Wheels Up! What's In Your Carry-On?

I’ve officially succumbed to the reality that my new normal is flying on an airplane at least once a month, but usually twice. This means at least 4 different trips to various airports, 4 different security lines, waiting at 4 different gates, and of course, a minimum of 4 flights that average about 5 hours each leg. If your first thought is “yikes,” we’re on the same page. If your second thought is, “that sounds miserable,” I completely agree. If any part of you is thinking, “how much airport food does she eat!?” you’re in the right place.

Whether you fly once in a blue moon, or you have enough miles to send you to the moon (note: donations are accepted in the form of miles or points), it’s important to be wise about the foods you choose to fuel your on-the-go self. I’m also going to be realistic here. I’d love to tell you all to remember to bring your BPA-free water bottles and your crust-cut sandwiches packed in lunch boxes, but if you’re airport-bound straight from the office or you’re like me and already have 100 bags to hold, that’s probably not the most realistic approach to traveling healthfully. So before we dive into some healthy travel tips, please make sure your seat-backs and tray tables are in their upright position and that your seatbelts are securely fastened… or something like that.

Eat before the airport

If you can. Obviously this depends on the time of day your flight is, but if you have an afternoon or evening flight, try not to save your meal for the airport. If you’re ravenous while you’re walking to your gate, you’re obviously going to stop at the newsstand and buy the chips.. and the candy. Probably the chicken caesar wrap too. If you’re even just a 5 on the hunger scale (that means neutral), you’ll think with your brain and not your stomach when making food choices.

Your PB & J

If you do have the time to pack some food before the airport, that’s best case scenario. You’ll have control of what you’re eating and you won’t have to pay triple the price for it. But be realistic about what you can bring with you. AKA, don’t make yourself a turkey sandwich if you may not be eating it for another 4 hours. When I have the time, I usually play it safe with a whole wheat PB&J and banana sandwich, because I don’t feel pressured to eat it as soon as I get on the plane. Let me tell you, airplane bathrooms are not conducive to the post-consumption symptoms of 4-hour-room-temperature turkey...

The bloat is real

And hydration is key! At 35,000 feet up, we need to drink more than we normally do at sea level. I always buy a 1 liter water bottle and place it in my seat pocket to remind myself to drink throughout the flight. If you’re typically more of a seltzer person, this isn’t exactly the best time to be picky about your liquids (sorry). Reduce the risk of bloat by ditching the fizz, or any sugary/salty/alcoholic beverages before or after takeoff. Remember, salty foods and beverages will make you retain water and thus feel bloated. I promise, you can go back to seltzer or have a bloody mary as soon as you land.

Give me some easy airport snacks already!!

Okay, okay! You want me to cut to the chase and tell you what to buy before you board. Will do. Note, these are just some of my go-to packaged airport snacks, and no, not every single terminal is guaranteed to have them. But if you happen to find them, you have the green light. (PS: you may click below for links). 

• Eat enlightened 100 calorie bags of roasted bean crisps
• Seapoint farms dry roasted edamame
• Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt + apple
• Superseedz pumpkin seeds
• Nuts.com nut mix + piece of fruit
• Apple + individual packet justin's nut butter
• Individual bags of Mary’s gone “pretzels”

Are you prepared for an emergency?

...is something you never want to hear on an airplane. But when all else fails and you have to eat the airplane food for one reason or another, there’s still strategy involved. This actually happened to me on my most recent flight from LAX to JFK. I was so excited about a quinoa greek salad bowl that I found from one of the shops at LAX - but the ingredients turned out to be pretty gross. I’m talking wilted lettuce and sour tomatoes type of gross. So not surprisingly, I found myself super hungry 2 hours in and had no other choice but to order from the sky menu. Here is how I navigated, and here is how I recommend you do the same:

