Eat Well Mademoiselle’s Healthy Traveling Tips

Hello friends! I just got back from a wonderful vacation to Ireland to visit my family. Before I started the long trip from Los Angeles to Europe, I wanted to make sure to take the best care of my body to prevent sickness, digestive discomfort, and other health issues from traveling. Here are my wellness tips and tricks that I followed during my journey that left me feeling healthy from the inside out.

  1. Take a yoga class before your flight. 

Practicing yoga before a long flight has many benefits. It calms the mind and releases stress and anxiety that you may experience from flying. It also stimulates your circulation and digestion systems. Vinyasa yoga classes are great to get the body moving and to stretch your muscles before you are cooped up in an airplane seat for 10 hours.

2.  Take probiotics for a healthy, happy gut!

Keeping your gut healthy will ensure that you won’t have to deal with bloating or discomfort through a long flight. Keeping a probiotic supplement in your carry-on bag will be your lifesaver. Probiotics also protect your immune system which is essential while traveling in a germ-filled airplane.

3.  Stay hydrated.

It may seem obvious, but it is very important to drink lots and lots of water while traveling to prevent dehydration. The humidity levels inside the airplane are usually extremely low which causes the cabin to be more dry than a desert. After passing through security, purchase a large water bottle to keep with you at all times on the plane. Try not to drink soda or alcohol as it may dehydrate you even more.

4.  Bring Ginger Candies for Motion Sickness.

Ginger is a lifesaver when it comes to battling nausea. An easy way to consume ginger on a plane are “Gin gin” candies which are available here on Amazon.

5. Essential oils.

doTERRA has a great essential oil blend called “On Guard”. This oil is a blend of wild orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary which protects the immune system when the body is introduced to environmental threats that may be present in the airplane. Keep a small roll-on bottle with you on the plane to apply to the palm of your hands for germ protection.

6. Eat Lightly. 

If you are on a long flight, your body is barely moving and is not burning many calories. Therefore, overeating can slow you down and may cause bloating. In the air your bodily gases expand by one third and the digestion process slows down in pace. When you are hungry stick to eating healthy choices such as fresh fruits or probiotic-rich yogurt.

7. Get up and walk around.

Don’t forget to get out of your seat periodically and walk around the plane. This is the best way to get your circulation moving and to prevent stiff muscles.

8. Fun self care tip: use collagen eye pads!

Purchase some Honest Hazel Eye Pads and bring them on your flight. An hour before you land, put the eye pads on for about 45 minutes to refresh your tired and puffy eyes. You will feel instantly refreshed and look well-rested (even if you’re not!)

I hope these healthy traveling tips will help make your next trip a smooth one!

Love,

EWM2

 

 

Easy 5 Ingredient Fudge Brownies (vegan & gluten free)

When I am baking desserts, I try to create recipes that are very simple with minimal, healthy ingredients. This fudge brownie recipe is made with only 5 ingredients, one of them being bananas! However, you would never even guess that there are bananas in this recipe. These brownies are chocolatey and rich, so I recommend cutting them into small squares and enjoying them with a scoop of non-dairy vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 3 Ripe Bananas
  • 1 C Almond Butter (no sugar or salt added)
  • 1/2 C Cacao Powder
  • 1 t Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 C Non-dairy Chocolate Chips plus extra for garnish

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
  2. Unpeel the bananas and put them in a large mixing bowl. Mash them with a fork until they are completely mashed.
  3. Add the almond butter to the bananas and mix with an electric beater. Next, add the vanilla extract and cacao powder. Mix until the cacao powder is completely incorporated into the wet ingredients. Finally, add the chocolate chips.
  4. Grease a 7″x7″ square pan with coconut oil. Pour the batter into the pan. Top with a handful of more chocolate chips.
  5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely for 25 minutes. Cut into small squares.

Benefits of this recipe:

-Bananas boost energy, are high in potassium, improves digestive health, and is a good source of brain, skin, and bone health-boosting manganese.

-Almond butter contains many essential nutrients that protects heart health, supports a healthy brain function, maintains skin health, helps control blood sugar levels, and maintains good bone and dental health.

-Cacao can improve stress levels, cholesterol, and heart health.

