There’s nothing wrong with having a New Year’s resolution, but it is a little strange how most of us fall off the bandwagon in a month or two. Here are 4 easy tips to help you accomplish (and totally rock) your health goals:
Pick a sustainable goal If you order takeout every night or haven’t been to the gym in 5 months, odds are you aren’t going to start daily Meal Prepping and become an extreme fitness god(dess) overnight. Pick a realistic goal for yourself, otherwise, you’re much more likely to feel overwhelmed and give up. It’s okay to have larger long-term goals, but you’re much more likely to keep at it if you celebrate the baby steps along the way!
There’s nothing wrong with a “Life Hack” Whether it’s a quick-and-dirty workout when you’re pressed for time or tossing a scoop of the new Amazing Grass Glow Protein (which has greens and supports collagen production) in your superfood smoothie – get it, girl! (or guy). We’re all busy people – if something helps you get to those goals faster, go for it! As long as it’s health-promoting, and not illegal, of course 😉
Find an accountability buddy Things are always easier with a friend – health and fitness goals included! Whether it’s your bestie, your mom, or a public Facebook group, you’ll feel way more motivated to get things done when you have to report your progress to someone else. Plus, you and your buddy can help build each other up when the going gets tough!
Determine your motivation A wise friend recently reminded me that most of our actions are driven by either fear or love. Do you want to hit the gym because you feel insecure, or because you find joy in your movement and want to celebrate your strength? Are you determined to eat healthier because you’re scared you won’t “look as great”, or because it helps you to feel your best and take on the day? While both roads may drive you to the same end result, your journey to get there will be far more enjoyable if you treat yourself with kindness. After all, you’re pretty great already!
By implementing even one of the practices below, you will be well on your way to advocating for and supporting a food system that works for the health of both people and planet. Even small changes can really add up over time so never take for granted what even one person can do to change the world for the better.
Eat Locally
Eating locally is one of the best ways that you can support a more sustainable food system as it helps to reduce the carbon impact your food has from transportation and allows you to get to know your local farmers. One of the best ways that you can work to eat more locally is by seeking out local farmers markets or CSAs (community supported agriculture programs) in your area. Showing your support to your local farmers in this way helps to protect your local food system, environment, and makes for a more regionally independent and sustainable local food system.
Support Regenerative and Organic Farming
In addition to eating locally, choosing to support regenerative and organic farming as much as possible is equally important as it helps farmers make the often more expensive transition to sustainable farming, and shows larger farms and corporations that there is an economic incentive to farming in this way. While choosing organic and regeneratively grown food can be more expensive, try to think of it as a priority for the future of your health, the health of your family, and the health of the planet.
Purchase From Sustainable Brands
Brands absolutely have a role to play in supporting a sustainable food system, which is why showing your support for brands that are farming the right way is so important. Amazing Grass is a great example of a sustainable company that began as a small family farm in Kansas committed to growing organic harvests that put the health of people and the environment first. Their reason for farming since the beginning has been to support the earth using slow growing and organic practices, while growing the most nutrient dense food possible for the health of people everywhere.
Eat More In Season
Similarly to eating locally, eating in season is a great way to support your local food system, get more acquainted with what is in season in your area, and reduce the carbon impact of your food. Often before people start eating seasonally they aren’t even aware of when their favorite foods are actually grown and harvested. This can sometimes feel a little overwhelming, which is why the Seasonal Food Guide Calendar is such an amazing resource to utilize when first getting started with seasonal eating. Simply choose your state and the month you are in and it will show you a complete list of everything that is in season in your area.
For those that do live in regions where locally grown food can be limited during certain times of the year (like during the winter or extreme summer heat) it is best to focus on eating in-season as often as possible during the other months, and then prioritize choosing organic and sustainably grown food that may need to come from further away during those low-growing months.
Educate Your Friends And Family
Once you have started to make some changes to supporting a more sustainable food system in your own life it is time to start sharing everything you have learned with your friends and family. Education has so much power and the more people are aware of the ways they can make changes to support a better food system the more impact we will begin to make. So don’t be afraid to share what you have learned with those that you love and use your newfound education for good!
