I love Italy. I mean, who doesn’t? Gorgeous men, endless plates of homemade pasta, warm sun, charming seaside towns, amazing style, sexy language, but traveling can be hard on the body… and our healthy go-to’s might not be as easy to find (especially in the land of pasta, pizza & risotto). So how do you stay healthy while traveling?
It’s the same strategy for eating healthy at home – it takes a little thought and planning (and sometimes, yes, bringing your own snacks:).
I Never Travel WITHOUT My Grounding Mat or Wristband
You’ve probably read my most important blog post ever – the one about the power of grounding. Nothing affects my health more than making sure I connect with the earth so I don’t travel or spend a night without my mat - EVER.
Why?
Because after being in an airport and airplane (and then a hotel or AirBnB), with WiFi swirling around all the time, I need to find SOME WAY to run off the excess positive charge — sleeping on a grounding mat or using my grounding wristband, immediately delivers the negative ions from the surface of the earth.
These negative ions soak up all the positive electrons emitted from cell phones, WiFi, TVs, lamps, fitness trackers and more. In the 21st century, the body can’t keep up so inflammation and pain thrive because we are so deficient in negative ions!
It also syncs me with the current time zone. I’m still surprised after being in an airplane for 15+ hours when I flew back from Dubai last year, that all I needed was just ONE NIGHT on my grounding mat and I’m synced to the current time zone.
NO JET LAG. No waking up at 3am or getting tired 4pm.
I always sleep grounded – whether traveling or at home. I never travel without my mat or wristband!
It is also essential for my health (and why the book is titled, “Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever!”). It’s so wonderful to read testimonials from people with RA, anxiety, PMS, back pain, insomnia, eczema and more that disappear from just using a grounding mat! You can read that full blog post HERE.
Psssst - A grounding mat or wristband needs to be plugged in. In America, it “plugs in” to the grounded part of the outlet, which is the rounded hole.
Most US adapters don’t have the grounded outlet plug available, so I purchased this brand (especially when I went to India last year), but in Italy, I didn’t need an adapter. The middle hole was the grounded plug, which is all I needed to use my grounding wristband.
I Don’t Eat Airplane Food
This doesn’t mean I don’t eat – I just don’t eat the food they serve on airplanes (I also only drink bottled water and never coffee or tea on an airplane either - the water they use for coffee and tea is very questionable!).
1) I don’t even think it’s food – just a chemical shit storm (especially anything that has canola oil in it – yuck! And labeled with canola oil’s original name, rapeseed oil - double yuck!).
2) It’s been heated in aluminum foil (hello heavy metals!), and heated with a microwave-type device. Um, call me crazy, but I don’t want to eat radiation. I already opt out of the full body scanners and ask for a pat down instead!
3) Lastly, my body doesn’t really need food while I’m just SITTING in a seat for 8+ hours. Seriously.
I don’t want to fill my body with garbage food choices – especially at the start of my trip, but in case I get hungry, here are the snacks I always bring.
These snack bars are my go-to for at home or when I’m traveling because they are satisfying, 100% organic, vegan, gluten free and sprouted.
Sprouted means the phytic acid or enzyme inhibitors have been removed (because the seeds have been soaked). This makes these snack bars the only bars with soaked nuts, seeds or grains. (Other snack bars might have organic nuts, but none of them are soaked.)
Go Raw is the only brand that takes the extra time to only use soaked and 100% organic ingredients - from snack bars to snack packs, they get it! (Consuming unsoaked nuts, seeds or grains - without taking digestive enzymes, means the body has to pull nutrients out of our teeth and bones in order to try to get through the phytic acid or enzyme inhibitors <— the way a plant protects itself since it doesn’t have legs or stingers. This is why the woman I learned soaking from stopped getting cavities after consuming soaked quinoa, rice, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and grains.)
Avoiding Coffee & Alcohol - BOTH are Very Dehydrating
I know this puts me in a very slim minority, but I don’t drink coffee – or alcohol.
I never fell in love with coffee, or really, I never fell in love with the need to have coffee to feel awake. Instead, I start my day with these 3 stretches and the Qigong stretches mentioned in this book.
