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| Forums: September 2011 Kickstart Forum: When traveling... | |||
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| amillah
Joined: 09/16/11 Posts: 6 |
When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:25 AM Not sure if this has been posted as a topic before, but here are some of my concerns: 1. I recently travelled the past three days, and I've had to eat veggie dishes with some meat in it for flavor because there were no other options. What do you think of consuming these 'meat-flavored' dishes? I usually just set the little bits of meat aside. 2. Any suggestions for food that can be brought while traveling? I brought my own oatmeal. I'm open to other stuff that can keep for a few days without a ref. For meals, not snacks. |
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| farrah77
Joined: 09/15/11 Posts: 11 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:32 AM My husband and I have a trip to Williamsburg, VA coming up and we have been doing some research to prepare. We have been to Williamsburg many times in the past, but has non-vegans. We found out that some chinese restaurants have vegan options and there is always vegan sushi like avocado rolls, edamame, etc... I looked on Yelp.com and found there is a pizzaria that serves a vegan pizza. Depending on where you travel there are options for vegans. |
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mollyhorn
 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 582 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:40 AM Like Farrah said, advance preparation is a must. It's the same as with any special diet. I research online ahead of time. If I can't, then when at the restaurant, I look for veggie plates or salads. Barring that, I ask the manager – they are usually hugely helpful if you are polite to them. Or sometimes I make a meal out of side items. I'm not sure what you mean by "meat-flavored dishes". That doesn't ring a bell for me... examples? Molly Horn |
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gryphonpro
 Location: Cape Breton, NS, Canada Posts: 239 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:50 AM I always gain a few pounds when I travel. I think I just eat more. Maybe that is all it is. Here are some things I do when travelling, maybe one or two ideas will help you. I always make sure my hotel room has a microwave and a fridge, even a bar size fridge is better than nothing. Also, remember that the coffee pots one usually finds in the room now can easily be used for good quality instant soups. Watch for salt in these things! I pack a camping cooler with frozen food from my freezer (individual size casseroles or whatever I have in there) just before I leave, and it usually arrives with some crystals formed, but ok for the fridge for a few days. If you are travelling by plane, the same utilities in the room will help, just make sure you google map the nearest grocery store big enough to have amy's or some other good frozen entrees or healthy can soups. Try some now so you will know which ones you like. I find the boxed tabouli, noodle, and couscous meals to be high on salt and not that nutritious, but I have found a few good can soups and frozen dinner's. Pack a small container of vegan powder cheese... grind equal portions of any seed or nut you like with nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt... it really makes a difference if you can find pasta primavera anywhere, or even to spruce up a salad... stay away from restaurant dressings, ask for lemon and add your own "cheese". I often make half a dozen homemade burritos, and freeze them beforehand. They stay well if you can get them to a freezer by the end of the day. Amy's has commercial frozen ones, but I find them a tad expensive. The last time I travelled I packed freeze dried garbonzo beans and soy beans... they were great added to "instant" veggie soups to add some bulk and nutrition, and are also good on salads. I have been looking for the small boxes of almond or soy milk for breakfasts, as you can usually find oatmeal or dry cereal, but I can't find them near here... just the chocolate ones I hope some of this helps. madeline yakimchuk
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| Bugsmom
Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 12:09 PM mollyhorn wrote: I'm not sure what you mean by "meat-flavored dishes". That doesn't ring a bell for me... examples? Just guessing but I'm thinking this is stuff like soups with a meat-stock base (even things like tomato soup often have a beef stock base instead of veggie) and rice that is cooked in chicken stock. --Deb R |
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| Bugsmom
Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 12:24 PM amillah wrote: 2. Any suggestions for food that can be brought while traveling? I brought my own oatmeal. I'm open to other stuff that can keep for a few days without a ref. For meals, not snacks. Vegetarian ramen noodle type packets or soups One thing we do, if we're not driving (if we drive, we pack a cooler and refill it from the hotel ice machine as needed), is determine the location of a nearby grocery store. We can then pick up whole grain bread/tortillas, hummus, easy to manage veggies (pre-washed/cut lettuce and grape tomatoes work on sandwiches or as salads), nut butter, etc. The plastic containers that prepared greens come in can double as salad bowls (just pack a handful of plastic utensils). Fill sealable plastic containers with your fav salad dressing and then zip that into a large ziplock in case of leaks. Local diners are often really easy to customize meals, sometimes better than chains who get their entrees pre-packaged. Italian food can often be a good fall-back restaurant - worst case, you get spaghetti with plain marinara sauce and a side salad and ask for the red wine