Page 32 November 2016 O A S I S URBAN E X P E R I E N C E A N PHOENIX COUNTRY CLUB SEVENTH STREET & THOMAS ROAD PHONE: EMAIL: WEB: (602) 636-9823 MGrass@PhoenixCountryClub.com PhoenixCountryClub.com By Andrea Barkley I recently returned from a nearly month- long adventure in Croatia, Slovenia and Italy with my fiancé. As a fitness and nutrition expert, I’m normally quite staunch about what I eat. I truly enjoy it and never feel deprived. I prefer the taste of real food, gigantic salads, colorful soups, pastured proteins and small doses of healthy fat. I’m 95 percent gluten- and corn-free, because I find those foods make me feel bloated and lethargic. I also believe in eating . Far too many of us try to under-calorie ourselves without realizing how few calories real food contains. I fight low energy by being nourished and unafraid of food. While I brought a few snacks for the trip, I decided to leave the rest up to chance and adventure to discover new finds in local grocery stores and farmer’s markets. Here are 10 food and fitness discoveries from my travels: 1. Hardly anyone in Europe is worried about over-the-top bulking up or looking lean. Nearly everyone is healthy looking from riding bikes, walking a lot, getting plenty of vitamin D, and eating real food. They also aren’t afraid to indulge a little. 2. Europeans don’t look at their phones while out to dinner. They linger, converse, smile, laugh, relax and enjoy. Each meal takes ages to finish. 3. Fresh bread, pasta and pizza didn’t give me the same adverse reaction in Europe that it does in America. It could be because Europe has tighter bans on the chemicals in pesticides. 4. I probably ate less calories overall because we consumed fewer meals in a day. We shared most meals (usually two or three dishes) and despite enjoying more bread and pasta then I have in years, I actually lost a few pounds! 5. Europeans aren’t trying to shovel in bowls of kale with goji berries in the name of health. They enjoy their vegetables in moderation like anything else and look great. 6. European circadian rhythms are completely different than ours. They eat dinner at 10 p.m. and rise much later than we do. While this seems impossible to me at home (I go to bed and recommend my clients go to bed before 10 p.m.), they’re thriving. 7. When we stayed at hotels, I ate the biggest breakfasts every day. Other travelers might have a small flavored yogurt and a croissant and that’s all. I had unsweetened yogurt with fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, charcuterie, cheese, olives, pickles and maybe a bite of something decadent if it looked like it was worth it. I’m not sure how the others were able to fuel hours of walking, hiking and exploring without getting hangry. 8. I only had three proper workouts while traveling and my body didn’t change. I still looked lean and fit when I got home. 9. Fish is major. Fish is such a major part of other culture’s diet that it reminded me we need to increase our Omega 3 game. We tend to stick to salmon, tuna and white fish, while abroad the variety is larger and includes lake fish, octopus, sardines and more. 10. You can eat a fine meal at a European gas station or rest stop. In Italy there were organic salad bars with sustainable proteins to choose from. In Croatia steaming pots of freshly made goulash, beautifully roasted chicken legs and breasts, and deeply colored salads. In short, I learned to let some of my food hang-ups go a little. It was nice to relax instead of focusing so much on meeting my macronutrient goals. I realized that years of consistent exercise and eating clean allowed me to go nearly one month without my normal routine and everything turned out just fine. It was a delicious, inspiring and active travel experience! I’m also happy to be home, eating kale salad and hitting the gym. — Fitness expert and founder of Moan Out Loud Protein Shakes . Fitness, nutrition lessons learned while traveling Europe FOOD WISE VISIT US ONLINE NOW!