Fave new snack because I heart ranch (anything)

order beach bundles by 3/9 as we're headed away too

I took tennis lessons when I was younger. I don’t remember anything about the lessons or the instructor. I don’t even know exactly what age I was. I recall taking a taxi home so you’d think I was

a teen or preteen but that wasn’t necessarily the case in my family. I’m thinking 5^th grade but who knows? I do remember something and that’s the snack I had after EVERY lesson. I had cool ranch Doritos and cranberry “juice”.  I still remember enjoying this combo in the comfort of the taxi and thinking it was the best snack ever.

While my Dorito days are done, to this day I  like ranch flavor. We mentioned in our newsletter today that there’s something trashy about ranch but I don’t care. Whether it’s the memories associated with it or just the flavor, I like it…a lot.

Recently, I was reunited with ranch. Organic Living who makes sprouted, organic, top-notch nuts sent us a sample of Ranch Cashews (combined with Buffalo almonds). I had a Buffalo wing phase too but that happened in high school for obvious reasons (if not obvious see Carolyn’s Friday post). I had the sample, ordered the Ranch nuts for the office and have had them in my nutcase every day since.

If you’re team ranch flavor, you must try these. We have them on their own or paired with our other favorite spring break essentials in the bundle pictured above.

Yum.

Any somewhat nasty items you enjoyed as a child? I’d love to hear.

My must-haves for healthy travel

Monday we sent out our Spring break newsletter. If you placed an order, be patient. Many people did (thank you) and my partner in food crime, Carolyn, is conveniently Spring Breaking in Cartagena.

I’m going away late next week (thank fucking god). This week I’ve been readying clients for their trips (I love hearing where people are going).  So what do I bring?

Green juice/airplane meal- I am obsessive about both starting a trip on track healthfully and avoiding plane food. Chugging a green juice while I wait on the security line and bringing a kale salad or and avocado sandwich on Paleo or gluten free bakery bread are my staples. Who knows what lies ahead, control what you can.

In flight- I’m very ritualistic which is the best euphemism for compulsive. I bring my Wakaya for when the drink cart comes around. Generally I’ll get hot water. If it’s an overnight flight this may be Wakaya/vodka (feel free to judge). 

Vitamins- many people leave these at home and I feel they’re even more important away. Chances are, you probably will not have many probiotic foods (I take cocochia and Sunbiotic almonds for this reason) or may wear sunscreen thus blocking vitamin D potential- use the sunscreen, pack D drops if that was unclear.

Vacation Constipation (VC) maybe it's because my diet is pretty consistent at home or my body’s regulated or I was told once my colon was sluggish (so I have colon insecurity now, I hate anything sluggish) but VC sucks. My family jokes about my digestion away. So I take preemptive action. Natural calm, triphala, probiotics, chia are in my Food First Aid Kit.

For more ideas and newness check out the newsletter. And if you’d like to place an order here’s our store link. 

 **NYC orders can be filled within 24 hours on weekdays.

What do you pack in your Food First Aid Kit? What are your biggest food challenges away? 

The party is over but that's ok

I was recently away as my kids had spring break. Before I complain, you should know that I fully appreciated the warm weather, the leisure time (although I am guilty of scheduling vacation days) and opportunity to explore a new place. On this trip I tried sour sop, star apple, naseberry, Blue Mountain coffee and pretty much jerk everything. The trip was invigorating, special, adventurous, beautiful etc.

When our plane landed at JFK last night I received an email from a friend.

When are you working out this week? I am aiming to go everyday this starting tomorrow at 9:30. I need to get back to my routine, traveling with the family vacation left me totally out of shape

I’ll have you know via Facebook I know for a fact this friend doesn’t appear out of shape and never has but I totally understand that she felt it. She added.

I know it’s against the Slayton rule to start over on Monday but I am.

I joked that it’s so sad. I was away at a place with an organic farm. I was eating greens, active and hardly boozing it up but still felt more than a little off. I told her I was rebooting today as well.

My healthy friend added I brought my nutribullet, my miraculous powders and found kale at a market in the Bahamas it’s not like I was pounding pina coladas but still...

