100% of the time – even for someone focused on optimal health. It’s impossible. Boring. Limited. And yes, cancer treatment and travel do happen at the same time – so think about taking care of yourself wherever you are.
We all know that travel is about new EXPERIENCES, and trying regional, local foods is one of them.
When I’m on the road, starting the day with foods that nourish and sustain me sets the tone for making healthier choices (yes, new food experiences and healthy can co-exist) for the remainder of the day. And it FUELS me for whatever comes my way before lunch.
So when packing my luggage, I also pack my breakfast. Wait, don’t freak, stay with me here for a moment.
I know you’re probably thinking, “This woman is crazy. I barely can get my bags packed, let alone think about schlepping food.” But let’s make a deal. Just try it once, and let me know how it goes.
Here’s what I do:
- To a Ziplock baggie, add 1/3 cup quick cooking oats, 1 scoop protein powder, 1.5 Tablespoons ground flax, 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons raisins.
- Make one for each day you travel. Toss them all in a gallon Ziplock bag, along with a piece of fruit (apples and oranges travel best) for each day. In the photo below you also see Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter; I had an extra package and tossed it in – because it’s HEAVEN stirred into oatmeal.
- In the morning, simply dump the contents of your packet into a coffee cup, add hot water from the coffee maker and voila. . .you’ve got a healthy, delicious, nourishing, energizing start to your day.
You probably don’t want to hear this, but I also sometimes pack a sturdy, large mug. . .what can I say? Many hotel rooms only provide styrofoam cups, but I encourage you never to use them – once hot water hits the styrofoam, nasty chemicals are released – and trust me, there are enough cancer-promoting toxins floating around our environment; there’s no need to ingest them intentionally.
So there you have it. My “on-the-road”, keeping it healthy tip. If you try it, PLEASE let me know how it worked out for you. Call me crazy, but I think you’ll thank me.
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Have a happy, healthy day!
