HSN Episode #36: How To Eat Gluten-Free While Traveling
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Michelle Fox: Hello my friend. It is time to plan for your travel your girls. Got you. Here are a few dates I'm gonna tell you now, but head over to michelle fox.com/events and you will have. All of the juicy details there, but first date September 8th. I am excited to invite you to my home here in Denver. It'll be a two day retreat, September 8th and ninth.
The second date I want you to make note of is October 18th. We will be in the Dominican Republic with my friend and colleague, Dr. TJ. He is a medical professional, so he has a lot to bring to this circle. And then the third retreat I want you to mark on your calendar is February 28th, and that will be our annual intimate eight women only women's retreat.
February 28th, 2024. So Martha's on your [00:01:00] calendar, no worries. If you're walking or you're otherwise engaged at the moment that you're listening to this, just head to michelle fox.com/events and I would love to have you join us.
Welcome to Healthy Sexy Nutrition with me, Michelle Fox, Culinary nutritionist, health coach, and your host For this podcast, I teach busy professionals how to get more nutrition in their bodies. And how to have more fun in their home kitchens. If you struggle with consistency or sometimes forget to make your needs a priority or you avoid planning your meals.
You, my friend, are in the right place. Join me each week for inspiration to increase your energy, discover new recipes, manage your hormonal woes, and so much more. [00:02:00] You are a busy professional, but that does not mean your nutrition should suffer. You deserve to live in a body and have a life that you love.
So let's dig in.
So today we are talking about how to eat gluten-free while traveling. Raise your hand. Yes, you even if you're out in public, maybe walking the dog right now. Raise your hand if you have frequently. Gone on vacation and you come back with five, maybe even 10 pounds more than what you started with. Yeah.
That bloated, ugh. Feeling like that. Feeling that you want to have a vacation after you come home from the vacation you just had. Perhaps maybe you drink a little bit too much. Perhaps there was too much sugar slipping in. But what I'm gonna. Pinpoint right now is maybe it was the gluten that you ingested, [00:03:00] whether you identify as gluten intolerant or not.
I will tell you that gluten can be highly
inflammatory in our bodies. So for my friends who are just now hearing my voice, just now hearing about gluten, Listen in, lean in a little bit closer from my friends who've already been there, done that. I still want you to listen because I think sometimes we need to hear this information. Seven. 10, a hundred times before it seeps in.
So gluten is a protein that is often found in barley, wheat, or rye. And that protein specifically, that protein that we get in our bodies, or I should say get in our food. Sources now is very different than the gluten that our grandparents were eating. One, because [00:04:00] there's chemicals that are often used in the soil that is used to harvest the wheat products.
But two, the soil has been turned over so many times at this point that our bodies are like, no thanks. I don't recognize that thing that you're calling food. And so just as a base definition, I will say gluten is a protein usually found in wheat that most of our bodies are allergic to. I sincerely believe, and the research shows that there is a spectrum from just a little bit allergic to a whole lot allergic.
I'd definitely be over on the whole lot of allergic side. I've, sadly found that out through a blood test a little over 20 years ago when I was trying to get pregnant, but also now from trial and error. I have not touched the stuff in many, many years and I don't intend to look back. And so that's why I want to bring this somewhat [00:05:00] dark, actually, I won't even call it dark, but this.
Icky subject to the fun subject, which is traveling these days, it is so much easier to travel and keep our health, and let me actually just bring it more personal to keep my health while traveling. Back in the day, I would have to kind of just eat the vegetables if we could find vegetables. Some of the islands, I know it's really expensive to get certain.
Vegetables flown in. but I'd be eating, you know, steamed vegetables, meat, and rice. And that would essentially be my meal for seven days. And now, thank goodness, 20 something years later, almost everywhere I've been from Bali to Mexico to, California. California especially, was nice and easy. oh, and Costa Rica most recently.
I have been able to translate [00:06:00] the word gluten in those certain languages, and we're gonna talk about that in a moment. But a lot of the chefs, if not all of them, were very familiar and they were able to cater to me. And to my preference. And so this talk, it's gonna be one of my quickie episodes, but I just wanna share it is absolutely possible to travel gluten-free and dare I say, enjoy yourself while eating and choosing a gluten-free lifestyle while traveling.
