Chapter 17 Vegans on the Move: Travel and Hotel Issues In This Chapter ▶ Planning before your road trip ▶ Eating on airplanes and in airports ▶ Surviving meals on a cruise ship ▶ Dining abroad successfully P icking a date for your vacation is important, but planning your eating strategy while you’re away is just as significant for a successful vegan adventure You may be set in your eating and shopping routine at home, but going on the road in this meat-minded world is another story You’ll have less control over when you eat, where you can shop, and what choices you have The danger lies in the easy temptation to rely on junky, nonnutritious food that can lead to health problems during your trip or after you get home Changing your dietary routines also can wreak havoc on your digestive system, especially while traveling Vacation food can be loaded with sugar, unhealthy fats, and sodium The food also may be of questionable origins — who knows where that salad was made? And how was it washed? Was it even washed at all? Don’t be lured in by the standard away-from-home-mindset of “All rules are off! I’m not home!” Eating poorly can lead to a regrettable vacation experience Several fast-food chains are now serving vegan veggie burgers, and you may even find a vegan hot dog You also can get by on a baked potato topped with veggies and a little salt, so be sure to get creative with the server behind the counter Whether going overnight to grandma’s, flying away for the weekend, shipping out on your reunion cruise, or touring Southeast Asia for a month, you need to prepare yourself with options, strategies, and vocabulary to travel smart and stay true to your vegan commitment 220 Part V: Living Vegan in the Real World The world of vegan-friendly travel options is expanding every year Are there more vegans or just more people who want to walk on the wild side? I can’t say, but this bodes well for the adventurous tofu eater Search online or talk with a travel agent about packages geared toward vegans There are bike trips, tour groups, cruises, private yachting trips with private chefs, and yoga retreats around the world that can provide all the rest and relaxation you need — all while providing you lovely, vegan food Mapping Your Meals on the Road Thinking through your entire road trip before you set foot out the door is the first step to successful travel — especially when your eating habits are different than most people you’ll come in contact with Not spontaneous enough for you? Don’t worry You’ll find plenty of opportunities on every journey to explore unplanned sites and meet new people But as a traveling vegan, you need to remember that proper sustenance is as important as your traveler’s checks You can still find great surprises and the best soy latte you ever had, but you need an outline of where to get something substantial to eat, too Thanks to the Internet and a little contraption called a cooler, you’ll never be at a loss for healthy, delicious food when traveling by car or by train Mapping your route well in advance allows you time to explore and plan your pit stops before you leave home Just follow these steps: Get out your map and draw a red line along your planned route Circle a sizeable town or city every 50 to 100 miles along your journey Search the Internet for health food stores, grocery stores, and vegan and ethnic restaurants at each location Try searching the well-organized vegan restaurant finders like www happycow.net and www.vegdining.com to look for vegan-friendly restaurants and grocery stores Put together a list with addresses, maps, and basic directions from the freeway Also include business hours and a phone number for each stop you’d like to make You also want to put together a snack list and perishable meal list Nonperishable snacks, such as crackers and pretzels, can be stored in the car or overhead storage on a train in bags or boxes and won’t go bad if unrefrigerated Perishable items can be kept in a cooler with refreezable ice packs or ice cubes Chapter 17: Vegans on the Move: Travel and Hotel Issues If using ice cubes, plan on replenishing with new ice every two to three days on your trip Gas stations, liquor stores, and grocery stores all usually sell bags of ice If you bring ice packs with you, ask your hotel or train porter if you can refreeze them in an onsite freezer overnight If driving in a car, use the hotel ice bucket to bury the packs in free hotel ice in your room overnight Consider the following list of healthy, easy, cheap, and yummy meals and snacks to keep stashed in your cooler Many of these items can be replenished along your route if you get your list of health food stores together: ✓ Carrot and celery sticks, sliced cucumbers, and red bell pepper spears ✓ Individual bottles of water ✓ Individual instant soup containers, which can be mixed with hot water from gas station tea machines, hotel bars, or diners ✓ Individual juice boxes and soy or rice milk boxes with straws ✓ Nut butter sandwiches made with whole-grain bread and naturally sweetened jam or apple butter ✓ Road-worthy fruits like apples, oranges, and bananas ✓ Seeds, nuts, dried fruit, and vegan chocolate chips mixed into your own trail mix ✓ Tea bags or individual coffee pouches, salt and pepper packets from fast-food joints, and a squeeze bottle of agave or brown rice syrup ✓ Tofu Sour Cream or Tofu Cheese to spread on veggies (check out Chapter 13 for these recipes) ✓ Vegan snack bars like Lara, Vega, Raw Revolution, Pro Bars, and Oskri Coconut Bars ✓ Wraps made with tortillas, hummus, beans and rice, or vegan veggie tofu cream cheese Don’t forget to bring a few trash bags, napkins, and some washable spoons, forks, knives, and plates Travel mugs are handy for refilling your tea and coffee on the road Consider stocking up on