It’s amazing what this does to wake up the natural energy channels in the body — without a stimulant like addictive caffeine!
However, there is a healthy (yes, healthy :), alternative to coffee – Dandy Blend!
My naturopath first suggested this to my mom when the acidity in her body was so extreme (because she was starting out her morning with 3 shots of espresso – which actually has less caffeine than coffee because espresso doesn’t “stay on the beans” as long), but Dandy Blend tastes just like coffee, without the acidity because it’s herbal. Yay!
Zero caffeine.
Zero bitterness.
No acidity.
And best of all, Dandy Blend has travel packets that can be added to water!
Even if you do half dandy blend and half coffee, this is a much better alternative than acidic coffee – and starting off our day (and beautiful body), with so much acidity.
Healthy Options In Italy
While healthy spots and juices bars can be found in any major city (and veganism is more popular in Europe and Australia than in the US), Italy is known for liking its veggies.
At every restaurant I was able to get a huge plate of cooked spinach and/or some roasted veggies (usually zucchini, eggplant and asparagus). In the cooler weather, a beautiful bowl of minestrone is always available.
Of course pasta with a simple red sauce (Pasta Norma at the very chic, Dolce & Gabbana Martini Bar), is always an option.
Yes! They do have hummus in Italy and I was very pleasantly surprised how accomodating the Dolce & Gabbana Martini Bar was to vegans! They had several vegan options and understood that “vegano/a” means no cheese, dairy or eggs :) Yay!
Vegan and Health Forward Spots in Milan
V3Raw
I loved this place because they had salads as big as my head and amazing fresh-pressed juices! They also had warm grain bowls, gluten free options (for savory and dessert items), chia seed puddings and more.
Soul Green
Soul Green has a ton of raw, vegan and super colorful dishes! They also have lovely outdoor seating and are open all day (rare in Italy when most places close after lunch).
Beet hummus with raw veggies and red pepper noodles at Soul Green in Milan, Italy.
Flower Burger
100% vegan! Yes, I know, hard to believe, but this place was packed with Italians and one burger is more colorful than the next! Just like the color of flowers, they come in pink, blue, black, red — each one is a different flavor, a different patty and a different sauce - yum!
The Cherry Bomb which is a pink bun, soybean sprouts, lettuce, flower cheddar, lentil patty, tomato confit and rocktail sauce!
You’ll be happy to know that Flower Burger has locations in Bari, Bergamo, Bologna, Florence, Marseille, Milan, Palermo, Rimini, Rome, Rotterdam, Turin and Verona. They do close after lunch and open for dinner at about 7:30pm. There is a discount on Monday to celebrate “Meatless Mondays” (even though the whole restaurant is vegan:) and prices are a bit cheaper at lunch.
All of the burgers are vegan and Flower Burger also offers vegan desserts such as chocolate salami and an ice cream sandwich. Gluten free options are available for the burgers and buns as well.
Avocado Brothers
I did not get a chance to try this place, but like the name says, they have lots of dishes with avocados and also serve the Beyond Meat patty! It is not a 100% vegan restaurant, but it does give you some colorful and veggie-forward options while traveling in the land of pasta, pizza & risotto :)
I looked things up on the Happy Cow app and also used Trip Advisor for reviews, but be careful with the timing. The Italians do close after lunch so many places are only open till 2pm and don’t open again till 7 or 8pm. Plan accordingly.
Whether traveling or not, I hope this post has inspired some healthy changes - from Dandy blend in the morning to opting for soaked snack bars, the little changes add up! Cheers to your health!
If you want more healthy travel tips, then be sure to check out my post, "Non-Toxic Travel Essentials (for India or wherever you go in the world:)” as I talk about rubbing lavender essential oil on my nostrils every 2 hours on the plane since the air on airplanes in not filtered. It has links to my VibesUp water bottle that negates the EMFs, to non-toxic hand wipes and more!
Always consult your doctor before beginning any sort of treatment, supplement, food or therapy. Lifting the Veil podcasts and blog posts are not meant to be taken as medical advice. The links, texts, images and products are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.