Say Goodbye to Jet Lag Forever With These Genius Travel Hacks

Photo: Unsplash/Filipp Nekhaev
Even the most virtuous vacations have an unhealthy side—the actual journey to get from point A to B. (Long security lines, nutritionally void airplane food, and jet lag aren’t exactly nourishing, after all).

But two of the newest players in the healthy travel game, Matthew Kenney and Jacyn Fain, have perfected the art of hacking their journeys so they arrive well-rested, well-fed, and ready to dive into their destination.

It’s not surprising that these two should be such pros when it comes to globe-trotting. Kenney’s the founder of Matthew Kenney Cuisine, a plant-based restaurant (Plant Food + Wine, 00 + Co.) and culinary school empire with locations around the world; Fain is a jet-setting fitness model and yoga instructor.

And together, they’ve created Matthew Kenney Wellness—a brand-new retreat series that combines Kenney’s edible masterpieces with a program of yoga, outdoor fitness pursuits, and seriously cool cultural experiences. You heard it here first!

Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine
Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine

According to Fain, Matthew Kenney Wellness’ senior vice president and wellness director, this new venture was largely inspired by Kenney’s ability to maintain peak vitality while traveling, no matter how many hours he may be clocking on a plane.

“We’ve been friends for a while, and I’ve always been so inspired by the way Matthew lives his life—he travels a lot, yet he’s always so healthy and glowing,” she says. “I gave him a call and said, ‘We need to create this division of the company so people can see what it feels like to be in your shoes.’” (Luckily, Kenney has always wanted to add travel and yoga into his business mix—it's through those things that he discovered plant-based food.)

There will be four Matthew Kenney Wellness retreats taking place in 2017, all stationed at the lush Kukui’ula resort in Kauai, Hawaii. (The first one runs from May 13-20.) The duo has designed it with treks to secret waterfalls, visits to hidden farmer’s markets, sunrise chanting, lei making, and two yoga classes per day led by top NYC and LA instructors. Oh, and of course there will be daily menus of Kenney’s recipes, many of them raw, all made with freshly picked produce from the resort’s on-site garden.

Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine
Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine

To make the island commute a little easier, Kenney and Fain have shared their favorite tips for outsmarting the perils of that airplane life—ones that you can also use while you’re traveling for the holidays. (Because you’ll want to be in tip-top shape for all the feasting that’s about to go down).

Keep reading for Matthew Kenney and Jacyn Fain’s most brilliant healthy travel hacks...

Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine
Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine

How Matthew Kenney totally and completely prevents jet lag

I have a secret I should patent: I don’t get jet lag. As soon as I get on the plane, or even starting two hours before I travel, I put myself mentally in the time zone of where I’m going. So, for example, if I’m leaving LA at midnight but it’s really 3:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, in my mind it’s3:00 p.m. So I’ll wait 4-5 hours into the flight, I’ll have a really light meal—mostly fruits and vegetables, no grains—and then I’ll go to sleep. When I wake up, it feels like it’s morning. That works for me every time.

Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine
Photo: Matthew Kenney Cuisine

Jacyn Fain’s hack for smuggling green juice on the plane

I’m that girl who has a giant bag of supplies with me when I travel. My favorite trick—and it’s kind of fun to see the TSA’s [reaction]—is that I buy or make green juice and green smoothies and I freeze them so they’re solid. I put them in a clear plastic bag and usually I mark them with what they are just so no one has any questions. You put them through [the scanner] and they go through, because dangerous chemicals cannot be frozen. Midway through the flight, they defrost or you can run them under warm water to drink them.

The secret to staying healthy while on the road is planning ahead. Check out these wellness expert-approved travel snacks, online workouts you can do anywhere, and the best meditation apps to use on the plane. 

Loading More Posts...