Gluten Free Airport Breakfast

I have so many posts lined up to write about Maui because I want to share all the food, sites and adventures I got to experience, plus leave you with tips about traveling gluten free and things you have to do in Maui (bonus they are free or dirt cheap!). I blogged while I was in Maui, but for the most part I took a blogging vacay to enjoy Maui to the fullest. Since I have so much to share I wanted to start at the beginning. 

I have flown enough times to know airport food stinks. There are few, if any healthy options, mostly because people are generally in a rush. Some airports are getting better- shout out to LAX who in terminal 5 has a mini farmers market packed with delicious and nutritious options! 

My parents and I flew out separately, because there is a small airport by where I go to college, but we met up in LA. I flew out at night after my classes for the day were finished and then we had a really early flight the next morning to Maui. Before traveling I planned out food for both the trip to Maui and back. For a healthy and gluten free breakfast I packed oatmeal to go cups (I also packed plastic silver ware fork, knife and spoon and some napkins because you can get plastic silverware through TSA). I love the straw propeller kind because they are lower in sugar and carbs than other gluten free oatmeals, but they're still high in protein. All you have to do is add hot water to the cup, let it sit for two minutes and BAM you have hot, delicious oatmeal. You can get a cup of hot water free at any coffee place in the airport- you can use cold water, but I prefer hot oatmeal. 

Bananas are the one item you can find in any airport- I've yet to go to an airport where I couldn't find a banana (and I've been to a lot of airports!) I picked up a banana and used my plastic knife to cut it into chunks to put into my oatmeal. I had an extra oatmeal cup packed for the trip back from Maui because we took a redeye flight out of there. Again I picked up a banana and used my plastic silverware. 

Another thing I always pack is snacks, both for the plane and for my time in Maui. For the plane I packed Kind Bars, Jif naturals to-go cups, and rice cakes. For my time in Maui I packed two boxes of Quest Bars- both for after a workout and for when I was out adventuring and got hungry and needed a protein boost.

Typical plane photo, I know. I love flying into cities at night because I love looking at the lights. The lights twinkle and glow and seem so magical. There is something so beautiful about seeing a city from above! L.A. is one of my favorites cities to fly into a night, what is yours? And tell me what you like to pack to avoid airport food and snacks! 

Crockpot Cranberry Pear Chicken with Butternut Squash

Jet lag is definitely real! I never have trouble going west, that has always been an easy adjustment for me, but going east blows. We had a red eye flight out of Maui so we could enjoy the day on the beach, so I tried to get as much sleep as I could flying to LAX. I slept for almost the entire flight and then for much of the next flight because my body was still on Hawaii time, which would have been the middle of the night. 

When I finally got back the apartment after three flights and basically 24 hours of travel I was tired, but couldn't sleep. My body was still on Hawaiian time and the lovely spring ahead kicked my butt hard. I survived and would do it all over again because Hawaii is SO worth it. Between layovers and downtime I organized a list of posts to type up, so now I just need time to write them all up!

BUT today is Monday (sigh) and unfortunately that means back to reality for me- aka snow, cold and no palm trees- but it also means it's Crockpot Monday! I am seriously appreciating my crockpot right now because after coming back from a long trip, doing laundry, going grocery shopping and deal with jet lag cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. 

I went out on a limb with this recipe. Normally I am all about the vegetables in the crockpot, but this time I went with fruit. I threw in butternut squash for good measure, which ended up pairing with the fruit perfectly and did you know it is classified as a fruit? There's your fun fact for the day, now whip out those crockpot and enjoy a delicious, easy and healthy home cooked meal! 

Crockpot Cranberry Pear Chicken with Butternut Squash

• 4 chicken breasts, I used Nature Raised Farms all natural thin sliced chicken breasts
• 3/4 medium sweet onion, diced
• 1 pear, thinly sliced
• 1 1/4 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
• 14 oz. or approx. 2 cups, I found a container of cubed butternut squash at the grocery store
• approx. 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ground pepper, to taste
• garlic salt, to taste
• 1 1/4 cups organic low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

I always use a crockpot liner because I find it makes clean up a zillion times easier, but you do not have to line the crockpot. 

At the bottom of the crockpot spread the butternut squash.

Spread half of the diced onion, half of the sliced pear and half of the cranberries (1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup) on top of the butternut squash. 

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon cinnamon (more or less to taste) and a small amount of ground pepper and garlic salt over the ingredients. 

Spread the chicken breasts on top of the ingredients already in crockpot. 

On top of the chicken layer in the remaining onion, pear slices and cranberries. 

Sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon (more or less to taste) and another pinch of ground pepper and garlic salt over everything. 

Finally pour the chicken or vegetable broth into crockpot.

Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 

Nutrition Information (based on 4 servings):

MACROS: 27C/1F/29P

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 216
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1 g	2 %
Saturated Fat 0 g	0 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 70 mg	23 %
Sodium 148 mg	6 %
Potassium 475 mg	14 %
Total Carbohydrate 27 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 6 g	23 %
Sugars 11 g
Protein 29 g	58 %
Vitamin A	211 %
Vitamin C	51 %
Calcium	9 %
Iron	7 %

Hawaiian Açai Bowl

Açai bowls= deliciousness! I still cannot believe I never had an acai bowl until now. THEY ARE AMAZING! I am pretty sure I could eat an açai bowl every day and not get tired of them. 

There is a little coffee chain in Hawaii called Island Vintage Coffee, and if you're ever in Hawaii you must find one! I don't like coffee, but they have all kinds of food, which is all organic, fresh and made with local ingredients. They have the absolute best açai bowls and their tropical iced tea is out of this world! Their açai bowl is huge and layered with a ton of açai, homemade granola, banana slices, strawberry slices, blueberries and fresh local honey. It is an explosion of all things amazing and delicious in your mouth. I never want to leave simply because I know I will not find an açai bowl that comes close theirs.