Our food has the power to connect us in so many ways.
It can help us nourish our bodies, bring communities together across cultures and generations, spark memories of special moments, and provide us with an incredibly powerful solution for supporting the health and well-being of our planet.
Our food and the global system it is a part of has the potential to not only support the health of every person on this planet, but also reduce and reverse many of the climate related issues we experience today. For these reasons our food is one of our most valuable tools for influencing both personal and planetary health, but it is up to us to ensure that it reaches its full potential.
Our Current Food System Unfortunately, our current global food system today has prioritized convenience and profit over the health of our food and environment. Today if you walk into any grocery store you will most likely be able to find almost any item of produce or packaged food that your heart desires. It doesn’t matter what season you are in, strawberries and avocados are available all year round, but the question is at what cost?
While there are many benefits to living in a world where almost anything we could want or need is at our disposal and where the access we have to foreign foods allows for us to experience different cuisines that we may not have been able to otherwise, the larger impact on our planet is taking its toll.
Today most of the food grown around the world is done so using mono-culture and conventional farming practices that go against the very principles of farming that protect and value land health and biodiversity. We are seeing the consequences of these practices in the increased need for pesticides and fertilizers, the decline in our pollinator populations, deforestation for even more land cultivation, and the quickly eroding topsoil that in many areas has been so overfarmed it no longer is usable. In fact, it is estimated that if our farming practices globally continued at the rate they currently are, we could be looking at a complete lack of farmable topsoil in as little as 50 years.
But rather than feel overwhelmed by the state of our current food system lets take a look at what it could look like, and the incredibly positive impacts that a sustainable food system could have on our health and the health of our planet.
What A Sustainable Food System Looks Like People have been farming for thousands of years, and it is only in the last 50 years or so that our farming practices moved so rapidly away from the traditional farming practices that generations of farmers grew up on. Before the mono-culture crop and factory farm model was a system of farming that worked in unison with nature. This system was a truly sustainable and regenerative system that viewed the farmer and the farm as a part of a larger ecosystem, one that could work to support the health of the soil, the biodiversity of the landscape, and the conservation of water.
While globally we may have moved away from this system, there are many farmers and advocates that are standing up for a truly regenerative way of farming, who are returning their farms back to ones that support soil health and biodiversity, and who are our best chance for protecting our own food security in the future and reversing the impacts of climate change today.
More than likely, in the last week or so, you’ve said the “S-word” at least once: Stress.
Exposure to stress has become a ubiquitous part of modern-day culture, and as we try to combat its overwhelming effects mentally, our bodies are busy striving to adapt and maintain balance physically. Stress taxes us on every level: it accelerates aging, hijacks productivity, increases disease and injury vulnerability, and diminishes our quality of life. For all these reasons and more, we need a regular stress solution. And that’s why the powerful natural therapy of adaptogenic superfoods is so useful, now more than ever.
Adaptogens, like their name suggests, help us adapt to (and increase resistance against) all kinds of physical and environmental stressors, while restoring normal physiological functions in the process. Adaptogens promote balance, and often offer additional realms of healthy support as well.
One particularly powerful adaptogen is a special herb called holy basil, sometimes also known as tulsi or sacred basil. Holy basil is an adaptogen that’s revered for its versatility of its benefits, making it a favorite tool of natural practitioners.
Holy basil is often used to:
Mitigate stress response and enhance a feeling of “calm”
Promote better sleep
Help remedy depression and anxiety
Support balanced blood sugar
Offer protection for the brain against disease
Support cognitive performance overall, including better memory and clearer thinking
Protect against advanced aging with naturally-occurring powerful antioxidants
In other words: Holy basil promotes whole body wellness, literally from your innermost mind to the surface of your skin.
Because of its calming effects, you may be wondering if holy basil can make you sleepy or reduce your energy, but in fact, holy basil does neither. Consuming the herb just helps you maintain balance, so you feel good during the day, and ready to rest by the time you hit the pillow.