The information on the benefits of the ingredients was researched from http://www.healthline.com, http://www.foodfacts.mercola.com, and http://www.draxe.com

5 Health-Boosting Teas I’m loving right now

Ever since I stopped drinking coffee about a year ago, I have been completely hooked on tea. Drinking herbal teas can heal many ailments in the body, keep you hydrated, and are filled with immune-strengthening antioxidants. Tea benefits your wellbeing and nourishes the body from within. Here are a few of my current favorite teas that I brew at home and the benefits that it can bring to you.

  1. Matcha Green Tea

Matcha is absolutely my favorite tea at the moment. I love that it wakes me up and makes me feel alert without making me jittery. It actually makes me feel grounded and relaxed. I make matcha part of my morning ritual so it is definitely something I look forward to drinking every morning. Here are some of the benefits of matcha that I love:

  • Boosts energy while keeping you calm
  • Burns fat and boosts metabolism
  • May help prevent cancer (specifically prostate cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer according to many studies)
  • Detoxifies the body of unwanted toxins
  • Lowers type 2 diabetes risk

As I breifly mentioned in my blog post, 8 Wellness Tips to ensure a Healthy & Happy Day I add unsweetened coconut milk, maca powder, and ashwaganda powder into my matcha. These added superfood powders help to reduce anxiety, improve brain function, balance estrogen levels, and enhances mood. This is why my matcha tea is my morning superpower drink. There are so many benefits!

 2. Dandy Blend

Dandy Blend tea is strangely similar to a coffee taste. If anyone is trying to wean themselves off of coffee, I would highly recommend trying Dandy Blend. It is easy to find on amazon. It is an herbal tea blend mix of barley, rye, chicory root, and dandelion root. As an afternoon pick-me-up, I like to enjoy one teaspoon of dandy blend mixed with 8 oz of hot water for my tasty, coffee-like drink. It has a very rich, earthy taste and is great plain or mixed with almond milk. Some of its benefits are:

  • The dandelion root has potential to kill cancer cells, reduces cholesterol, is rich in antioxidants, supports liver health, and fights bacteria in the body.
  • The chicory root supports the digestive system, improves cholesterol, reduces stress, and can prevent diabetes.

3. Green Tea Kombucha

I buy the “Yogi Tea” brand of Green Tea Kombucha. It is one of the best tasting teas I have ever tried! This tea is a combination of green tea, lemongrass, spearmint leaf, and kombucha. It is very soothing on the tummy and I can’t get enough of the taste. I like to enjoy it when I am at work to keep myself feeling healthy and focused. Benefits I love are:

  • Green tea improves memory, prevents cancer, lowers blood pressure, and reduces risk of heart disease.
  • Lemongrass reduces headaches, reduces stomach aches, and boosts energy.
  • Kombucha supports a healthy gut, may improve mental state, and helps maintain a healthy liver

 4. Peppermint-Ginger-Burdock Detox Tea

This is one of my favorite detox teas whenever I feel like my body needs a reset. I buy mine from Tealyra which is available on amazon here. This tea contains burdock, dandelion root, peppermint, red clover, licorice, yellowdock, and ginger. Here are the reasons why I love this tea:

  • The peppermint enhances the taste of this tea but it also cleanses from the inside out.
  • The Burdock and dandelion root flush toxins out of the body. They also improve skin conditions, high in antioxidants, high in fiber, and help to treat diabetes.
  • Ginger helps stimulate the production of the body’s digestive enzymes which helps soothe the stomach. It enhances immunity and keeps cholesterol in check.
 5. Nettle Leaf  Tea

Nettle Leaf Tea is new for me. It comes from the Stinging Nettle Plant, which does seem a little intimidating from the name. I have been reading about its benefits for a while now and was fascinated how people have been using it medicinally since the ancient Egyptian times. So I finally decided to try it…and I really like it! The taste is slightly woody and grassy, but still very drinkable. Here are some benefits and common uses:

  • Home remedy for bladder infections
  • Supports immune system
  • Reduces menstrual cramps
  • Control blood sugar
  • Improves digestion
  • Helps soothe skin conditions (by drinking it or letting the tea cool and applying topically to skin for healing scarring or eczema)

To wrap up, there are so many benefits of herbal teas that you may not realize. I believe that it is much better to use these properties to heal your ailments such as menstrual cramps, headaches, and stomach aches before using medications like Tylenol or Advil. Let your body try to heal the natural way using the sources from the earth. All of these advantages can create so much goodness for your body to help you create your healthiest life.

xoxo,

EWM2

 

My research on the benefits of these herbal teas was found on http://www.draxe.com.