Supermarket Haul

Hello again, fellow Fit Attendants!

I was on vacation in Japan and helping out with some family stuff… but now I’m back! I’m about to head back to work flying the friendly skies, so I stopped by the grocery store to stock up on some goodies for my food bag. I found some cool stuff to share with you all! (PS sorry about the quality of the pics. I used my Iphone and the lighting is poor in my house)

Knudsen Cottage Cheese On the Go!

These perfectly portioned cottage cheese containers are a great snack choice because it provides 10g of protein and only 2.5g of fat! They are small and lightweight so it fits perfectly in any size lunch bag. Make sure to store them next to your ice pack to keep it cold!

(3.99 for a 4-pack)

Low Sodium Deli Sliced Turkey Breast

Any brand of low sodium lunch meat is great for sandwiches, wraps, or just eating alone! Only 0.5g of fat and 11g of protein for 4 slices. Keep in mind that even though they are “low sodium”, they still pack in 420g of sodium (eat in moderation!)

 

 

Pre-Sliced Carrot and Celery Sticks

I love taking pre-sliced veggies with me on trips and keeping them around the house. I am much more likely to reach for them then regular produce when I’m lazy/ need a quick fix and they are great for dipping in nut butter or hummus!

 

 

 

 

Emerald Cinnamon Roast Almond 100 Calorie Packs

Whenever I need to curb a sweet craving, these babies come in handy! Emerald 100 Calorie packs come in cinnamon, coco, and plain flavor, so pick your favorite.

8g of fat, 4g carbs, 3g protein and ONLY 1g of sugar!! Reach for a bag of these almonds instead of a candy bar and it will satisfy your hunger and prevent crazy blood sugar levels (which will prevent you from consuming more unnecessary calories).

 

 

 

Nature Valley Protein Chewy Bars

I love these so much! I always have one in my purse and suitcase for convenient/on the go meal replacement. It tastes like a candy bar, but it’s good for you!

10g protien, 12g fat, 6g sugar, 5g fiber

 

 

 

Hummus packets, Slap Ya Mama, and Reusable plastic-ware

After the grocery store, I stopped by World Market and found all of this! These hummus packets are AWESOME because they require no refrigeration so you can store them anywhere.

The fork/spoon set clicks together and it’s washable. Now I don’t have to be stuck using a coffee stirrer or piece of paper in place of a utensil when I am in the hotel room!

I put this Cajun style seasoning on my eggs and pretty much anything else I eat. So good, it’ll make you “slap yo mama”… just kidding 😉

How To Prep and Pack a Food Bag Like a “Fit Attendant”

I have a two-day trip starting early tomorrow morning. Both work days are about 13 hours each with a short overnight in Newark (ugh). In order to prevent overeating and snacking on unhealthy airport/ plane food, I pack a cooler with me that contains all of my meals for each day. Sounds impossible? Well, keep reading to see an example of how I pack for a two-day trip!

Part One: Cold Food Prep

Chicken, Rice and asparagus, oh my! These three items are not only easy to prep and pack, but makes for a very balanced meal as well. It gives me energy and keeps me full during busy flights (so I don’t turn into a cranky flight attendant!).

Step 1: Take a bag of Trader Joe’s microwaveable brown rice and steam it in the bag. Leave it out for a few minutes to cool so you can pack it.

Step 2: After the rice stops steaming, take some precooked slices of chicken or turkey and

Place both items into a container like so:

Step 3: Place raw or baked asparagus into another container ( you can mix it with the chicken and rice if you wish) and season with anything!! I like Mrs. Dash seasoning,garlic powder and a little bit of Parmesan cheese .

Step 4: Make a turkey, spinach wrap with hummus and mustard. I wrap it in a low -carb tortilla (tastes soo much better than regular whole wheat for some reason). Then, I place it in my little Sistima Lunch Cube with any snacks or veggies. You can find these cubes in many grocery stores and drug stores for less than $10. Or, you can buy one here online: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/leftoversPlastic?productId=10025083

Step 5: Tadaaa!! You’re all finished! I also put some pre-prepped lunch and snacks (from a local My Fit Foods store) to save on time. Then, I place it all in my bag with my ice packs surrounding each item.

*Note on ice packs: I use old- school headache bags because I can refill it with ice as much as I want. That way, I don’t have to worry about a freezable ice pack melting and my food going bad. These bags are especially handy when staying the night in a hotel where there are usually no refrigerators. Just refill the bags in the ice machine on your floor J You can buy the refillable packs online and they can run anywhere from $4-10 depending on the size. I recommend getting the bags that have fabric on the outside to prevent sweating as the ice melts and keeps your lunch bag dry.