You can incorporate holy basil in your diet in a delicious and easy-to-use manner by enjoying it in the Amazing Protein Glow blend. You’ll likely find this special ingredient promotes an optimal kind of radiance that you can not only see, but actually can really feel.
Superfoods are extraordinary… They are the strong and mighty food tools that can help you create the positive change you desire in your wellness more effectively than anything else you consume. They can help you heal, energize, think better, move stronger, and live at your fullest potential.
Green Superfoods can, quite literally, change your life. I would know, too. After struggling with the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome in my early twenties, I found that incorporating superfoods was a game-changer in my healing process. And ever since a superfood-rich diet gradually helped me evolve from “better” to “good” to “amazing,” I’ve made it my mission to share this transformative information with everyone I can.
Over the past fifteen years working as a superfood chef in the Los Angeles area, I’ve authored five best-selling cookbooks on the subject, including the New York Times bestseller Superfood Smoothies; I’ve worked with leading natural food companies and restaurants as a recipe developer and consultant; and everyday I have the great privilege of working with students from all around the globe through my online superfood cooking school, Luminberry.com. I love teaching people not just how to cook well, but how to cook for wellness, and it’s been a thrill to see the superfood movement gain such impressive momentum over the past several years.
But if you’re left still wondering what all this organic superfood fuss is really about, allow me to shine a little light on the subject. Simply put, superfoods can be defined as the most nutrient-dense, benefit-rich foods on the planet. Really key to this definition is understanding the idea of “nutrient-density:” the ratio of micronutrients to calories. Unlike macronutrients – fat, protein, and carbohydrates (the things which compose calories and are in all foods) – micronutrients are the things you need in very small quantities, but are absolutely essential to your health and wellness.
The category of micronutrients consists of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. Interestingly, while all of these components are often at the forefront of research studies on augmented health and disease prevention, many of these findings are due to the fact that micronutrient deficiencies themselves are so common. Nope, it’s not just you – most of us are walking around with various levels of micronutrient deficiencies due to a poor diet, personal biology, stress factors, environment, and so much more. So how do we remedy this? With superfoods!
As the foods with the highest nutrient-density (the most of those valuable micronutrients per calorie), simply adding superfoods into your day can instantly boost your food choices and supply your body with the micronutrients it so desperately craves.
Even better, we’re not just talking about one or two foods here – the category of superfoods is as large as it is diverse.
Here are a few superfoods to consider:
As far as using these incredible ingredients, it’s surprisingly easy. “Superfood cuisine” is a rewarding practice: one that makes a superfood lifestyle less intimidating, and most certainly more motivating (as I like to say, nothing is as convincing as delicious!). Plus, it’s just plain old fun to explore the endless ways superfoods can be used in cooking – from making hearty casseroles enriched with superfood seeds and greens, all the way to decadent desserts, like the ever-popular Revitalizing Raw Chocolate we offer as one of our superfood cooking courses at Luminberry.
But I want to let you in on a little secret: the “best” way to use superfoods is the everyday way. Superfoods, and the nutrients they contain, aren’t a magic potion that work their remedies in the realm of one healthy meal or totally epic dessert. Superfoods are a long-term wellness strategy, with their nutrient benefits accruing and compounding over consistent use and time. You certainly don’t have to use every item on the list above, and for ease-of-use, organic superfood formulas are extremely helpful as a pre-curated selection. But you should aim to make using your chosen superfoods part of your daily routine.
Whether it’s boosting a smoothie with superfoods, mixing superfoods into your morning breakfast bowl, or adding Amazing Grass® Green Powder into your water bottle, it’s all about creating goals you don’t struggle to meet, that become the healthy habits you don’t even think about. Make a superfood boost your new daily challenge, and discover your own wellness potential. I’m betting it’s pretty amazing.
Whether you have a long commute, like to sleep in, or are just a busy person who likes to get sh*t done, many of us don’t have time to sit down and slowly savor our mornings. That doesn’t mean, however, that we have to ditch the healthy habits! These easy habits will give you a great kick start to your day, all while getting you out the door in no time flat.