1. Assess your level of hunger. Is this your dinner? Do you plan on eating when you land? If this is going to be your complete meal, you want something that's really going to fill you so you don’t end up being that person with 20 stacks of mini airline pretzel packets on their tray table. This means you should opt for something with a decent amount of protein. Ie. the turkey sandwich. If you just need a quick holdover before you land, the veggie and hummus option may be better for you.
2. You don’t have to eat it all. And you shouldn’t if it’s blatantly unhealthy! My turkey sandwich came on one of those giant white bread rolls with some kind of aioli sauce. So I ditched the bread and ate the turkey, cheese, tomatoes, and arugula.... and honestly, it wasn’t bad. (but apologies to my seatmate who watched me tear apart my sandwich).
3. Resist the junk. This can be the hardest part. After all, you’re stuck on an airplane and your only activity options are to watch a movie, read a book, or eat. My sandwich came with a bag of chips and a brownie. I decided after picking out the insides of my turkey sandwich, that I wanted a bite of one or the other. I read both nutrition labels and surprisingly they were comparable in calories and fat. The major difference was that the brownie had 17 grams of sugar (cringe) and the chips had close to none - but the chips were fried and salted, and the brownie of course was not. I went for half of the brownie, and immediately discarded the other half. *Warning* do not leave opened bags of food temptation in your vicinity! Get out of your seat and bring it to the flight attendant to toss. You’re welcome.

My Feelings On Bars

I'm going to give it to you straight: I believe that bars are really a last resort option. You’ve entirely run out of snacks, you’re stuck in a 4 hour meeting, airplane food grosses you out, or eating on the subway makes you feel awkward. See what I’m saying? We live in a world where real, whole, and natural foods are generally ubiquitous. If you have the opportunity to design your meals and snacks, why settle for often processed ingredients, loads of fat, or excess sugar?

.... But I also understand that the aforementioned situations really do happen. If you’ve ever been stuck in a meeting or taken a really long flight or have been caught in some “emergency” situation that prevents you from eating real food, bars can be the most convenient option. So I’m going to help you make the best decision you possibly can for the next time your boss holds you hostage in a meeting.

In my opinion, there is no single most important factor to consider when you read the nutrition label of a bar. You should take everything into account and weigh the pros and cons. Calories, fat, sugar, ingredients, additives, etc., all are important. You also have to determine what’s a deal breaker for you personally. Someone who is trying to gain weight is going to be less concerned with calories than someone who is trying to lose weight.

Personally, I won’t opt for a bar with more than 250 calories. I prefer it has closer to 200, but 250 is where I tap out. That’s because I don’t view a bar as a meal or a meal replacement, but rather as a snack to hold me over for a few hours until I can have my next meal. Most people don’t mentally register bars as meals, so they end up eating real meals shortly after, in addition to the bar. This is an easy way to mindlessly pack in the calories.

I like to see bars have at least 8-10 grams of protein. Protein combined with fiber and fat helps to keep us full, so it’s important that there’s a decent amount of protein. Oh - and I will only eat a bar made with vegan protein. I’m by no means a vegan, but I do try to stay away from protein isolates. Look for protein from sources like peas, hemp, brown rice, nuts, and seeds.... Or any vegetable.

Sugar can be a deal breaker. I really don’t like to see more than 10-12 grams of sugar in my bars. Sometimes bars contain 15, 20, or even 25 grams of sugar. If I wanted to eat that much sugar, I’d eat a candy bar! I don’t really care whether the sugar comes from the most organic agave syrup from the most exotic island or not… sugar is sugar people! Some people are sensitive to sugar alcohols, which are common ingredients in bars. They’re often used instead of or in addition to sugar. While I happen to not be sensitive, if you’re inclined to suffer from gastrointestinal issues, you’re going to want to watch for ingredients like “xylitol,” “mannitol,” and “sorbitol,” as those are sugar alcohols that frequent the nutrition labels of bars.

It’s important to read the ingredients carefully. Is the first ingredient some kind of syrup? Is the second ingredient cane sugar? A little tip: ingredients are listed in the order in which they’re most prevalent in a given food product. If syrup is the first ingredient, it is also the primary ingredient in that bar. While the last ingredients are the least prevalent, I still never want to see artificial food dyes or lakes. If your bar is going to be colored, it should be from natural sources, like beets, turmeric, or other spices.

The macronutrient that I haven’t touched on thus far is fat. That’s because I have yet to find a bar that is low in fat. Often bars contain ingredients like nuts and seeds, which are naturally high in fat, so that adds up. For example, if I'm going to eat a bar loaded with almonds or peanuts, I would be confused if the bar was in fact low in fat. It's important to know what you're signing up for. 

By now you’re probably thinking, “well what bar can I eat when I’m in a bind,” right? One brand of bars that seems to do a good job of keeping all of these components in check in SHANTI BARs. Their Spirulina bar has 220 calories, 9 grams of (vegan) protein, 11 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of fiber (bonus!).

