Grow your own herbs!

Having herbs, fresh and/or dried, can work wonders in your recipes. The easiest way to make sure you have herbs to cook with is to bring dried herbs with you. If you want fresh herbs and you don't think you'll have access to them in local markets, then pack seeds!

In addition to seeds you may want to pack dixy cups or something similar to start the seeds in. Once the herbs have solid roots you can transfer them to bigger pots or into your garden. You can google "grow herbs at home" and get all sorts of advice on how to plant your herb garden. A word of caution - many websites make it look way more complicated than it is!.

I ordered seeds from Burpee, bought gardening soil and cups and then simply followed the directions on the back of each seed's package.

I've just gotten started with my herb garden and I'll let you know how it goes!

Figure out your foundation of food and exercise ASAP

One of the challenges of creating and/or maintaining your health when you are abroad is the tendency to fall into habits and routines that do not prioritize healthy living. I have found that the longer I wait to create healthy habits and routines the less likely I am to create them at all. It has always been hard for me to find the energy to do the things I need to do to be healthy when I first hit the ground. Why? Because I'm busy, tired, don't know the language, there isn't enough time in the day, pastries are the most convenient snacks etc. It takes a serious extra burst of energy to find those extra hours in the day when you first hit the ground to go out and figure out what you need to figure out to start healthy habits and routines ASAP.

For me, the two things that I want to figure out within the first few days are:

1) What food do I have assess to and what can I make and
2) Where/how will I exercise

Figure out Food

Within a few days of arriving I make sure to find the time and energy to go on a grocery store/market exploration. I want to know as soon as possible what my food options are and where I have to go to get it. I want to get over the hurdle of having to seek out where to find food ASAP so that it no longer feels like a daunting task and I understand the resources I have access to. With this I can better plan out how I am going to maintain healthy eating habits.

In Sierra Leone I quickly located the best grocery stores and discovered a fruit and vegetable market down the street. I immediately started to buy cucumbers and avocados from the fruit stand and a salad dressing from the grocery store for daily salads. I learned that the grocery stores were Lebanese owned so I had access to all of the supplies I needed to make hummus. Beans and rice were readily available as was pita bread. I had brought my own oatmeal for breakfast. Pretty basic, but within a few days I had the ingredients for healthy meals that would sustain me until I had more time and energy to get more creative with my cooking.

Here in Santo Domingo I have access to many more ingredients. However, I would not have known this (and therefore has access to it) had I not devoted 3 hours on one of my first afternoons to get myself to the biggest grocery store in order to explore it aisle by aisle. I made mental notes of what was there so that I could start planning my cooking around that. I also brought a list of basic ingredients with me to see if they were there so that I could make another list of things to buy when I am next back in the US. I did one big grocery shop right away to get some of the basics i.e. rice, beans, lentils, olive oil, salt, balsamic, noodles, frozen vegetables etc. things that will allow me to quickly throw together a healthy meal even when I'm exhausted at the end of the day.

Now that I know where the grocery store is, how to get there, and what is has, it no longer feels like a daunting errand to run. I know how to do it and I now feel comfortable doing it. As a result I am more likely to buy healthy food to support healthier cooking from the get go.

Figure out Exercise

Figuring out what you will do for exercise can either be the easiest task or the most challenging. If you are staying in a hotel that has a gym, great! Just make sure you use it! Chances are, however, that you don't have immediate access to a gym and you might be living somewhere where it feels slightly less comfortable/safe to go for a run on your own. Some things that I think about/do:

• I bring my yoga mat. I also make sure that I have guided yoga classes either on DVD, on my computer or on my ipod because I often lack the energy to guide myself through a practice.
• I try to figure out where there is a gym, if there is one. If there is one I next try to figure out how I will fit it into my daily routine and try to implement it right away.
• Is there a local running group? The Hash House Harriers are all over the world and contacting the local group can be a great way to meet people and exercise with them. If you aren't so into the organization, you can go, meet people and then set up smaller running dates on your own.
  
• No gym? Not comfortable running in your neighborhood? Bring guided workout DVDs, download programs onto your computer or ipod. For example, P90X, while expensive, provides you with a series of workout programs that you can do from the comfort of your own home. Iamplify has a wide range of workouts that you can download to have on your ipod including ones designed to be carried out in your hotel room.
  