1. Wake up to sunlight
There’s nothing quite like waking up to a jarring, obnoxious alarm, right? …wrong! Studies show that waking up to gradually increasing sunlight helps to regulate your body’s biological clock. This is easy during the summer when the days are long, but can get a bit tricky during those dark and dreary winter days. To counteract this, try investing in a light alarm clock, which wakes you up with gradually increasing light as opposed to noise. Don’t worry though – you can still choose a peaceful tune to wake you up in case you miss the first wake up call.
2. Meal Prep
As the saying goes, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But so many of us “skip” it or resort to pre-packaged options when we are pressed for time. Preparing your breakfast ahead of time ensures that you’re not going to go hungry, and that you’re going to be well-nourished with food that loves you back. Overnight Oats and Protein-Packed Muffins are always great options. If you’d like something a little more refreshing, try out some Smoothie “Ice Cubes!” Simply blend your favorite fruits and/or veggies together ahead of time, pour the mixture into an ice cube tray, and freeze. All you have to do in the mornings is add a few cubes to your blender along with some liquid and your favorite Amazing Grass Plant Protein Powder of choice, and you have a well-balanced meal!
3. Make it Special
Even if you’re just rolling out of bed, throwing on some clothes, and brushing your teeth, try to find some joy in your morning routine and make it special for you. Setting aside a few minutes every morning to “center” yourself and prepare for the day ahead starts your day on a high note and can help increase your productivity. Whether it’s playing a favorite song, dancing in the shower, or waking up a few minutes earlier so you can sit down with that cup of tea or coffee, all small acts are still good acts 😉
Founder of The Female Farmer Project, Amazing Grass interviews Audra Mulkern on her views and experiences about the farming industry. We ask openly, she answers candidly – we dig deep. Join us and read what’s next.
For the readers, let’s do a quick one-liner of who you are:
Audra Mulkern – Founder, The Female Farmer Project, Executive Producer, Women’s Work: The Untold Story of America’s Female Farmers.
Where are you based?
My favorite places are in a pasture, barn or the capitol building, but often I’m in an airport or in my office/studio in a rural community outside of Seattle WA.
You’re a storyteller for the untold, but what about your story? What was your first look into farming which has ultimately brought you here?
I’m an alumnus of a large software company where I used to do business development and project manage development of very cool 3D software and audio for the internet. In 1999, I had my first child and began to pay attention to who was growing my food and then began to actively seek locally produced food. One of the things I learned in the software is to pay attention to interesting business models and become an early adopter of them. I became a member of one of the first CSA programs (Community Supported Agriculture) in the region. It was eye-opening to experience the vegetables I had never seen or cooked with before – I felt as if my whole life had been limited to lettuce, broccoli and carrots, now I was eating strange looking things like kohlrabi and sunchokes. As my children got older, I became more actively involved with the local farms and tried helping them tell their story utilizing this exciting new social media platform – Facebook.
The time spent with farmers at the market resulted in a book called Rooted In The Valley. The response to the book was so overwhelming that I realized others wanted to know more about their local farms and farmer as well. Then one summer, while standing in the middle of my local farmers market, I was surprised to notice that behind every single table was a woman farmer. Then I was surprised to be surprised. So I took myself to the library and began a months-long search for women’s role in agriculture, looking for stats, pictures, and came up empty-handed. That was the beginning of The Female Farmer Project – a documentary project to illuminate the modern role of women in agriculture. I am currently in fundraising and pre-production-mode of documentary film that does the same for the history of women in agriculture – starting with the original American female farmers – the first nation women. We begin shooting Women’s Work:The Untold Story of America’s Female Farmers in August.
With The Female Farmer Project, you meet an array of people and travel to all these places. What’s one story that hit home for you?
