FOOD COACH NYC

I am part nomad, part New Yorker. My passport and green-card are equally prized. I believe in vacations, sabbaticals and commuting between two countries. I’ve done the latter twice.

I’ve flown in coach more than I’ve wanted to, smiled sweetly to get upgrades (it’s worked on several occasions) and brazenly inserted a ‘first-class only’ clause into my employment contract when my job required bi-weekly New York/London trips.

I’ve eaten airplane food that no living person should ever devour (and survived); I’ve smuggled wine into countries where the duty is 3000X (and got away with it); I’ve paid excess baggage charges for shoes (and wore every pair); I’ve carried 3-pound dumbbells (and used them); but most importantly, I’ve learnt how to travel smart, mitigate jet-lag and not displace my health goals while traveling.

What follows is my ultimate travel prescription. Admittedly, I don’t always achieve this, principally because I’ve never written it down like this, but with a 33 hour flight ahead of me, I’ll be doing my best to come damn close.

Three Days Pre-Flight

1. Start chugging back a tincture of astragalus to boost the immune system and decrease stress levels. Continue doing this for 3 days post-inbound flight. My favorite – Herbal and Alchemist.

2. Take 5 grams of buffered Vitamin C with bioflavonoids and a controlled release alpha lipoic acid twice daily to boost antioxidant levels. Continue for 3 days post in-bound flight.

3. Add a greens powder such as DFH Paleo Greens or Green Vibrance to your water three times per day to increase phytonutrient levels.

4. Snack on cucumbers with sesame seeds and drink green vegetable juice to increase your hydration levels and decrease airplane water retention.

5. Order a gluten-free meal for the flight.

6. Install Skype on your i-phone to avoid horrendous AT&T charges.

Packing

1. Less than you think. Aim for a carry-on.  Most of the time we wear 25% of what we have packed.

2. In your carry-on: Molten Brown lip balm; toothpaste; toothbrush; eye-mask, jet-lag aroma therapy spray; hydration mask (I love Sk-11); wrap; underwear; and something comfortable to change into.

3. Emergency snacks for the flight. Depending on the length of your flight, this may be nothing or a stash of apples, pears, boiled eggs, protein powder packets and flaxseed crackers.

4. Multi-vitamin packs such as DFH Twice Daily Essentials – so much easier than carrying supplement bottles.

Day of Travel

1. Book a flight that departs at 10am or later. You can then get up at a reasonable hour versus 4am which will throw off your body-clock even more. Book a 9:30pm flight versus a 5-9pm flight as the 5-9pm won’t leave until 9:30pm anyway.

2. Train for an hour before you fly. I aim for a soul-cycle class pre-flight as it’s something I can’t do while traveling unless I’m jetting off to Miami. Very rarely do I skip this step.

3. Pick up a pre-made meal from Wholefoods or a cafe to take to the airport. My stand-bys are Wholefoods kale and salmon pack or Greydog vegetable crudites with hummus.

4. Drink water and coconut water the morning of the flight to enhance hydration.

At the Airport

1. If you’ve eaten before, simply order a sparkling mineral water and send your last emails.

2. If you didn’t eat, fear not, airport food choices are getting progressively better. Find a restaurant and order something with vegetables and protein. An omelette works, as does a shrimp salad or a chicken breast over mixed greens.

3. Skip the trail mix and carbohydrate-laden food (a.k.a Starbucks).  You’re sitting on your butt for several+ hours, not hiking. Same philosophy applies to packing nuts for the plane trip (skip them, unless the flight is 14+ hours)

4. Unless you’re in Virgin Upper-class, most airport lounges have worse food options than the airport themselves. Freshen up in the lounge but avoid this food-danger zone. Who cares if it’s free.

On the plane

To be continued…