And of course, choosing that gluten-free lifestyle when you're home, especially. So,
Let's start with the destinations. As I just mentioned, a handful of places that I've been to recently. I have not been all around the world yet, and that is a very strong yet. I absolutely love to travel and I sincerely would love to meet [00:07:00] you in person to have you travel with me. We always create magic when we create our travel circles.
So head to michelle fox.com/events for our latest travel circles. So speaking of destinations, when you decide where you are going next, I want you to do a little research and I promise it really doesn't take that long. So first thing I want you to research is, What language they speak in this country that you're traveling to.
And then most importantly, how can you translate into saying, no gluten, please, please no gluten, so that the chef can understand, oh, this person wants our delicious food and wants to taste our delicious traditions without the gluten. So, Do not be shy about asking no gluten, and we even have the Google translator on our phones that you can just type it [00:08:00] in and it'll hook you up.
The next thing I want you to research is where are you staying? V RVOs are amazing sources of health in that you have more options for cooking your own food. And yes, you might say, Michelle, I travel and I go on vacation so I don't have to cook. That's not fun for me. Well, Guess what? You don't have to cook.
There's usually really fun, hopefully tropical fruits, new tropical fruits and veggies that you can try, that you can eat raw and just have there to snack on for the in between times that you are heading to these restaurants. This day and age, most of the restaurants are going to be online, so you can just do a few more steps.
Call ahead to the restaurant, let them know what you're looking for, see if they can accommodate easy breezy.
And [00:09:00] obviously I can't speak for every place in the world. I don't know that every place in the world can't accommodate your gluten-free choices. However, I do truly believe with just a few planning steps ahead, you will be able to be well aware of all of your options, including Getting to that destination.
So on the plane, all the airlines I have traveled thus far have been absolutely accommodating to the gluten-free lifestyle Japan Airlines, they get two thumbs up. They've actually been the most comprehensive. They like overfed me on my way to Bali. I remember there was plenty of gluten-free options on that plane ride, actually both directions, so the airlines should be able to help you. With that said, you have perfect [00:10:00] control.
Over the snacks you bring with you. so I typically pack two to three hard boiled eggs that I'll peel ahead of time, put them in little baggies and so those make excellent, easy snacks, baby carrots. I usually have those as well to eat with my boiled eggs. Chomps meat sticks.
Oh my goodness. They are so delicious. And by the way, if you want a percentage off, head over to michelle fox.com/store And you will get a discount on these delicious meat sticks. Heads up, the taco sticks. Those are my favorite. What else? Oh, resist Protein bars. They're the only protein bars I recommend to my clients because not only are they delicious, but they are gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, and they've got three different flavors.
My favorite is the chocolate, even though I'm not. Generally a chocolate fan, but [00:11:00] these bars are amazing and bonus points. They're also hormonal balancing. You'll get a special discount if you go to michelle fox.com/store and grab them there as well. What else?
Gluten free crackers. Those are amazingly simple to pack so that you can have them in your travel bag, you can have them in your suitcase so that the in between times, wherever you do end up. You have those crackers to grab to snack on gluten-free pretzels. Snyder's makes a delicious one. Glutinos I really like there, gluten-free pretzels.
You can find those at most stores, health stores and or otherwise. The traditional grocery stores, they typically have the brand and or at the Snyder's brand, which is delicious. And then we are talking vacation. So, Your culinary nutritionist here is not gonna be looking over your shoulder. And even if I were you, tell her to mind her own business because [00:12:00] you are on vacation.
all of that to say if you want some cookies, okay? Listen to yourself. Be real with yourself If you know you're gonna need something sweet. There is like a world of gluten-free cookies in almost all of the stores. So buy those before you go. Once you get to your destination, there's a good chance you're gonna find plenty of gluten-free desserts there as well.
So I don't want you thinking that I'm asking you to suffer. Nobody suffers. I don't want anybody suffering specifically, not while you're traveling. Cause this is the time where you hopefully get to have your freedom and get to have a little bit of space from your day-to-day life. And so just be honest with yourself and keep an open mind.
