CLEAN TRAVEL TIPS
Top Clean Travel Tips
Hello Real Foodies,
Just got back from an epic trip spending quality time with my little brother in Montreal. We also managed to squeeze in a road trip to New York seeing old friends and MAN OH MAN it was so good for the soul on so many levels! It was giggles galore, fun in the sun and just general awesome bonding time! Due to the nature of my family spread across the world (parents in Hong Kong, brother in Montreal, me in London, rest of family scattered around France, Malaysia and Singapore), I associate airports with fun fun fun, as airports usually mean I'm going to see family and friends!
However, travelling (especially on planes) is not always so fun and is very hard on the body, as it literally dehydrates you from the inside out and sucks out all of your energy! So thought I would share with you my super travel tips to keep you looking and feeling great whilst travelling and to beat that jet lag (or skip it entirely), so you can enjoy as much of your holiday as possible!
1. Drink tons of water before, during and after the flight. As you can't take water through security, buy the largest bottle of water you can find after you've cleared security, so that you don't have to rely on flight attendants topping up your sad little plastic cup once every so often. And refill the whole water bottle so you are topped up throughout the flight.
2. Avoid eating plane food entirely and come prepared with a nutrient-dense homemade meal packed in a jam jar! And/or buy a cleaner meal at the airport if you don't have time to prepare your own. In London, we are lucky to have Leon in most airport terminals that offer great healthy options such as their Kale Caesar Salad which I opted for on this trip. Plane food is totally devoid of any nutrition and just tastes awful. Play it safe and bring your own. Better for your taste buds and better for you body.
3. Prepare your body with a high dose of nutrients with a green smoothie or green juice before the flight. I drank mine pictured above on the way to airport so it was all finished before going through security. Great nourishment and hydration for your body pre-flight. And well they are just delicious! So any excuse to have a green smoothie, right?!
4. Bring an eyemask. Unless you always travel in First Class, most airlines do not necessarily provide eye masks anymore in Economy which is a real pain! So bring your own eyemask, as you want to try to sleep as much as possible on the plane to block out the unpleasant light. Some earplugs can be handy too!
5. For long-haul flights, change your watch to your destination's timezone as you enter the plane and start getting your body ready for the new timezone. So if it's night time in your destination, try to go to sleep. If it's daytime, then stay awake for a while but always try to get as much sleep as possible in the plane.
6. Take some melatonin. I always travel with melatonin, as it's a totally safe and natural supplement to regulate sleep cycles and thus combat jet lag. I usually take one before going to sleep as it produces the same hormones that are needed to fall asleep. Once I arrive at my destination, I usually keep taking melatonin for the first few nights whilst my body adjusts to the new time zone. (Hard to find in UK, I know).
7. Bring some lavender essential oil. Apply a few drops of lavender oil into your hands, temples and wrists. Cup your hands over your nose and mouth and inhale and exhale deeply a few times. This will be soothing, calming and help you get to sleep as well as soothe any crying babies around you.
8. Sleep as much as possible. Yes try to get as much sleep as much as possible. Watching loads of movies throughout the flight just tires your eyes and body out. If I'm really not tired and can't get to sleep right away, then I watch one movie whilst eating my homemade meal and then try to get as much sleep as possible for the rest of the flight.
9. Bring a good natural moisturiser with you to keep your skin hydrated. I tend to use coconut oil or Green People Organics Vitamin Fix 24 Hour Cream. The plane really dries you out like a dehydrator but not in a good way, so keep your skin moisturised.
10. Drink more water! You really can't drink enough water during a flight, so just keep topping up that water bottle. And my little Asian tip, ask for some hot water, it will hydrate you even quicker and more effectively.
Hope this is helpful to you! And if you have any other travel tips for staying clean, please do share them with me on the blog.
Bon voyage,
Marie