If you’re still with me after the post Jamaica woe is meing let me explain. It doesn’t take a lot, especially when you’re in a good routine, to feel off after a week away. The three main culprits are the salt (when you’re eating most meals out), slightly less exercise (or less intense exercise) and a GI slowdown many experience.

Post vacation plan: 

• Go Plain Jane- hard-boiled eggs, simply grilled chicken or poached salmon are perfect. Befriend the steamer or hit the farmer’s markets for some fresh, raw greens. For condiments apple cider vinegar, walnut or coconut oil and lemon are where it's at.
• P and C or probiotics and chia daily. If your GI system slows down with the rest of you while away, I hear you. I love the cocochia packets as they contain both probiotics and chia. If your probiotic supplement is hiding in the cabinet time to put it near your toothbrush so you remember to take it.
• Sweat- cardio helps with jetlag if you have it and it also helps you loose that fluid. 180-200 minutes per week post vacation.
• Tea and turmeric- Yogi detox tea and Fennel tea are great post vacation tools. And turmeric is good for mood and inflammation…sprinkle away.

The silver lining in coming home feeling a little off is that it makes getting back into your routine (work included) sort of nice. At least I think so.
Do you feel off when you get back from a trip? In what way? What do you do to remedy it? 

I lost weight doing this (and know this sounds like an Infomercial)

This morning we sent out our March Monthly Morsels newsletter.  The subject? All things spring break and by that I mean all food-related things of course. We asked some of our favorite experts what they bring when they travel (love to see what others do), included highlights from the LBT “pre-beach” chapter and we did what we do best- we tested anything and everything we possibly could. Last month it was chocolate but this month there were teas and sprays and roll-ons (more on that Thursday) and lots of dandelion greens and lemon slices. We sipped and sampled all in an effort to select the items we could tell subscribers and clients about to help shed that little extra before their trips. Or so I thought…

I don’t write that much about my weight because it’s a boring story. Although, as a 5 foot 3 inch person a few pounds can make a difference in how I feel my weight, grief aside, is very stable. So when I stood on the scale last week and saw a number four pounds lighter than my usual, without really trying, I smiled. If you want to know what I did it’s a little complicated because I did a lot of different things but here are the new items  I was happily consuming daily for the past couple of weeks.

Sunbiotic probiotic

I take a probiotic from Renew Life. I write about probiotic supplements and probiotic foods in LBT.  They help with GI function, immunity, mood (yup serotonin is produced in the gut) and most interestingly for some people weight. The Renew Life supplement contains a strain Lactobacillus rhamosus that has been correlated to weight loss. I added in Sunbiotics chewable (and yummy) probiotic the past couple of weeks as we were test-driving them.  The Sunbiotics chewable has prebiotics that perhaps were giving my probiotics a boost?  If you aren’t taking a probiotic these are two great options.

Green Dream

I’m a smoothie girl and an ingredient snob so it’s hard to find a protein powder that meets my standards. Welcome Philosophie. I have and love all 3 flavors but I’m partial to the Green Dream. I’ve been adding fresh mint, extra spirulina, a little avocado or coconut oil, greens and almond milk (which I make or I found this Manuka almond milk that’s pretty great).

Bitters

Carolyn, oops sorry One Smart Brownie, has been pushing bitters on me for a while. Bitters for the occasional hangover (it happens), bitters for travel and digestion but then I found these while in Vermont. They remind me of binaca but help with appetite and bloat. They’re not for everyone, our snack queen wasn’t initially a fan but as we sprayed and giggled she now can’t resist. Positive peer pressure at its best.

Tummy Tea

I have tea every night. It’s a ritual I love and typically it is something like a Pukka Nighttime tea with lavender or Traditional Medicinals makes another one I like. We had heard great things about Heather’stea. I love these jumbo tea bags and let them steep a while. The first time I had the fennel tea bag- I was a fan. I “debloated” the next morning, in LBT I have a “makes you pee tea” and this had similar effects.

So those are my new discoveries, they’re in my Food First Aid Kit in my purse. As I said, I can’t pinpoint which change was most effective because I switched many things at one but hey maybe it’s synergy. I’ll take it.

Have you tried any of the foods/items mentioned above? What do you eat to debloat or pre vacation? What's in your Food First Aid Kit when you go away?