Still, more often than not, I find myself having to sacrifice one of these macronutrients (protein, fats, or carbohydrates) for another. For instance, if the ingredients look clean, it may come with a price of 15 grams of sugar. Or, perhaps it’s low(er) in sugar, but instead contains loads of protein isolates. (note: if anyone knows of a bar that doesn't require nutrient sacfrifices, I'm totally open to trying it!!) Quite frankly, I’d prefer to not have to sacrifice anything! Society tends to make us a feel like snack foods should be packaged and store bought, but that’s simply not the case!

The moral of the story is that you should always opt for real, whole food, like an apple and nut butter, or a small lentil soup, or half of a turkey sandwich on multi-grain bread. Bars should be your plan B, not your daily afternoon snack. And when bars are your plan B, be a label detective!

FINALLY! Protein and energy bars we can get behind

Had enough of the high sugar and artificial protein bars that saturate the aisles of grocery stores? Us too. That's why when we came across Shanti Bars, we were so excited that we immediately contacted the founders to find a way to spread the word to our followers. We chatted with Lauren and Ashanty to hear their story.

Shanti bars are vegan, raw, kosher and organic. They are packed with superfoods such as chia and hemp seeds, acai, spirulina, cacao, goji berries and mulberries.  The founders take their passion and purpose seriously, as they created this bar to provide active, busy people with real, natural, sustainable energy.

Lauren and Ashanty are both chefs and fellow health nuts living in sunny Miami. As an outdoor cycling fanatic, Ashanty grew frustrated with the lack of healthy, natural protein bars on the market and therefore decided to put her culinary skills to work. She created the Shanti bars in her kitchen and used friends at her gym as guinea pigs.

Lauren, a fellow chef and one of the first guinea pigs, quickly became hooked and they partnered up to turn their passion into a business. They had to find a way to take these bars from Ashanty’s kitchen to store shelves for the masses to enjoy. Their hard work has paid off as their partnership with Whole Foods launched just this week! 

The protein bars offer 17 grams of natural protein, which are great for a pre or post-workout snack, while the energy bars provide 7-9 grams. All of the bars are between 220-260 calories, have around 5 grams of fiber, and around 11 grams of sugar. With all natural, raw, and vegan ingredients, the nutrition label is most certainly Tovita approved! Rather than the traditional and familiar chocolate or vanilla bars, Shanti bars have unique flavors like goldenberry, coconut, turmeric, acai, cacao and goji. 

Lauren and Ashanty were kind enough to provide our clients and followers with a 15% off discount code! Order online now using our code TovitaForShanti.

We recommend getting the variety pack to try all the flavors, but our personal favorite is the cacao protein bar… just saying!

Try them all and let us know which is your favorite flavor! 

Thanks, Lauren & Ashanty!

Spotlight On: Turmeric

This golden spice has a long history of medicinal uses and health benefits. Its first appeared in Ayurvedic medical texts which recommended turmeric ointment to relieve effects of food poising. It is also mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine to aid with digestion and liver function, arthritis pain, and regulating menstruation.

Today, turmeric is commonly used to facilitate healing of illnesses and ailments including: heartburn, stomach ulcers, gallstones, inflammation, and cancer. One study found that turmeric worked as well as ibuprofen for reducing osteoarthritis pain. Curcumin is a chemical found in turmeric that may have anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antioxidant properties. 

Other highlights? Turmeric has shown to increase the absorption of DHA in the liver. DHA is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is only found in meat, fish, and algae. Many vegans and vegetarians have low DHA which increases their risk of cognitive-related complications such as anxiety, attention disorders, and depression. Turmeric can help convert ALA - an omega-3 fatty acid found in plant sources such as flaxseeds, walnuts and some vegetable oils - to DHA to decrease the chance of deficiency for vegetarians. 

Rather than turning to supplements, the best way to incorporate turmeric is as a cooking spice. The benefits are based on the use of the whole, intact herb allowing all of its components to work synergistically.

Try or Turmeric Popcorn for an easy way to incorporate this super spice. Homemade popcorn is a great snack because it tends to be low in calories and high in fiber.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp popcorn kernels

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for popping

• 1/2 tsp himalayan sea salt

• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp turmeric

• pinch of cayenne (optional)

 Directions:

1.     Place kernels in saucepan with olive oil on medium heat

2.    Add spices

3.    Place lid on pan and let it pop!

Serves: ~6 cups