Healthy Travel Snacks

November 25, 2014

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for the majority of us, some form of travel is involved. Whether it be by car, bus, train or airplane, travelling isn’t the kindest on our health as it can be hard to find healthy options on the road or in the sky. I wanted to compile a little list (cute graphic included) of some easily portable and healthy travel snacks and foods that can be easily found, to help prevent any nasty episodes involving greasy burgers and snacks with little nutritional content.

Healthy Travel SNacks

1. Fruit

Fruit is a great choice as it can be bought from a variety of different places, and is a great source of carbohydrates and various minerals and vitamins. Some good choices are apples and pears (lots of fiber to fill you up), bananas and dates (for an energy rich fruit for those long journeys) and strawberries and blueberries (low in calories, and high in fiber and antioxidants).

2. Nuts

Nuts are light and last for ages, so make a great travel snack buddy. Some good options are unsalted almonds, cashews, and walnuts. Pair it with some fruit for a snack which will keep you full and satisfied due to the great combination of healthy fats, protein and carbohydrates.

3. Quest Bars

I LOVE quest bars! I do not normally go for protein bars, as most are essentially just a repackaged candy bar, but quest protein bars have a stellar nutritional profile. Cookies and Cream is my favorite flavor and per bar, it is 180 calories, 21g of protein, 17g of fiber (!!!) and only 1g of sugar. Keep a pack with you and I guarantee it will keep you full and satisfied on your travel journeys.

4. Coconut water

You can’t take in liquids (unless they’re under 100ml which is nothing) on airplanes, so stock up on coconut water if you are travelling on land. I absolutely love coconut water, and particularly Harmless Harvest coconut water. Click here to read why coconut water is such a great drink and all about Harmless Harvest.

5. Grain-free, refined sugar-free fudge brownies

Hehe, okay, shameless self recipe promotion. But hey, they would make great travel snacks! Not only can you pack them into a tupperware box, they are low in sugar, low in carbohydrates, high in protein and healthy fats. And they are gluten-free; gluten-free healthy options will probably be difficult to come across. Click here for the recipe (it’s easy to make, don’t worry).

6. Latte

Latte’s; they are on the list because you can get a latte anywhere and it is a great way to stay alert if you are on a long road trip. Again, you can’t really take a latte with you on a plane, although most airports will have a coffee shop where you can enjoy a latte before your flight. If you ask for a non-fat and no whip latte, this is a good way to get some protein in and some calcium. Plus as a graduate student, I am just really addicted to latte’s … stop judging me 😛

These are my 6 picks for healthy travel snacks which you can bring anywhere, with some snack options which should be easy to find no matter where you travel. I hope they prove useful and help make your travels a little easier 🙂

What do you usually bring to snack on when you go for road trips or plane trips?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Friday Fare, Health

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

November 22, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating! Ever since I had my first real experience of Thanksgiving just a few short years ago (Brit’s don’t celebrate it!), it has fast become one of my favorite holidays. I can’t pinpoint exactly why; I love the food involved (PUMPKIN), the focus on being grateful and spending time with people you love. To show you all my appreciation, I thought I’d give you all a fun new recipe to try that is healthy yet tastes like a delicious dessert … Mint chocolate chip smoothie bowl!

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

The inspiration for this recipe came from supermodel Cindy Crawford. She talked about a smoothie she made and so of course I HAD to make it too, but with a few alterations. I used cow’s milk instead of almond milk for more protein and instead of carob chips, I used Dang’s dark chocolate covered (coconut) chips instead. This smoothie features mint, which is something I have never used in a smoothie before. Mint is extremely low in calories and is a vitamin and mineral powerhouse. The mint you tend to find in supermarkets is spearmint, which has a significant amount of vitamin A which has been said to promote healthy skin and support your immune system. Perfect for this dry and cold winter weather! It also provides a good source of iron, which is good for your blood, and manganese, which supports healthy brain function and aids the production of sex hormones hehe.

[Tweet “Superfood mint chocolate chip smoothie inspired by Cindy Crawford”]

Recipe

Alice Williams

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Bowl

A healthy smoothie bowl that is easy to make and tastes just like mint chocolate chip ice-cream!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 1

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1 C frozen spinach
1 C cow's milk I used 2%
1 frozen banana - sliced
1/4 cup fresh mint
1 tbsp Dang dark chocolate covered chips
Optional: 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
Optional toppings: chia seeds fresh mint, sliced banana (any fruit)

Method

Blend the above ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
Serve cold and enjoy!

Notes

Cow's milk can be subbed for milk of choice (almond, coconut, soy, etc).
Dang dark chocolate covered chips can be subbed for carob chips.

Adapted from Neka Pasquale

I found that adding both frozen banana and spinach makes for a deliciously creamy smoothie bowl with a texture close to that of soft serve. So good and healthy! I love having it for a nutrient-rich and protein packed breakfast before a workout or as a sweet dessert before bed. Let me know what you think of it and if you do share your recreation, please tag #HFMCCsmoothiebowl

Will you be indulging over the holiday season? What foods are you most looking forward too?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Blogs I love, Fitness, Health, Sunday Summary

Tea, Healthy Treats & Recovery

November 16, 2014

Despite having a day off of work (but not uni work) due to Veterans Day, this week was busy and jam-packed full of uni, work and social related events.

On Thursday night, the communication studies department at SF State held a talk with Abdur Chowdhury, former Twitter chief scientist and former chief architect at AOL. Needless to say I was extremely excited to attend the talk and hear what he had to say about social media, coming from the father of hashtags himself. It was a really interesting talk with so much cool information. Although it was all interesting stuff, his discussion of the minimization of social networks was particularly interesting. Check out his app ‘Steven’ to understand a little more of where he is going with that idea.

Social events wise, I attended a fun event at Lorna Jane on Saturday, attended the San Francisco international tea festival this morning, and will dine at Le Cheval in Walnut Creek tonight to celebrate my dear friend Alyssa’s birthday.

Lorna Jane SF

Okay so, the event at Lorna Jane featured Lauren Shaber, a Bay Area healthy living blogger, who was there to share her healthy meal planning tips and to give out samples of healthy treats. The healthy treats were so good and I wish I had taken photos so I could show you all; there were chocolate stuffed raspberries, PB&J power balls (my personal fave) and chocolate peanut butter cookies … mmmmm. It was great to actually meet her in person! She was lovely and I am hoping we will get together soon and try out some healthy hotspots in the Bay Area 🙂

San Francisco Tea Festival

On Sunday, a friend and I attended the San Francisco Tea Festival which was held in the Ferry Building in Embarcadero. Ironically we are both half British and thus have a keen appreciation for tea. One of the highlights of this festival was a stand featuring tea flavored chocolates! Now I will let the photos do the talking … be prepared for many, many photos of tea now.

This blog post is soooo long, I do apologize! I’ll end quickly by telling you how I stayed active this week while ensuring my foot recovered. It basically involved a lot of the elliptical machine (most boring method of cardio ever), focusing on the core and upper body (thank you Kayla Itsines week 2 arms and abs and pilates reformer), and yoga. I definitely ate a little bit more indulgently this week but it hasn’t really affected me weight wise. For some reason I decided that this week was mocha coffee week and I made a batch of my refined sugar-free and grain-free fudge brownies which I snacked on all week despite giving about 3/4 of it to my housemates!

[Tweet “Grain-free and refined sugar-free fudge brownies! No joke, click for the recipe”]

What did you get up to this weekend? Share, share, share!

Honestly yours,
Alice

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