A Vegan Travel Day

December 28th, 2010 - filed under: The Food » Food and Health

Sucking down coffee while playing with Waits on the airport floor, early o’clock.



It’s not too hard to find vegan food while traveling, but finding good vegan food . . . well, that’s another matter altogether. Leave it up to the fates and you’re at the will and whim of the airport – or worse yet the gas station – gods. You’ll most likely find yourself dining on french fries and iceberg ‘salad’. Just a little planning goes a long way towards keeping you healthy and happy through the turmoils of modern travel. Here’s how I approached my most recent day of transit:

The Night Before

Travel days will always be nutritionally compromised, no matter how well you prepare. So I make sure my meals the day before are packing a powerful punch. This dinner was all about the mighty pile of swiss chard, accompanied by a hearty chili and some gluten-free cornbread. YUM


Brekkies

I made a jar of overnight oats for some super easy grab-and-go eats. This fills all three travel criteria: effortless, filling, and nutritious. Oh, and it’s also really yummy! Eaten on the way to the airport.


Caffeine

Fact: Airport coffee is better than no coffee at all. I even found some soy milk!


Fast
It’s not so easy on digestion to be under cabin pressure, so I try to avoid eating while in the air. This is why an awesome early breakfast is especially important.


Lunch

Once our rental car was secured and we were on the road (with a 2 hour drive ahead of us), I busted out the pb & j sammies I’d packed. English muffin bread for the win!


Caffeine

Somewhere along the coast, a necessary refueling. Love it or hate it at least Starbucks offers up consistency.


Refresher!

We hit up the fruitbowl as soon as we reached our destination. After a day of tan-colored carbohydrates, some bright and hydrating fruit was just what we needed to tide us over till dinner.


Feast




A fabulous home cooked dinner. Fennel polenta with marinara and cashew cream. A badass salad. Wine. The perfect healthy cap to a very long day!


Coming soon: tips for vegan vacationing! Also, this post has been brought to you from the lap of a very adept Japanese massage chair. Please excuse any typing errors . . . this thing is throwing me around!

  • Melisa

    Love the hair! And I am so impressed with the oats-in-a-jar. Yesterday morning, I thought I would have to rush out the door without breakfast. Then I remembered that dear little pb jar in the fridge. Hooked!

  • http://www.myspace.com/tirscatha Lenn

    Love the bangs! I tried bangs recently and can’t pull them off. Lucky you!

    And the tiled cabinet my stove is set in totally matches your friend’s countertop.

  • http://www.windycityvegan.wordpress.com Monika {windycityvegan}

    Love the hair! I can’t pull off bangs that short, but I’m getting the itch to play with color. I may hit you up for advice on vegan coloring options.

    And hurray! for gluten-free anything, and for caffeine.

  • http://mspolkadot.typepad.com/blog/ Ms. Polkadot

    Good travel tips! We stayed home this year but I’ll keep this in mind for our next adventure.

  • Tenise Rae

    LOVE the hair, girl!! Wish I could have bangs….so cute!

  • http://easierthanyouthink.wordpress.com Ginger Baker

    I’ve been off caffeine for a while now, and the oddest thing is that your post (which is great!) really made me miss green smoothies LOL. I’ve been drinking decaf coffee (especially for the warmth) but now that I think about it, the energy I got from green smoothies was soooo much better.

    I’m with you on the wine though! ;-)

  • Sarah

    Your chair comment reminds me of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHiqVygN-w0&feature=related

    Hee!

    Also, one of the 1st things we do when we get to a destination is hit up a grocery store! We bring stuff with us, but we always need a refill :) What I really need to do is start bringing a basic grocery list because my family always tries to get us stuff, but it’s usually like almond milk and organic jelly, lol. It’s my own fault, though, because my husband’s the food getter and I never know what to say when they ask :P Beans? Nuts? Coconut ice cream? They’re good about cooking meatless meals, though-they don’t just try to do replacement meats.

  • Chance

    Yeah, my family got me almond milk and tofutti cream cheese :) My grandmother actually went to a nutritionist and got advice about how to accommodate vegans; it was totally sweet of her!

  • janelle

    i agree about watching out for yourself when traveling as a vegan/vegetarian. Even when you order a vegetarian meal on the plane there is a chance they will goof up, so I always packs healthy snacks like homemade trail mix (dried fruits and nuts), PB sandwiches, fruit when permitted (usually not on international flights), and breakfast bars. Nothing worse than being dirty, tired, AND hungry! lol

Subscribe to my RSS feed Follow me on twitter Find me on Facebook Find me on Pinterest