Tag Archives: Food

Tips for Healthy Airline Travel

Posted on by
Reply

A study that’s gotten a lot of attention in the news recently draws a relationship between people who do a lot of traveling for business and their (poor) health. The study surveyed over 10,000 American business travelers and concluded that those who took out-of-town trips seven days or more per month were most likely to be overweight.

Of course, this is a rather obvious conclusion – it’s quite difficult to eat right and get the proper exercise while frequently taking business trips. But… it’s not impossible by any means. Take a look at these tips to help you stay trim and fit while traveling.

Food Options

The easiest option for the frequent flier when it comes to eating is to grab a fast food meal. Franchise chains are abundant around the airport and easy to access before you reach an offsite airport parking lot prior to takeoff. There’s also lots of them inside the airport terminals, and surrounding your hotel. But choosing fast food is also the easiest way to pack on extra pounds.

The best offense, as they say, is a good defense. Plan your meals in advance so you’re not stuck with only minutes to spare and a growling stomach. When you’re packing your laptop, include some healthy snacks in one of the pockets. Things like almonds, pumpkin seeds, whole grain crackers, string cheese, and apple slices with peanut butter are all good choices and they fill you up better than potato chips or cookies.

Once you reach your destination, don’t be afraid to order room service – but do take a good, long look at the menu and opt for a dish that is low in fact. Don’t believe everything you read, however; a “diet plate” of cottage cheese and a hamburger patty often has more fat and sodium than other menu choices. The more fruits and vegetables on your plate, the healthier your meal is likely to be. When it comes to beverages, avoid alcohol and caffeine and opt for water.

Exercise Options

Most hotels these days feature a gym and most are quite well-equipped. However, unless working out is a regular part of your routine at home, it’s unlikely you’ll turn over a new leaf while you’re on the road. Make exercise a daily habit at home so it feels “wrong” if you skip a workout while traveling.

Can’t make the time to hit the gym? Little spurts of exercise can add up to be a big benefit. Walk as much as you can; use your feet instead of a car to visit shops and restaurants near your hotel. When you get to the office building you are visiting, park as far away from the entrance as possible.

While you’re reviewing a report in your hotel room, do leg lifts and windmill your arms. Use the stairs instead of the elevator to reach your room.

This is a preview of Tips for Healthy Airline Travel. Read the full post (567 words, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

Picnic Coolers Keep Your Food Cold And Safe

Posted on by
Reply

There is no doubt that going on a picnic can be a fun and enjoyable way to spend one’s lazy Saturday or Sunday. While picnicking is all fun and games, there’s a serious aspect to keeping your food cold and edible. Picnic coolers can make all the different when you’re taking a picnic on a hot summer day.

After you have spent an afternoon under the hot sun, you’re probably ready to take a shower. Keeping your picnic cooler clean is nearly as important as keeping yourself clean. After all, you’ll be putting your food into it again and you don’t want to store your food in something that isn’t clean.

There are benefits to keeping picnic coolers clean. First of all, if your cooler is clean, mold and mildew can’t grow inside of it. Getting rid of mildew is nearly impossible, so why risk allowing it to grow in the first place? Secondly, your food stays clean. You would never eat off of a dirty plate, right? So, why would you store your food inside of a space that is dirty? Lastly, if your cooler is clean, it will smell good. Mildew can cause a space to smell horribly and you’ll most likely have to just throw the cooler away.

So, how are picnickers keeping their picnic coolers clean? The most effective way to keep it clean is to ensure that it’s dry all over. Think about where most picnic coolers are probably stored? Whether it’s in the attic, the basement, or the garage, that cooler is going to get hot. The only things that bacteria really need in order to grow are moisture and warmth, so if you can eliminate the moisture factor, you’ll just be left with a hot cooler. After you have dried your cooler, wipe it down one more time with a dry cloth and then set it out in the sun. No matter how dry you think your cooler is, it might still have leftover moisture in its tiny cracks and scratches.

Even after you dry your cooler in the sun, you still need to ensure that it is completely clean. You can do that one of two ways. First, you can clean your cooler with alcoholic wipes. They’re inexpensive and the alcohol in them will purge your cooler of harmful bacteria. You can also clean the cooler by giving it a bleach bath.

Permanent link to this post (402 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Bringing Food Into The US For Your Pet? Be Careful!

Posted on by
Reply

A few weeks ago, I received an interesting question from a reader of my blog about traveling with pets to Mexico and the United States. She asked:

Does your website address the restrictions on bringing dog food into the USA from Mexico? We have six dogs and are full-time residents of Ajijic. We travel to Oregon every year at this time (for 17 years) with several dogs and have never had a hassle with dog food until last year. Last year I was told by a friend that had just crossed with a dog that the dog food had to be in the original container or be confiscated. So we tried to cross the border with an open bag of Costco dog kibble. They said the container must be unopened. That creates logistic difficulties that I would rather not try to figure out unless necessary. I was hoping perhaps the guy we got was in a bad mood or something. Anyhow, if you know anything about this, I would love to know what you know.

I didn’t know the answer. Worse, I’m embarrassed to admit that it never even occurred to me to worry about bringing dog food from Mexico into the United States. I know that fruit and vegetables are prohibited, and I know that there’s a limit on the tequila that I can bring in duty-free, but what about food for my precious four-legged family members?

Before we take another trip over the border, I thought I’d better do a little research. Apparently, bringing dog food over the border into the United States IS prohibited. The Department of Homeland Security, Customers and Border Protection website contains the following warning:

Meats, Livestock and Poultry

The regulations governing meat and meat products are stringent. You may not import fresh, dried or canned meats or meat products from most foreign countries into the United States. Also, you may not import food products that have been prepared with meat. – Source: U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol Division

Based on that information, any pet food that is made from meat or meat products is not allowed to be brought into the United States. Even if the container is unopened and the food is in its original container, it can be confiscated at the border.

So what is a responsible pet owner supposed to do? Do we bring enough pet food for the road trip, and dispose of any leftovers before we hit border control? Do we hide the pet food and pray we don’t get caught? Do we simply pick up whatever kind of pet food we can find along the way and supplement our dog’s diet with a few fast-food hamburgers?

None of these sound like perfect solutions to us. But we do want to follow the law. In an effort to avoid an upset tummy for our dog, we will bring a small amount of his regular pet food along for the trip to the border. We’ll keep it in the original bag and use it while we are on the road.

This is a preview of Bringing Food Into The US For Your Pet? Be Careful!. Read the full post (586 words, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)