And keep open eyes for gluten free. Options. Last but not least, I would recommend nuts for my friends who are allergic to nuts seeds, so maybe nuts and seeds if you can tolerate all of them. Those are super easy to pack and just really nice [00:13:00] wholesome sources of protein and fiber and healthy fats to keep you satiated and comfortable while traveling.
So I mentioned earlier about researching the country where you are traveling with. That goes with the language, so, Again, use Google Translate. Perhaps you know somebody there local that can help you translate. That would be actually really nice to help, ease some of those transitions. But just do a little bit of research on how to say no gluten please.
And then last but not least, supplementation. I don't talk about this a lot because. This is actually a great place for me to add a disclaimer. I am not a medical professional. I am a culinary nutritionist, and so anything [00:14:00] I say and or suggest are things that I have either learned from myself. I've seen results in my clients and or I've done the research, but if you are going to make any major changes in your life, please I urge you to talk to your medical professional.
So with that said, supplementation can be amazing, specifically digestive enzymes that will help break down any foods that perhaps your own. Intestines are having a hard time breaking down, so it's a great way to keep our digestive tracks moving. Another supplement I do not leave home without when I travel is magnesium.
Not only is magnesium amazing at helping us sleep, but it's great to keep our bowels moving as well. Can you raise your hand again? It's another time to raise your hand. Nobody knows what's in your ear right now. It's my voice asking [00:15:00] you to raise your hand if sometimes you get stuffed up while traveling.
I honestly haven't studied the phenomenon deep enough. I just know enough of my friends say yes, like the first two or three days can't go. Number two, take magnesium my friend, that will solve your problems and help you feel lighter and easier as you travel. I want you as comfortable and as joyful as possible.
Last but not least when it comes to supplementation. This one might surprise you, but I actually look at peppermint tea and ginger tea as supplements. You can either get, I'm saying tea, but you can get them in capsules as well if you don't love drinking the tea or if you don't wanna pack it. But packing tea again, the peppermint.
Ginger and even chamomile can be very soothing to our tummies. It's just easy to pack cuz they lie flat and it can be a nice treat either in the morning or right before you go to bed. [00:16:00] But those three things you can take in pill form as well and that will definitely help to ease and soothe your digestion.
So to recap, I want you researching where you're going to be traveling. I want you to be looking at the language and how you can translate. No gluten for me, please. I want you to consider staying at a V R B O or Airbnb where you have more control over the environment and the things that you're putting into your food.
Number four, I want you. To perhaps consider supplementation. And we talked about snacks you can pack on your way to your destination. We also talked about asking for a gluten-free meal on the plane as you're traveling to your new home, away from home. And then last but not least, we didn't talk about this one yet. [00:17:00] I want you to know that you are absolutely worthy of taking just a few steps ahead of time to make sure that you have exactly what your body needs. You deserve that, my friend. So I hope that helps. I do want to sincerely invite you to join me and my friend Dr. TJ in the Dominican Republic. We'll be there October 18th through the 22nd. Go to my website, Michelle fox.com/event so you can just even check out This magical house that is right on the ocean. We will have massage. We will have workshops on gut health.
I will be teaching a culinary nutrition class or two. We'll, we'll see how the timing goes. We will have a new group of like-minded friends to bond with [00:18:00] and so much more. I would sincerely love to have you in this circle, so let us know if you're interested. Again, michelle fox.com. Forward slash events and you will see us on October 18th.
All right.
That is it for now, my friend. Thank you so much for listening and learning and growing with me. I sincerely hope to see you soon
And either way, I will be here same time, same place next week. Alright, bye for now.
Thanks so much for listening to Healthy Sexy Nutrition. Have you been driving, doing laundry or walking around the neighborhood? Sweet. I've got show notes for [email protected] slash podcast. Click over there when you are ready. I will let you know that on the page you will find resources to support what you just learned on today's show.
[00:19:00] And of course, , you can grab some health supportive freebies as well. If you enjoyed this episode, I would be so honored if you would leave a review on whichever podcast platform you are listening on. It will help me with my mission to build healthier communities one person at a time. Big love from your favorite culinary nutritionist and health coach, and until next week, keep showing up for yourself and know that you and your health matter. [00:20:00]