Dry Storage Prep

I always keep my non-refrigerated essentials with me in the pockets outside of the cooler compartment. This is a sample of what I have on an average day:

-Foil (for cooking food in airplane ovens)

-peanut butter packets

-instant oatmeal for breakfast( I use the hot water from the hotel room coffee maker )

-Assorted tea packets

– Stevia sweetener packets

-Whole apples, oranges, or bananas

-Instant Quinoa containers from Whole Foods

-Plastic utensils (Don’t leave without them!)

-extra tortillas

-protein bars

-Multi-vitamins

-popcorn

There you have it!! Please post your personal tips and tricks for packing lunches in the comments section below!

Red-Eye Survival Guide

Me, last week, HNL-LAX, 2:50am

I’ve been pulling a lot of all nighters lately and flying back and forth from Hawaii or the east coast from LAX. They are easy flights to work because everyone sleeps and you don’t have to do anything for 4+ hours… but, it comes with a price. Boredom/ lack of sleep really starts to affect my waistline and I can easily polish off an entire bag of M&M’s and chips without thinking twice on red-eyes. Many studies have concluded that lack of sleep can increase your desire to eat and fire up cravings for sugary/ fatty foods (A great article exploring hunger and sleeplessness can be found here: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-while-sleeping?page=3). Thankfully, I’ve found some trips and tricks to help keep cravings and boredom snacking at bay:

1.     Pack your own food (I use my Ebags- Crew Cooler II to pack healthy snacks so I don’t have any reason to eat the chips and candy on the plane. * food packing blog coming soon *). I like to keep carrots and pita chips with hummus or popcorn to satisfy my chip cravings. Sugar free gum and celery with peanut butter helps me keep the sweets away.
2. Make sure to eat a high protein and fiber dinner before or during the flight. I like to heat up some brown rice and grilled chicken breast with veggies in the ovens halfway through the flight. If you don’t have access to an oven, salad with eggs, chicken, and  lowfat dressing purchased at the airport cafes will do just fine.
3. Bring stuff to do! It is sooo important to keep yourself occupied so you don’t have to turn to food for entertainment. I like to rent a book from the library or play games on my iPhone (hello Candy Crush!) to keep my hands and mind busy.
4. I also like to get up and walk up and down the aisle with a bag of trash or cups of water to get a burst of energy and to stretch my legs. When I’m desperate, I like to do wall- sits and squats in the galley. Bonus points if you can get your jumpseat-mate to join in!

Please feel free to add any tips that keep you fit and healthy during your long haul red-eyes below!

Working Out on the Road

After a long day’s work up in the sky, the last thing I want to do is bust my butt in the gym! Luckily, there is a way to get just as good of a workout on the elliptical or treadmill in 20-45 min! Welcome to the world of high intensity interval training (HIIT)! The basic strategy is to as fast and hard as you can for one minute and then a steady pace for two minutes for about 20 minutes. Many researchers and fitness experts agree that HIIT for a mere 15 minutes (3 times a week) is just as, if not MORE effective than a full hour at a moderate pace! I love doing intervals because I hate doing more than I need to. I want to just do my thing at the gym and leave!
Even though I recommend taking advantage of the hotel’s fully equipped gym, sometimes I just don’t feel like leaving my hotel room (especially after a long day at work). Here is an awesome video from Shape magazine that shows you how to do a 10 min HIIT cardio workout (that’s just as effective as 30 min on the treadmill!). No equipment or large space required!:http://www.shape.com/fitness/cardio/5-quick-exercises-fat-blasting-cardio

Personally, I like to download workout videos to my iPad and workout in the privacy of my own room. You can find awesome videos to download on iTunes or stream full workouts on Fitsugar.com for free!! Many of these videos do not require any equipment, so it’s easy to do when you only have a suitcase full of stuff on the road.
I highly recommend any Jillian Michaels video (“Ripped in 30”, $10 on iTunes, is my personal fave). Some of her videos require hand weights, so you can either do it at home, or improvise using one water bottle in each hand.

*** I have recently started packing a low resistance band with me on my trips. It’s very lightweight and easy to pack! I will be posting more information and resistance band information soon!

Welcome Aboard!

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am a flight attendant for a major US airline. Like most people in the travel industry, I find that staying fit and eating clean is much easier said than done.  I first joined the industry about two years ago, and I put on the “new hire 15” right away. Airplane food + long hours + stress – sleep = health disaster! So I began researching ways to stay fit despite my hectic life by reading fitness magazines and blogs constantly. Slowly but surely, I began to incorporate what I learned into my daily life (packing my food, working out on layovers, etc).
My goal for this blog is to share some of what I have learned over the last two years, keep myself motivated and accountable, and hopefully learn some of your tips and tricks too!

Stay tuned for these topics that I will be featuring on my blog:
– How to pack your lunch bag for multi-day trips
– Ways to stay active on your layovers (even if you’re short on time/energy)
– Product and food reviews
– Airport survival guides
– And much, much more!

Safe travels!