Away Vegan

[Taikun]

How do people stay vegan while on vacation without nutrient deficiencies?

[Jaywalker]

We can find the same food if there are markets nearby or we can plan accordingly if we suspect we won't find the food we need. I use supplements even when not on vacation. It also takes a long time for most deficiencies to develop, vegans won't be affected much by a week long trip.

[brimstoneSalad]

How long is your vacation?

Take multivitamins with you, but eating noodles for a week won't likely harm you too much as long as you get back on a good diet when you return home. Where are you going?

There's also happycow, to find vegetarian and vegan restaurants around the world.

[seitan_forker]

Shouldn't it be more difficult to be an omnivore while away? Is it really easier to find flesh and milk than actual, you know, food? Which vacation destinations have banned produce?

[brimstoneSalad]

Shouldn't it be more difficult to be an omnivore while away? Is it really easier to find flesh and milk than actual, you know, food? Which vacation destinations have banned produce?

Some people have trouble eating fresh produce, and it's often harder to cook them without knowing where to go.

Taikun, is that your issue? Figuring out how to cook while away?

You can buy produce at any grocery store, and they'll usually keep pretty well in your bag for a day or two (unlike meat), and you can microwave them in microwave safe tupperware in most hotel lobbies (if there's not a microwave in your room).

[Heinechan]

I'm finding that out first hand right now! I'll tell you how it goes.

[Heinechan]

Okay, so I took a vacation to visit my grandparents for about 5 days.

Before I went to the airport I bought a white bean and a chickpea salad from the grocery store so I wouldn't get hungry at the airport. I also packed some cliff builder bars (enough to have one per day).

When I arrived, I went to a Golden Corral (had never been to one before).

[I should not here that I've been a vegan for a long time. I used to be very strict. In a measure to not lose my sanity I make certain exceptions at restaurants. I don't attempt to verify that everything is completely vegan. I just make sure that nothing I eat obviously or visibly has any secondary animal products in it (eggs, cheese), or that they are not a primary ingredient. I do, however, make sure that there is no meat in anything I eat. ]

Golden Corral actually has a lot of options for vegans. The food itself isn't that good, but this isn't a food review. The have baked potatoes and yams, rolls, mushrooms, fried green peppers and onions, beans (if cooked with bacon it should be noted), salad, fried ocra, tatters, etc, cabbage, beans, carrots (the vegetables were actually pretty bad, all overcooked). So, plenty of options. I've been to far worse buffets for vegans.

The following morning I think I just had a banana for breakfast. For a late lunch it was a diner, just regular surf and turf type stuff. Luckily, very luckily they had a veggie burger. Everything else was just dead animals. Was the veggie burger vegan? Maybe, maybe not. This is the sort of thing I don't pry into. Could have eggs in it, but if I knew that I wouldn't have anything to eat. Ignorance is better in these sorts of situations I figure.

Breakfast again, oats and banana, toast with jelly.

While out in a downtown sort of area I grabbed a small container of black bean soup from a Cuban restaurant, making sure that it was vegetarian. My grandparents said they were going to a restaurant later. Asking what type, they said a "regular" restaurant. Fearing the worst I did some googling and found that there was a raw vegan place in the area, so I actually excused myself for a while and ate there by myself. That was fortunate because the restaurant was certainly very regular. Quite literally nothing for vegetarians except for salad, and diner salads are pretty routinely awful. I ordered some onion rings and tea...and had a salad anyways (not good).

For dinner that night or the following I made enough soup for myself and grandparents and mum. All the restaurant food was so heavy I was starting to feel pretty lousy so I wanted to make something clean. It started as me just wanting to make something for myself and didn't really care if anyone else had any. I don't like trying to talk other people into eating the way I do. They assumed I was making it for everybody and that's fine too. They liked it. Was a basic tomato base vegetable soup with light red beans and turnip greens.

While at the grocery store I also bought cereal and soy milk. I find drinking cups of soymilk to be a good substitute for meals when in a pinch. Not a lot of calories, but you at least get some protein.

For the rest of the trip there were two more restaurants:
A Chinese buffet: pretty terrible. No main courses for vegetarians and most of the vegetable dishes were mixed with chicken. Ended up eating a bunch of cucumber rolls, spring rolls, and lo mien. There was a lot of fruit, but I'm not a big fruit guy.

A diner: bad like most breakfast diners. I had grits with hash browns and toast.

Back at the airport: terrible foods options again. I think I just got a banana and hot water (carry around some extra green tea bags if that's what you like to drink, most places will give you hot water for free).

Okay, so all in all not a great food experience, but definitely manageable. It's easier if you loosen up a bit with minor ingredients at restaurants, plan a bit ahead of time, eat whenever you have the opportunity even if it's just a snack, and be selfish when you feel like it. The chance of developing a deficiency on a short trip is really nonexistent.

[brimstoneSalad]

Excellent review!

Glad you survived without having to eat anything too nasty. I find baked potatoes are usually a decent go-to in really bad places. I ask for them uncut and with no sized, and I salt them at the table. If it's cut sometimes you'll end up with a piece of melting butter inside (or pieces of aluminum foil in it).
Peanuts are also a common option you'll find; any convenience store typically has some, and they're loaded with protein.