Whatever you discover my advice is to discover it ASAP and start integrating it into your daily routine. If you're going to go to the gym, figure out if you need to do it in the morning in order to fit it into your day. If you are going to do at home workouts, then start setting aside designated time to do your workout. I find that it is hard, initially, to motivate to do an at home workout so sometimes I designate the time and for the first few days I use that time just for stretching or moderate movement. Doing this I at least get into the routine of using that time for my well being. I then try to add more movement every day until it builds up into a full on workout.

Moral of the story? Create the time and energy during your first days abroad to establish your foundation of healthy food and exercise. It doesn't have to be perfect or elaborate (refer back to my initial meal plan in Sierra Leone), but that's why I call it the foundation. You can build whatever you like as you settle into your life abroad. Having a sturdy foundation from the start will give you a great advantage in maintaining your healthy abroad.

Use a Food Scale - home and abroad

For many of us, portion control is the biggest challenge standing between us and our ideal weight. If you need help managing your portions a food scale can be a great tool to have in your kitchen both at home and while you are traveling. This tip is more for those who are tracking their caloric intake or those who want to better understand the substance in varying amounts of food.

I recommend the EatSmart Precision Pro - Multifunctional Digital Kitchen Scale. Measuring your food, you will better understand things like - ok 50 grams of beans can be 300+ calories so maybe I won't eat an entire bowl of beans as an afternoon snack!

I find that with a better understanding of how many calories are in my food I better control my portions. I also have more respect for the substance of what I am consuming - it helps me navigate the fine line between what my body needs for sustenance and what I just want to eat for the sake of eating.

Emotional Freedom Therapy

Are you away from home and looking for a way to support your emotional health? Travel, for whatever period of time, can bring up a wide range of emotions and can be extremely challenging. You are often busy, tired, and without your usual exercise and dietary routines. It is also common to feel alone and emotions can build up without your usual outlets such as friends, family or a therapist. Yoga and meditation are great ways to relieve emotional distress, but if you are looking for another strategy, try Emotional Freedom Therapy (EFT).

Emotional Freedom Therapy is technique developed by Dr. Mercola that utilizes acupressure points and positive affirmations to support emotional help. Among other things, EFT is supposed to help you: remove negative emotions, reduce food cravings, reduce or eliminate pain, and implement positive goals. Read through Dr. Mercola's web page of information on EFT and watch the video demonstration. You can find additional information on EFT by googling it.

Recognizing that this technique is not for everyone and for many it will take a bit of a leap of faith into unfamiliar territory, I think it's worth a try. I am a firm believer in acupuncture and acupressure, which work with the meridian energy channels to heal and promote well-being. I have also used positive affirmations in various forms in my meditation or simply to calm myself down during anxious spells. The combination of these two methodologies must be helpful, especially when you don't have a meditation leader or acupuncture therapist around to support you!

I'll let you know how this goes for me... and please let me know how it goes for you!

Get creative with hummus!

Let's be serious, who doesn't like hummus? What makes hummus even more fantastic is the fact that the basic ingredients are often accessible if you are in or near a big city . You can spice things up by adding... really whatever you think will taste good!

Dreena Burton has an entire section on hummus in her cookbook "eat, drink & be vegan". I've been making the Olive and Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus, which has been a huge success!

2 cups - cooked chickbeas (garbanzo beans)
3-31/2 tbsp - freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp - tahini
2 tbsp - extra virgin olive oil
1 - medium clove garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp - sea salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
3-5 tbsp - water (to thin dip as desired)
1/4 cup - pitted green olives
1/4 cup - pitted kalamata olives
2 tbsp - sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), drained, patted dry and sliced.

Notes for those living abroad: BE CREATIVE! Chances are you will only be able to find canned garbanzo beans and olives, fine! You can use regular salt instead of sea salt, you can use garlic powder if you don't have garlic (and you brought garlic powder), you can skip the sun-dried tomatoes or make your own, you can use bottled lemon juice, etc.