vinegar only (unless you're opting for a little more fat for the occasion and want to go with the house Italian dressing). Something like eggplant parmagiana minus the cheese could be good - cooked eggplant with tomato sauce over pasta. As was already mentioned, plan ahead as much as you can - google <location> +vegan restaurants and see what you get. You may not get much, you might get a bunch. Or expand it to "Vegetarian" since that's likely to include vegan fare. And, too, you might be surprised where you can find vegan options that aren't specified as such - no one things of pasta and marinara (no meat sauce or meatballs) as vegan but it is. Oh, last thought - just as I hit Save I had another idea - make use of the hotel staff at the desk or the concierge (if there is one available) and let them know that you are vegan and would like suggestions of vegan-friendly restaurants in the area. --Deb R |
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cch22
 Location: New York State Posts: 1000 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 1:30 PM humm. ordering out.. chinese places almost always have tofu.. or they call it bean curd.. but i find i usually like steamed mixed veggies & rice. the other thing is take a can of chickpeas.. then you can hit a salad bar at the supermarket... add your chickpeas & lemon juice or whatever.. and you have a meal.. just go with extra veggies and no cheese on any pizza.. take peanut butter & jelly sandwich.. kashi bars.. something frozen that will unfreeze about the time you want to eat it.. |
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| Bugsmom
Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 1:44 PM cch22 wrote: take peanut butter & jelly sandwich.. kashi bars.. something frozen that will unfreeze about the time you want to eat it.. I guess that depends on the type of travelling too. I presumed that it was multi-day, probably airline involved, hotel room travel. A one day road trip is a lot easier to plan for (where you can bring something frozen that can thaw as you go) - as is a trip where one is staying in a home with friends or relatives (they'd know where a grocery store is and probably free up some fridge space for you and you can heat things up more readily - especially if you offer to cook dinner one night for everyone). And, if it's a business trip (instead of sightseeing), meals may be fairly limited in terms of what, where, when (for instance, a business conference where the hotel caters the meals and you have a choice of chicken or fish, a smallish tossed salad, and some white bread rolls). I've sometimes stashed a piece of fruit in my bag (apple for example something that doesn't squash like a banana) from the morning 'snack' assortment and munch that during the lunch break, either while people are milling about taking a 'bio break' and waiting for the food to be served or after the food has been eaten and folks are checking voicemail waiting for things to start up again. Ditto for stashing Kashi bars or something similar. That can help round out what might be otherwise rather scant - small tossed salad, white bread roll, maybe a bit of whatever side veg they put on the plate. The hardest is when they serve a cold cut assortment as the lunch - it can be almost impossible to assemble a decent lunch that way. HOWEVER, most hotel service staffs will try to accommodate 'dietary concerns' if they are informed - after all, they don't want to have to deal with life threatening allergies and such. While being vegan is not usually associated with immediately life threatening problems (like a peanut allergy would be), they do usually try to put together something - even if it's a simple tossed salad, some fruit, and a small plate of some cooked carrots (or whatever the veggie du jour is in the hotel restaurant). --Deb R |
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| marge
Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Seattle Posts: 211 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 2:45 PM if I'm flying I'll carry a bag of toasted walnuts with raisins and a few Larabars. I haven't been to a city in the USA yet that didn't have a grocer that I could get hummus and crackers, peanut butter & jelly.Every Starbucks in the USA has oatmeal on the breakfast menu. Like others suggested I'll make a meal out of the veggie sides in a restaurant. |
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| Bugsmom
Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 3:09 PM marge wrote: if I'm flying I'll carry a bag of toasted walnuts with raisins and a few Larabars. I haven't been to a city in the USA yet that didn't have a grocer that I could get hummus and crackers, peanut butter & jelly.Every Starbucks in the USA has oatmeal on the breakfast menu. Like others suggested I'll make a meal out of the veggie sides in a restaurant. Virtually every city in the US has a Cracker Barrel restaurant somewhere near the 'hotel strip'. And, one of DS' favorite things since he was little was to build a "feast" for himself. A standard menu item on the Cracker Barrel menu is their Pick 3 sides and Pick 4 sides options. Granted, you need to choose carefully amongst things (check to see if the green beans are cooked with bacon and that sort of thing) but it's possible to build a 4 dish "feast" easily enough. A tossed salad, applesauce, one of the veggies, and hash browns or steak fries for a starch (if it's after 4 pm you can choose a baked potato for an extra charge to avoid the fried stuff). Voila - you've got a vegan lunch or dinner that doesn't scream "vegan" all across the room - you're just ordering straight from *their* menu choices. KWIM? --Deb R |
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| amillah
