Eating Healthy While Traveling
A view from the road. Driving through Eucalyptus Trees. Heavenly.
Lake Tahoe, blanketed in a layer of smoke from the Yosemite fire.
We just got back from a successful (vegan, mostly raw) trip up to Lake Tahoe. I’m surprised at how easy it was to stay 100% vegan (not an option for me to nudge that one) and at least 75% raw. All it required was a little pre-planning and packing a few tools.
The big challenge for this trip was having very little packing space. We were driving in a small two-seater that has a trunk about the size of a suitcase. It’s amazing how many clothes you can leave behind when healthy food is a priority. A small insulated lunch box in the car filled with energy bars, bananas, sliced apples and water did the trick while we were on the road.
In anticipation for this trip, I bought a Nutri Bullet
I was impressed by the Nutri Bullet
I am eating almost all gluten free these days which can be even harder than vegan when traveling. I try to stay away from processed foods and the gluten free choices in the store frighten me with their extended lists of non-nutritious ingredients. I do like Rudis Gluten Free Spinach Tortillas
One of the keys to our success was doing a little advance research. I found quite a few restaurants that served vegan and even raw food! Simple Bliss Cafe turned out to be a favorite in South Tahoe. When ordering vegan food out, we found that we still had to be really careful about making sure it was healthy vegan food. My sweetie ordered a lentil loaf that was supposed to mimic meatloaf and they deep fried each piece. Really? Was that necessary?
All in all, we had a wonderful trip, sans the smoke from the Yosemite fire, and were able to eat healthy the whole time. It didn’t take much effort and it was wonderful having the extra energy that eating this way gives us!
10 Travel Tips
1. Do some advance planning. Happy Cow.net is a great place to start. You can plug in a city and they will come up with a good selection of restaurants where you can find vegan food. I would also do a search for vegan and raw food in the city where you are going. That simple step gave us a list of restaurants in South Tahoe and we were not disappointed.
2. Prepare some of your favorite, easy travel foods. Some of my favorites are linked at the end of this post.
3. Plan to make the grocery store one of your first stops.
4. See if your room has a fridge. If not, a small ice chest will do in a pinch.
5. If you have a gathering to go to, eat before you go. It helps, believe me.
6. I love taking healthy tortillas. It is so easy to load a wrap with fresh, raw food. An easy way to make a meal.
7. Make sure you are drinking a lot water. Very important, especially when traveling.
8. If you can’t find restaurants that do serve vegan, call ahead and see if a restaurant you choose can accommodate. Sometimes just an advanced call will do wonders!
9. Look for menus on-line. It is a great way to see if you can “create” a vegan / raw meal in a non-vegan restaurant.
10. If you are flying, pre-pack some food in your carry-on. It comes in very handy when those snack carts are going by.
Some of my favorite travel recipes:
shanna wrote on August 30, 2013
I love this! I stick to a vegan, GF, alcohol-free, and high-raw diet, but I will not flex on the vegan part. If desperate, I will have a piece of bread–try 3 weeks in France without doing that 🙂
I only take a carry-on when I travel, I never check luggage, so consequently, half the contents in my carry-on and tote bag are food! That’s okay, though. I do research ahead of time, and make sure I can communicate on a basic level in the native tongue so I can express my dietary needs. Also, I typically stay at an apartment so that I can cook–eating out, for me and with my limitations, is not all that exciting, anyway.
Susan wrote on August 30, 2013
Jayney, I completely understand! I say there is no “fail” with raw food. Just do the best you can with what you have available. Make sure you enter for the blender in the comments on that post!!
jayney wrote on August 30, 2013
I travel extensively for work – lecturing on holistic health all over the world and often find myself in some pretty obscure places. I’m vegan and about 90%+ raw under normal non-travelling circumstances – but when travelling to environments where water quality is questionable it can be a challenge. I used to really get a bit uptight about needing to ‘fall off the raw wagon’ in those locations where it might be dangerous to eat foods washed with local potentially contaminated water – especially as I’m raw vegan for health reasons (it has been largely responsible for putting severe, incredibly aggressive rheumatoid arthritis into long lasting remission – I believe that this lifestyle and other concomitant factors (meditation, compassion, love, tai chi, qi gong, Pilates etc.) have in fact cured the condition. I was a wheelchair user for 10 years and was told I would never walk again but now I’m able to galavant around the world unaided). So, bearing all this in mind, I find that it is best to be really flexible about the raw – and not to get down on myself if I can’t eat raw for a while. I believe that the power of intention is extremely strong and that if one is doing one’s very best to look after one’s self, the body will respond and appreciate the kind thoughts and nurturing – however it manifests. Oh . . . and the NutriBullet is waaay cool – I need one for my Mum – so fingers crossed . . . . and in any case, blessings to you – your site is rawmazing and totally inspirational – thank you!! xx
teresa wrote on August 29, 2013
I can’t afford a real juicer yet or vitamix/blendtec and was considering the nutri bullet or ninja as make-dos for the time being.
Faith wrote on August 29, 2013
found them at another supermarket around here, going to get them! thanks again Susan..
Faith wrote on August 29, 2013
just called my whole foods, disappointed they don’t carry these. so you don’t have to heat them to enjoy them? I’ve tried the Brown Rice tortillas by Food for Life, they get dry and tough really quickly…
Eileen wrote on August 29, 2013
We were in Tahoe last weekend too! Yay! I’m not vegan, but I still find getting decent food when traveling tough. So I packed a cooler full of dipping veg with hummus, peanut butter-honey-sesame seed sandwiches, and several apples and nectarines. With our giant water bottles, it worked out really well. Next time I’m definitely going to give some of your tips a try!
teresa wrote on August 29, 2013
I have been wondering whether to get the nutri bullet or not, but only if it works on carrots and beets. Have you tried anything like those with it?
Susan wrote on August 29, 2013
What are you trying to do with beets and carrots?
Chelsea//TheNakedFig wrote on August 28, 2013
Very helpful information! Traveling is when I sometimes eat amazing foods or when I give up and eat junk. It always works best if I plan for it!
Susan wrote on August 28, 2013
I know what you mean, Chelsea. But I am now unwilling to give up! 🙂