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,

 

 

Homemade Creamy Coconut Yogurt

I have been waiting to post this until I got the recipe just perfect. And I think that moment has finally come! Coconut yogurt is SO good for your gut. It is rich in probiotics and contains beneficial bacteria that your body will love. Store-bought coconut yogurt can be delicious, but it always contains cane sugar, thickeners, and other additives. My recipe is very simple but still tastes like the good stuff. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans of Unsweetened Coconut Milk (I recommend Thai Kitchen Brand. Do NOT buy the “lite” version, it will be too thin)
• 3 Probiotic Capsules (I used PB8 Brand)
• 3 T Maple Syrup
• A few drops of Organic Vanilla Extract

**You will also need a glass jar, a wooden spoon, whisk, cheesecloth, and a rubber band

Instructions:

1. Open the cans of coconut milk without shaking the can. Notice that there is a thick layer of coconut milk towards the top of the can. The bottom of the can is a thin watery-like substance. Spoon out the entire thick layer into the glass jar. Now, pour about 1/4-1/3 C of the watery-like substance (from each can) into the jar as well. Discard the cans with the excess liquid. 
   

   
2. Stir the coconut milk well with a whisk to remove clumps. It is important that you whisk it thoroughly, or else you will have problems with the yogurt later.
3. Open the 3 probiotic capsules and pour into the coconut milk jar. Using a wooden spoon, mix the probiotic into the coconut milk. Don’t use a metal spoon to do this as the metal may deactivate the probiotic. Make sure that it is evenly mixed around in the jar.               
4. Next, stir in the maple syrup and a few drops of vanilla extract just for some added flavor. I used 3 T of maple syrup but you can definitely use more if you like it sweeter. You could also use honey instead if you prefer.
5. Cover the top of the jar with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Store the jar in a well lit place for 24-48 hours. I recommend leaving it on a window sill where the sun shines or underneath a kitchen light. The longer your leave the jar out, the more tart the yogurt becomes. I like to leave mine out for about 40 hours.
6. After 24-48 hours, put the jar in the fridge to chill. After a few hours of chilling, it is ready to eat! The consistency should be thick and creamy.
7. The yogurt will taste delicious by itself, but I like to top mine with berry compote and my homemade granola which you can find the recipe here.

 

Tips to making your yogurt perfect:

-Make sure you are using a good quality, dairy-free probiotic.

-The consistency of my yogurt is what is shown in my photo. If you prefer your yogurt to be more runny, make sure to add more of the watery-like substance from the can in step 1. Note: if you add the entire can of liquid, the consistency will be similar to kefir. But, you must add an extra probiotic capsule to make up for the extra liquid.

Benefits of this recipe:

-If you are lactose intolerant like me, this is a great alternative to traditional yogurt.

-Coconut Yogurt with Probiotics boosts immunity, optimizes the health of your personal gut microbiome, and is a potential cancer fighter.

The information on the benefits of the ingredients was researched from http://www.draxe.com