Its hard to point to one story, so many of them are rich in their diversity. They do share a narrative thread that I try to amplify as often as I can. Many of the women farmers I meet are first generation. So they aren’t inheriting the farm, they’re starting from scratch with land and education. Women farmers have a harder time accessing the capital needed to buy land –even though statistically they’re a better credit risk! One of the great efforts by American Farmland Trust is their Women For The Land Initiative, they are helping women to access farmland, education and mentorship in order to be successful farmers and businesswomen.
But if I had to pick one hero, its definitely Karen Washington. She lives in the South Bronx area of New York – an area that suffers from poverty and is the poorest district in the nation. One of the struggles in the South Bronx is access to fresh produce which contrasts sharply with Manhattan, its only five miles away yet home to some the world’s finest dining. Karen had a vision that the empty, abandoned lots in her community could be filled with gardens and people growing food. Despite the odds, she was successful. So successful that she needed to start a weekly market in order to get the food into people’s hands – her mission was that if you come to market hungry, you will not leave market hungry. She recently retired from her job as a physical therapist and has been farming full-time with 3 other women at Rise and Root Farm. She’s in her late 60’s and she’s just getting started!
Now that’s amazing. What about you though? You have a full plate as well. Take us on inside the life. What happens in your every day?
Like everyone else I have to tackle in email inbox, I also manage my social channels and try to read as many articles and white papers about what’s happening in the agricultural world. Some days I work on my keynotes and presentations, other days I grab my camera, throw on my boots and go visit a farmer. I also have a podcast “The Female Farmer Project” with my co-host Kate, who is a future female farmer – we cover topics from financing the farm to different business models for diversifying income. The entire team, including myself are volunteers to this project. I also have a volunteer board of directors for our non-profit film production company, Demeter Productions.
I’m in progress of researching and writing the documentary film with my research assistant, Greta. Also, my writing partner, Debbie and I have been publishing a series of pieces in The Guardian about water issues, agricultural worker suicide and have one publishing soon about farmland loss. The Female Farmer Project team have been advocating and working with legislators to get legislation and funding for behavioral health services for those who work in agriculture and were able to get a bill passed here in Washington State and have bills actively working through Congress for the 2018 Farm Bill.
In order to do and fund all of the above, I take on commercial photography work and its fun to walk into grocery stores and see my photography covering entire walls, or on food packages on the shelves.
I also have two teenaged kids, two dogs and a very supportive husband of 27 years. If it sounds like a lot, it is. But all self-inflicted! I struggle to find time for me, and I know I am not alone in that regard. But my work is extremely fulfilling on many levels.
More about you – describe yourself in 3 words?
Passionate, Thoughtful, Creative.
And on the topic of the farming industry, how would you describe that in 3 words?
Foundational, Misunderstood, Struggling
From what you’ve seen, heard, and discovered. What’s the 1 thing we/society should be being paying attention to?
Our Un-Instagrammed Food. One of the most important things we do every day is eat, so shouldn’t we learn more about how who grew or raised it, how it got to our plate, and how we can support the people who make it happen? From the farmers, farmworkers, truckers, dishwashers, cooks, the list goes on of invisible people in our food system. As Rooftop Farmer, Annie Novak says – “ignorance is not bliss, it’s disempowerment.” Instead of just taking a picture, we should empower ourselves and learn a bit more about how our food system works.
…And of course, we just gotta know. What makes you feel amazing every day?
Giving an unsolicited compliment to a stranger. Eating well. Hugging my kids. Amplifying the voices of female farmers.
That’d make us feel amazing too. Thanks for your time and insight, Audra. Where can we find you and stay in touch online?
I once read an inspirational quote that went something like this… “Any time you doubt yourself, just remember that kale used to be a salad bar garnish!”
And you know what? I find that truly inspiring.
While I might not be the most popular leafy green on Instagram, I am able to see some of my own growth from just being a “garnish,” something on the sidelines so to speak, to actually making a difference in peoples lives by improving their health, much like kale.
As a health coach, I teach my clients about what I call Body Wisdom (which is also the title of my book) and it is having a deep understanding and connection to your intuition, and the unique needs of your body.
You see, I am not really into following fad diets and wellness rules, I prefer to trust that the best way for me to eat is already programmed into my body and that we all have the ability to be our own health experts.
