I just returned home from a lovely girly weekend of visiting my best friend in Dubai, which is a 50minute flight for us from Bahrain.

Manus had daddy time at home, whilst I was able to have probably my only little trip away in a long time, and also before our  second baby’s birth in December.

Even though it was a mini trip, here’s some tips I use to stay on track health wise when I go away on long and short trips:

• Consider packing a blender/juicer or both. On our recent detox vacation to Thailand I didn’t pack either because I knew it wasn’t necessary and juices and smoothies would be very available at the resort, but on this trip I knew my friend didn’t have either of these appliances. I checked ahead with her to see if she would mind and of course she was more than happy to be introduced to my favourite green juice and smoothie breakfast morning routine. What’s even better, is she has a small grocery store at the bottom of her building so ingredients weren’t far away. I didn’t take my heavy champion juicer but the slightly less heavier but less expensive (incase it was unfortunately damaged) centrifugal juicer did the trick for two days worth of juicing.

• Plan ahead. As Hayley and I both were looking forward to some chill time at home (it is Ramadan – which means we can’t go out to eat during daylight hours and some businesses had modified hours, plus we had plans for spa time and DVD couch time)

we planned our meals ahead of time. We made a big batch of pre made salad (enough for multiple servings) and I introduced Hayles to my spa salad dressing.

• Treat yourself. As it’s not everyday I get to hang with my bud, and stay in Dubai, I knew we were going to eat out or take in for our dinners, so as long as the rest of my meals were smart choices, I’m happy. I can go back to high raw/100% when I get home. First night’s dinner was home delivered pizza  (veggie on whole wheat crust) and salad, second night was dinner at Nobu, at Atlantis on the Palm

• Get moving. The original plan was to   Get some classes in at the gym, but we ended up just doing our own thing at the apartment gym instead which was just as fun. You can also pack your walking shoes and do plenty of sightseeing on foot or do some serious steps walking a mall

• Getting there. Don’t rely on airline food! Although as it was such a short flight for me this time I only took a couple of apples and a banana, but really I should have more packed in case of unplanned delays. Staples in my carry-on usually would be homemade energy bars like Banana & Spirulina Crackers, Macaroons & Raw Cookies. I also like to make my own trail mixes of soaked gojis, raw nuts, cacao nibs, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, raisins and other dried fruit. If you run out of time, prunes and packaged dried fruit are a great ‘grab on the run’ to take along with you (and they help keep you regular). Apples, and capsicums (peppers), carrots and cucumbers travel really well, so why not pack a little travel pack of almond butter, hummus or guacamole to snack on through the flight. These can be easily picked up prepackaged. Herbal Teas, stevia and/or honey are my inflight drinks as well as using my Bobble to keep hydrated. 
• Pregnant? If you are pregnant or suspect you might be, especially in early stages or first trimester, reconsider flying. According to Gabriel Cousens, “a pregnant woman flying in an airplane in her first trimester exposes her baby to enough radiation to increase its risk of leukemia sixteen times.” 
  Also DO NOT go through the X-Ray machine ESPECIALLY if you are pregnant. Usually they will just pat you down instead, however, leaving Bahrain the security guy said it was ok for me to walk through it and i had to insist that i didn’t want to. You can also opt out of the X-Ray machine even if you are not pregnant, just be aware of the pat down which honestly, I don’t actually mind  

  You can find more hints and tips in more detail in my digital ebook, Travelling in the Raw, available here

  Hope this helps!