Preparing For A Healthy Trip
I write this blog because I want you to enjoy your travels, and I know it’s really hard to have fun away from home if you’re not feeling well. For several years, I was beset with minor illnesses on the road, and I eventually developed a strategy for preparing for a healthy trip.
Here are some of the preventive measures I adopted that helped break the head-cold-on-every-continent syndrome:
- Avoid people who are ill. This is sometimes hard to do, but it’s important in the week (or more) before you travel. The germs in their good-bye hugs might just blossom into something unpleasant as you are landing at your destination. I find it especially hard to avoid the children who help make my life wonderful, but whether they attend pre-school or high school, there’s a good chance they’ve been exposed to something they might inadvertently share with you.
- Don’t let shopping, packing, and last-minute preparations interfere with your regular healthy routines: continue to stay hydrated, get the right amount of sleep, exercise regularly, have some down time every day, and wash your hands as often as possible. If you delay everything for the last day or two, you’ll leave home exhausted, stressed, and vulnerable to bugs.
- Beef up your immune system. In addition to whatever supplements you already take, I recommend additional vitamin C or doses of Airborne. Emergen-C is another good product, and I sometimes take an Echinacea & Goldenseal combo for a few days before departure.
- You could also support your immune system with a big pot of chicken noodle soup that you enjoy in between running errands and getting ready to go.
This recipe is from San-J International, the company that makes a gluten free Tamari soy sauce. It offers a twist on grandma’s chicken soup and is chock full of immune building mushrooms and seaweed.
EASY ASIAN NOODLE SOUP
INGREDIENTS
6 cups gluten-free chicken broth
5 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons San-J Gluten Free Tamari
8 ounces maifun thin rice noodles
1 sheet nori seaweed, cut into 1 inch strips
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium saucepan, combine chicken broth, mushrooms, green onions, and San-J Gluten Free Tamari. Bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes. Cook maifun thin noodles according to the package instructions and drain. Add noodles to the soup. Sprinkle nori strips over the noodle soup and serve. Makes 4-6 servings.
Bon voyage!
Category: Problem Prevention