Clearly, if you are out in a rural community you might not have access to anything close to these ingredients (and you may not have electricity for a food processor/blender!)... but if you are near a city, hunt around in grocery stores and I bet you'll be surprised what you can find. I was lucky when I was in Freetown, Sierra Leone last summer... most grocery stores are owned and thus stocked by Lebanese so I had access to all of these ingredients albeit canned (and sometimes expired..)...

Dietary Supplements

While traveling or living abroad it can be difficult to get all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Regardless of travel, it is wise to talk to a doctor or nutritionist about your diet and what, if any, supplements would support you. In addition to wanting to ensure you get enough of the right vitamins and minerals you also want to be sure you don't get too much. Not being a doctor myself I will refrain from getting too specific and simply to encourage you to find out what your body needs and to bring those supplements with you when you travel.

If you don't have time to check in with a doctor here are three basic supplements I recommend based on my experience.

Juice Plus: If you aren't getting enough fruits and vegetables, Juice Plus supplements are a great way to give your body the vitamins and minerals it needs. When I am on the road and am not sure I will have access to an adequate supply of fruits and veggies, I take Juice Plus. Actually, my entire family takes Juice Plus and we have noticed, particularly with my younger brother, that taking the supplements helps his mood and results in his craving healthier food.

Daily Vitamin: A daily vitamin supplement can rarely do harm. Again, it's good to talk to a doctor about your specific needs, but daily vitamins are composed in such a way to avoid overdosing yourself with vitamins and minerals. One daily vitamin a day can do wonders to keep your immune system strong and your energy high.

B12: If you are a vegetarian and especially if you are a vegan, you should consider taking a B12 supplement. If you are doing vegetarianism/veganism the right way, you should be getting the majority of all of the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. B12, however, is more difficult to get from a plant-based diet. Inadequate consumption of B12 can result in anemia and nervous system damage. You can find more information on B12 here.

Know what you are eating - Cook when you can and bring supplements

1) Eat out less aka prepare your own meals OR make better choices at restaurants.

Many travelers or expatriates get stuck in routines of eating out. It takes time and energy to grocery shop, plan meals, and cook - I am the first to admit it! However, regardless of where you are in the world, eating out adds unnecessary calories to your diet. If you have a kitchen, use it (at least most of the time). It is comforting to know what you are putting into your body and it is also healthier. Cooking your own meal you will feel much more confident about the nutrients you are receiving and, depending on where you are in the world, making your own food can prevent you from getting... food poisoning or milder versions of intestinal dis-ease!! Even here in the U.S. you don't know all of the ingredients that go into your food, you don't know how long those ingredients have been sitting out, and you don't know what kind of nasty oils are being used to make your food taste greasy and delicious! Of course you should go out a few times and sample the local cuisine, but you will most certainly be eating better and gaining less pounds if you choose what goes into your meal.

If you can, research places to stay and try to find somewhere that has a communal kitchen.

If you are a consultant or vacationer staying in a hotel it is understandable if you are eating out for most meals - but make healthy choices. Go for the oatmeal and fruit rather than pastries. Make one of your big meals a salad, ask if they can make fruit smoothies, and say no to the fries!

If you prepared ahead knowing you would not have a kitchen to make your own meals then add and eat the meal-supplements you brought. This brings me to the next piece of advice.

2) Bring supplements!

Bring supplements no matter if you are cooking your meals abroad or eating at restaurants, but especially if you don't have your own kitchen. What do I mean by supplements? Well yes of course I mean your vitamins, but I'll do another post on that... What I really mean here are things that can replace and/or supplement a meal. Meal bars, meal bars, meal bars!! I can't tell you how many times meal bars have saved me while traveling. If I'm too busy to cook a meal and don't want to eat out, I have a protein-rich meal bar. I will do another post on what kinds of meal bars I recommend.

Other forms of supplements include: nuts, dried fruit, almond butter, and flax meal. These are just a few examples. I use nuts as a snack instead of eating whatever the local fried delicacy is (although I totally support going for that at least once!). Dried fruit, almond butter and flax meal are great to add to your oatmeal or hot cereal. You can also sprinkle these things over a salad to make it crunchier, heartier, and more nutrient-rich depending on what comes on the salad. Almond butter is great to add onto your apples and bananas as a snack or for breakfast. As always, get creative and leave space in your suitcase for your mini-pantry!