takeout orders if you find a great vegan-friendly restaurant while driving to your destination These leftovers can be kept in the cooler for a couple of days Think “picnic in a car” when planning out your travel menu Your road and train meals can be as fancy as you want, with slabs of marinated tofu on slices of fresh tomato and bread They also can be as simple as gorp (“good old raisins and peanuts”) and a bottle of water Try something new! 221 222 Part V: Living Vegan in the Real World Being a vegan in someone else’s home You may find it hard to believe, but many people really don’t understand what being vegan means Many times they incorrectly assume that you’re vegetarian and will load you up with mashed potatoes with butter My sweetheart of a mother-in-law made green beans for me on my first visit to her home She happily announced that she “took the bacon out” just before serving it to me When you’re traveling to someone’s home, you get your chance, not to preach, but to inform your family and friends about veganism So, how can you be a polite houseguest while still getting the foods you need? Before you arrive, let your hosts know of your special dietary needs Explain what it means to be vegan and the following: ✓ Give some meal suggestions for when you first arrive Many hosts will want to have some foods on hand that you will enjoy, so help them create this list ✓ Offer to lead a shopping trip Doing so enables you to pick up foods that you want and helps you educate your hosts ✓ Make meals and snacks Offer to be in charge of preparing some vegan foods, including main meals, side dishes, desserts, and snacks Make it a truly vegan experience for your hosts ✓ Research restaurants and grocery stores online before your travels Many nonvegan hosts may not know where to take you out to eat or where to go shopping In order to take the pressure off your hosts, come armed with ideas that you have researched Bring some food items with you in your luggage to ensure that you’ll have something on hand for the first several hours in case the first dietary conversation is misunderstood A box of Mori-Nu tofu and a can of pinto beans don’t need to be refrigerated, so you can keep them in your checked baggage or backseat of the car Flying with Skill: Vegans in the Air and at the Airport You’ve bought your airplane tickets, and your itinerary is set Eating or snacking on your long flight is easy, right? And after you arrive at your destination, you can merrily skip away from the airport into exotic vegan paradise — or can you? Planning ahead for air travel requires a new set of skills, but isn’t impossible — consider it an exciting part of your journey! I provide plenty of pointers in the following sections Chapter 17: Vegans on the Move: Travel and Hotel Issues Requesting a vegan meal (and making sure you get it) Airline food isn’t known for its diversity and vegan-friendly bent Even the peanuts you may receive on the plane (if they’re even serving those anymore) can be roasted with honey, a vegan no-no Most airlines have cut back considerably on their meal service, so you may only get water or $2 cans of reconstituted orange juice If your flight does offer food, make sure your needs are known As soon as you book your flight, whether it’s through a travel agent or online, be sure to contact the airline directly using its customer service line to ask specifically for a dairy- and egg-free, vegetarian or vegan meal You may click corresponding boxes on the airline Web site or tell your travel agent, but you still want to be sure that the airline gets the message more than once Often, the vegan meal is much better than the regular options, and you’ll often get served first! Bonus! International flights often offer an ethnic version of the vegan meal; the “Asian vegetarian” option is your best bet Be sure to explain that you want to avoid both dairy and eggs Double-check with the agent when you check in that your special meal request has been noted on the flight plan You may not be able to get a vegan meal on board if the request didn’t go through, but at least you’ll know to pick something up in the airport before getting on the plane Also try to alert the flight attendants of your special request when you’re sitting down before takeoff Doing so helps them keep you in mind and show them where you are so your meal doesn’t end up on someone else’s tray table Remember that politeness and a smile go a long way for these hardworking men and women If, for some reason, your special meal didn’t make it on the plane, ask if any suitable first- or business-class meals are left The attendants usually help to remedy the situation with extra fruit, bread, or appropriate snacks if your meal was mislaid Carrying on your own food It used to be that you could carry on just about anything when traveling by airplane, and that made it easier for us vegans to snack on flight However, security has tightened severely since September 11th, 2001, restricting carryon approved foods Not to worry, though; you can still carry on some foods to hold you over Here are items you can safely bring with you for your airport picnic: ✓ Plastic spoon, fork, and knife Smaller regional airports may not have these available 223 ...220 Part V: Living Vegan in the Real World The world of vegan- friendly travel options is expanding every year Are there more vegans or just more people who want to... new! 221 222 Part V: Living Vegan in the Real World Being a vegan in someone else’s home You may find it hard to believe, but many people really don’t understand what being vegan means Many times... preparing some vegan foods, including main meals, side dishes, desserts, and snacks Make it a truly vegan experience for your hosts ✓ Research restaurants and grocery stores online before your travels