Joined: 09/16/11 Posts: 6 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 9:17 PM Wow thank you for all your responses! I am amazed at the way some of you prepare for a trip. Definitely some effort there especially with the frozen food. The last trip I had was a work trip with some catered meals and some at the inn where I stayed. 'Meat -flavored' dishes are yes - soups, and then sauteed stir-fry. Some were pre prepared so I couldn't ask them not to put in the meat. |
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sis11
 Posts: 30 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 10:01 PM I think it all seems complex when you're getting started, and later it becomes a habit and isn't even that difficult. Plant-eaters just add in some portable foods -- it becomes as automatic as packing socks and underwear. I have a packing checklist for trips, and it includes nuts, homemade or store bought muffins (Trader Joe's, for example, has some muffins that are marked as vegan) with nut butter, something frozen that I take for the plane. Also, I always check the Happy Cow website -- http://www.happycow.net/ -- have never yet been anywhere that I couldn't find someplace to eat. And, as people have said, if you let kitchens know ahead of time, you can get vegetable foods, and even protein, at almost any banquet or work event. It's just about asking nicely, giving them a few days notice if possible, and also having some backup nuts etc. just in case they don't come through. You have a chance to do a little education if they don't know what veganism/a plant-based diet is (think of it this way -- you could be introducing them to a concept that saves their life someday, or at least makes life easier for the next vegan who comes along). I've gotten less shy about asking, and it's a favor to everyone. Often people would rather have a dish or two available that's not smothered in meat, butter, and cheese -- I've had meat-eaters thank me for getting healthy food introduced to the event. Also, if people get aggressive when they see you eating vegetables, the ideas and techniques from the Carol Adams book Living Among Meat Eaters are great for coming up with tactful, kind responses... Sarah |
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| pippin
Joined: 09/07/10 Posts: 175 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Friday, September 23, 2011 at 7:00 AM All of these suggestions are quite helpful. I am traveling to Ireland in November with 3 meat/cheese loving friends. Fortunately, we will have a condo with a full kitchen and a nearby grocery. For the flight I plan to bring some cups of soup (vegan) ~ just add water. But it is a great idea to bring PB&J, lara bars and the like. I think I can request a special vegetarian meal but who knows what that means to the airline. Of course, in Ireland I bet I can get good Irish oats and potatoes, so I'm set! |
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| marge
Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Seattle Posts: 211 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Friday, September 23, 2011 at 11:04 AM sis11 good advice about Happy Cow, they always have great travel tips. I was at a conference and pizza was ordered for lunch, I politely asked for a vegan pizza, they said no problem. It was so delicious looking that the non-vegans were eating it, I had to hurry to get two slices. |
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| sis11
Posts: 30 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Friday, September 23, 2011 at 1:01 PM I said this in another thread once, but I often freeze a seasoned beans-grains-greens mixture and take it with me -- by dinnertime it's thawed and ready to eat (not by lunch though!) A number of airlines actually have vegan meals for international flights, not just vegetarian meals. In a pinch, "Asian Vegetarian" is less likely to be pasta in cheese sauce, though sometimes it may be Indian food with yogurt (a good reason to have your own back-up food and to see if you can't order a vegan meal). United is good on vegan meals. Does anyone know other airlines who do a good job with plant-based meals? Side benefit: the vegan meals are tastier and fresher for some reason, maybe because they're prepared in smaller batches and have less junk. They're likely to give you fruit. And Happy Cow is an international site. (People said to me, oh, you won't be able to eat vegan in Paris. Actually, thanks to Happy Cow and a little advanced planning, I was able to find everything from escalope de seitan in mushroom sauce to great macrobiotic or South American superfoods plates to the French version of fast food...haven't tried traveling in Ireland though! It may be a good thing to have your own kitchen...) And if anyone says, oh, how sad, you can't have X (cheese in France), I remember Colleen Patrick-Goudreau saying, "I could; I just don't choose to. I don't eat animal flesh or secretions." (True that when you've been off it completely for a bit, none of it looks even the least bit appetizing. I thought I'd be conflicted forever and was so happy to find out that it was going off cheese that actually cut the ties to those appetites. Who knew?) Sarah |
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| sparkledee
Joined: 09/04/11 Posts: 48 |
RE: When traveling... Posted Friday, September 23, 2011 at 1:27 PM I haven't read all the posts yet so this may have already been suggested. Google the restaurants nearby and pull up their site/menu online and look it over in advance for any possibilities. If you find anything that looks close to Vegan, you can always ask to modify that dish to fit your needs. Most restaurants have their menu posted online these days and its nice to know anyway whats on the menu. Dee |
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They would be a great help, and would even strengthen a soup. I think I eat too much when I am travelling because the food I get is not as hefty as what I am used to.
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