One thing that has made a difference for me over the years is incorporating some of Amazing Grass’ superfood products in my life. I even used to sell Amazing Grass’ individual superfood packets in the grab and go section of a café I used to own. Basically, me and Amazing Grass…, we go back! Their products are truly something I attest to and stand behind.
But their latest goodie, Protein & Kale, has taken center stage and has been on repeat at my place.
Growing up I was familiar with just about every other popular leafy green but kale, and now it’s as popular as ever and for good reason! It’s a substantial green, making it great for both cooking or consuming raw but what I love the most about it is the nutritional value.
Just one cup of kale contains:
• Nearly 3 grams of protein
• Antioxidants to help combat oxidation
• High in Lutein and zeaxanthin, nutrients that give kale its color and protect eye health
• Omega-3 fatty acids to help with brain and cell health
• 2.5 grams of fiber to feed your gut bacteria, support digestions, stable blood sugar and keep you feeling full
But I totally get that not everyone wants to eat cups of kale every day. That doesn’t mean you don’t want to nourish your body and receive its benefits which is where Amazing Grass’ new Protein & Kale green protein powder comes into play.
It’s an easy to use, versatile protein powder loaded with kale as well as alkalizing greens including wheatgrass, barley grass and alfalfa.
It comes in both chocolate and vanilla flavors that you can add to a smoothie, use in baking recipes or simply add your liquid of choice and give it a good stir or shake.
It’s kinda like eating a salad but the salad tastes like dessert.
Who said eating healthy wasn’t easy and delicious?
When I was an art student, I lived half a block away from a cozy coffee shop, which quickly became my home away from home. I fully counted on coffee to get me through the day, and depending on my level of schoolwork procrastination, often through the night, too. Like most addictions, the more I consumed, the more I needed. The more I needed, the worse I felt, and so the more I consumed. It is my belief that, over time, my excessive caffeine habit is partly to blame for my development of severe adrenal problems and symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. Eventually, I kicked coffee to the curb and simultaneously began my journey of superfood cuisine, with the pursuit of energy still first in mind.
My food revolution was over 15 years ago, and since then, I’ve stocked up on a ton of simple yet important tricks to feeling pretty darn good most of the time. Arguably, the number one lesson I’ve learned is to seek energy via nourishment … and not through a stimulant. So while energy drinks are still a part of my daily routine, they’re not the traditional kind (that bludgeon your system with massive doses of caffeine). Instead, we’re talking nutrient-dense smoothies, fresh-pressed juices, and superfood-rich elixirs. And when I’m seeking a reboot on the go, recently I’ve been enjoying a dynamic new answer: Amazing Grass Effervescent Greens. To make this snooze-defying elixir, all you have to do is pop a little tablet into some water, and watch the fizzy alchemy take place in a matter of mere minutes as your deliciously flavored drink is “made.” Bottoms up and hello energy!
So, how does it work? While the satisfying fizz from the dissolving tablet may suggest that some kind of pure magic is behind this uplifting potion, the real answer lies in the ingredients. Living up to its name, Amazing Grass packs each tablet full of all the most powerful alkalizing greens: wheatgrass, barley grass, alfalfa, spirulina, and chlorella. Greens are a first-choice natural energy food, as they help the body get rid of all the gunk that’s slowing down basic functioning, while at the same time helping build red blood cells, so oxygen and nutrients can circulate more efficiently. Also included is a premium litany of revitalizing, antioxidant-rich organic superfoods, ranging from camu to elderberry, garlic to oregano, elderberry to mangosteen … I mean, there’s even Brussels sprout concentrate in here, people! The result is a food-based energy drink (which tastes like lemon-lime or berry, depending on the flavor you choose), that covers a massive amount of your nutritional needs, including 100% of your daily B12, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C. All this goodness clocking in at 15 calories and 1 gram of naturally occurring sugar … maybe it actually is magic after all.
