With a fun weekend of snowboarding ahead of me, I had to plan my meals in advance.  I checked into a hotel, bought a cutting board, a knife, and picked up some veggies from the local market.

Dried Pears, Apples and Plums

The planning was in the packing.  I packed a boat load of dehydrated fruits, nuts and seeds.  Diana is always giving me her dehydrated treats, as she has an amazing organic garden and two Excalibur dehydrators that are going at all times. This time she loaded me up on dehydrated plums, apples, figs, persimmons, bananas and pears (thanks and praise to her mom’s garden, as well). I like to dehydrate my own fruits, but this weekend I was being gifted.

I tried something new this trip and only ate RAW food. Usually when I go snowboarding, I get caught up on the mountain, with no thought to when, where, or  what I will eat.  I come down, load my gear in the car, and realize that I am starving.  I generally succumb to something easy and not so good for me.  ”Pizza is always the first thing to cross my mind, and after a long day of exercise I rationalize it’s value”.

Benjamin racing #70

I started my morning with some fresh sliced oranges. Fruit is a slow digesting carb  that  I will eat before a workout for increased energy. I carried the dried fruits in my pant pockets and snacked on them all day long.  When you eat a handful of dried fruit, you are consuming more calories than you would if you ate that same amount of fresh fruit. Dried fruits have higher carbohydrate count per serving increasing a sustainable energy for excercise  throughout the day. I made sure to stay hydrated, as dried foods can dehydrate when they reconstitute in the body.  3 gallons of water was packed in my car -athletes need to stay hydrated for optimal performance. Studies have found that a loss of two or more percent of one’s body weight due to sweating is linked to a drop in blood volume. When this occurs, the heart works harder to move blood through the bloodstream. This can cause muscle cramps, dizziness and fatigue.

My secret weapon on this trip was a package of Raw Nori (seaweed) that I brought from home. After a long day on the mountain I got back to my hotel, showered and immediately replenished my system. I  laid out the cutting board, sliced some cucumbers, avocado, red peppers and lettuce, then laid a bit of each vegetable over a sheet of Nori and rolled into vegetable hand rolls.  I cannot tell you how delicious and satisfying these were.  I ate 3 of them, and was content, re-energized and relaxed.  The minerals and salt in the seaweed nourished my muscles and recovered my fatigue. Ocean vegetables are the most natural way for us to re-mineralize and replenish any depleted nutrients and rebalance internally.

Raw Nori, avocado and sweet bell pepper

I am a bit of a detox junkie, and this weekend was about purifying and cleansing.  Even in the coldest climate, a hotel room, and a hard day of exercise, I was able to GO RAW!

The key to eating well and traveling is to transform your mind and plan ahead, preparing for the journey where by you’ll eat what’s closest when hunger strikes.