Sure, I still drink coffee on occasion (maybe once a month) – I do love the flavor. I still consume small amounts of natural caffeine through things like matcha or chocolate, as the stimulation of these superfoods is so very gentle. But overall, nothing compares to the clean energy that’s earned from incorporating great nutrition. Stashing a little tube of these Effervescent Greens in my bag wherever I go is a game-changer for those of us hooked on feeling good … for all the right reasons.
* Guest post thanks to Amazing Grass Ambassador Julie Morris– a Los Angeles-based natural foods chef, on-camera personality, and New York Times best-selling cookbook author.
We chatted with the talented travel photographer, Elisabeth Brentano, on how she remains healthy and energized for those big outdoor adventures. Find her helpful tips to incorporate in your next travel plans.
Hydrate – Before we get into food, let’s start with the first thing we should be putting in our mouths: Water. 64 ounces is the recommended amount for most people, but that only prevents chronic dehydration. And get this — most people aren’t even meeting this daily quota! Depending on your activity level, odds are you need to be adding an extra couple of glasses to that amount. You may be taking more bathroom breaks on the highway, but don’t worry about that — you’re doing your body a huge favor by keeping up with your water intake.
Get a boost – Whether I’m camping in the middle of nowhere or driving through towns where fast food seems to be the only option, I love that I can drop an Amazing Grass organic superfood packet in my water bottle and get the boost of whole greens my body so desperately craves. The packets are tiny, flat, and perfect for travel, and I can easily cram a week’s supply in a waist belt pocket on my backpacking bag. The mixes taste amazing (my personal favorite is the Green Superfood Energy Watermelon), and it’s a lot easier than trying to keep a pressed juice from spoiling in my cooler. On that note…
Grab a cooler – If you’re a serial road-tripper like me, investing in a quality cooler is something you won’t regret. When I re-up my food supply on adventures, I look for blueberries, carrots, hummus, salads, and smoothies. If I’m keeping an eye on the ice, these items can easily stay fresh for 4-5 days. With these things in the back of your car, you have no reason to roll through a fast-food drive-through.
Make a list and plan – Making a list of what I need (and have) is very helpful when it comes to planning meals on trips. For example, four Organic Superfood bars, a large bag of trail mix, and two small bags of jerky amount to a week’s worth of snacks. Not only does the list help minimize the amount of food that gets wasted, but it helps me see when I need to re-stock my cooler and/or look for a place to grab a healthy bite. Before I leave (and inevitably lose cell service), I try to lookup local spots that might have healthy fare, and this has saved me a number of times.
Find a local produce market – This isn’t always an option, but when it is, take full advantage of it! Local produce is fresh, cheap, and usually on the way to being perfectly ripe. If I have the option of buying apples and clementines at a fruit stand or farmer’s market, that prevents me from making unnecessary food stops that might tempt me to consume less healthy snacks.
Snacks are your friend – Speaking of snacks, did you know that consuming small meals is better for your metabolism? A ripe orange gives you a big boost of vitamin C, and if your body is craving protein and something sweet, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Superfood bar does the trick. Or if you’ve done your research, find a place to grab a simple smoothie and add a packet of berry Raw Reserve to the mix for a big boost of probiotics.
Portion Control – I was going to lump this in with snacks, but it really should have its own category. Just because you have a massive plate of food doesn’t mean you need to eat it all. If you’re at a new restaurant, ask how big the portions are before you order, and if you have a fridge or solid cooler setup, always take some home in a doggy bag. You can always order more food — or eat it later. Which leads me to my final point…
Discipline – This one is the hardest, especially if eating out is your only option. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying new things when you travel and let’s be honest: Most of those dishes aren’t salads. Before you whine about how many carbs you’re consuming, back up and try to remember what else might have been on the menu. You know, the grilled chicken and steamed veggies you skipped over when you ordered a burger and french fries. You’re not in trouble for giving in to comfort food, but do try to be aware of healthy options too. And if all else fails, just know that you can recover with an Organic Protein Superfood drink. It may not look as fancy as the photo above when you pour it in your battered Nalgene, but your body doesn’t know the difference. It’ll be our little secret…
