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Articles and Information
Surviving Domestic Travel as a Vegan
by Lara Douglas
In my four years as a vegan, my work, school, and family obligations have required me to travel an average of two or three days each week. Before that, when I traveled as a vegetarian, I visited numerous fast food establishments with my traveling companions. After watching vegan acquaintances try (and usually fail) to find edible fare, I assumed when I became vegan that my travels would force a choice between starvation and compromising my beliefs. While I've consented to a few meals of chips or nuts from a gas station while my companions ate at McDonald's, I have learned some great ways to find delicious vegan food in any city.
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Before You Leave
The most important factor in ensuring veg*n food options on your trip is to do research ahead of time. A simple Google search for "vegetarian" or "vegan" and the name of the city can get you a list of veg*n restaurants in the area. Often, you can even check the menus ahead of time to determine whether the food is appealing to you (or your kids).
You also need to make sure you pack all the necessary items. I eat a lot of take-out meals in my hotel while working, so I try to bring utensils and a plate. That way, I don't have to go poking around the hotel bar at midnight searching for a fork. You should also bring vegan alternatives for items that you will require frequently. If you eat bagels for breakfast every day, bring tofu cream cheese. If you enjoy coffee in the morning, bring a soy creamer and natural sweetener. You can bring a small (6-pack size) cooler for any cold items if you need them. I also try to pack small amounts of seasonings, sweeteners, or condiments in sandwich bags, empty spice jars, or baby food containers. If your trip is long and your hotel room has a refrigerator, you might choose to buy some of these items after you arrive (for instance a quart of soymilk for your trip). Once you have these things, you can bring them to restaurants if you think it's unlikely that the restaurant will have what you need - most people won't have a problem with you using your own condiments if you explain your dietary needs.
Getting There
The part of traveling that is by far the most difficult for veg*ns is the traveling itself. It sometimes seems as though the meat-eating world has conspired to prevent us from eating on the go. Fortunately, we're much more adaptable than the average human, and with a little planning can counter any obstacle thrown in our path.
Planes
First, if you don't travel often it's important to be aware that a vast majority of flights, including cross-country flights, do not provide meals. They usually provide snacks, but these are often snack mixes that contain dairy products and, occasionally, anchovies. It is important to bring along plenty of snacks for the whole family during your flight. Also, almost all airlines provide drinks during the flight, but if you are concerned about sugar (particularly for children) you should bring your own. The drinks provided by airlines are primarily sodas and fruit juices loaded with extra sugar.
On the off chance that a flight you are taking is actually providing a meal, most airlines offer a vegetarian meal option. If you are vegan, this option is almost guaranteed to be something you can't eat. However, many airlines have a "pure vegetarian," "non-dairy vegetarian," or vegan option. It is important to find out what these options mean when you buy your ticket or ASAP afterwards. Make sure they have you down for a meal in the category that is most likely to offer you something you can eat. Phone the airline again a week before your flight to ensure that they will have a meal for you. When you arrive at the airport and check in for your flight, check again. Finally, when you get on the plane, alert the flight attendant to your situation and make sure he or she knows who you are. This is particularly important for vegans, because sometimes flight attendants do not realize that their vegetarian and vegan meals are different. They may give your food away to someone else, leaving you with a cheesy pasta dish. Even after you take all these precautions, however, you can still be left without a meal on a long flight. To avoid the choice of having to go hungry or trying to "eat around" the dairy in a meal, I recommend bringing enough non-perishable snacks that you will not be too hungry if you have to avoid eating airline meals. From personal experience, even trying to eat around the dairy in a mostly vegan meal can be impossible, and the reaction that your body may have to small amounts of animal products can lead to unpleasant airline restroom experiences.
Trains (And Other Public Transportation)
Almost every form of public transportation has very little in the way of vegetarian or vegan options. Airports, bus stations, and train stations frequently serve primarily fast food or deli-style fare, which rarely have vegetarian options (and almost never have vegan options). If you are taking public transportation, your best bet is to bring along a meal that you can eat cold at the airport or station, or at least some snacks to munch on. Some airports have Chinese take-out places, which usually have some vegetarian dishes. However, many of these dishes contain eggs, and busy airport staff may not react well to questions about the ingredients in their food. Essentially, if you don't want to get stuck with French fries and sunflower seeds, it's a good idea to bring your own food to airports and bus stations whenever possible. The return trip can be a bit harder since you usually can't cook your own meal, but if you plan ahead, you will be fine. I usually grab take-out on the way to the airport or bring leftovers from dinner the night before.
Public transportation can be especially difficult if you have children whose diets need to be low in sugar, fat, or salt. If this is your situation, I would recommend always bringing enough food for the entire journey. Children always get hungry during long trips, and it is difficult to keep them both healthy and satisfied when they are surrounded by salty chips and nuts, sugary candy and soda, and fried foods.
Automobiles
Driving trips present additional complications, because you want to avoid spending excessive time searching for the perfect dining options. You can speed things up by packing a lunch in a cooler for the trip. But sometimes stopping for lunch is a nice break, especially if you are traveling with young children.
When looking for a good place to stop for lunch, I usually scope out an entire exit. In addition to the available fast food places that have vegan options, such as Subway, Burger King, Pizza Hut, or Taco Bell, I look for exits that have strip-malls. These areas frequently have small, locally-owned restaurants, often including a Chinese, Thai, Japanese, or Mexican restaurant that will have several vegan possibilities. Since you usually have to sit down at these places, they take a little longer, but the quality of the food as compared to fast food can make the rest of your drive significantly more enjoyable. The final option in these strip mall areas, if all else fails, is to stop at a grocery store or supermarket. You can usually buy a salad from their deli salad bar, hummus and pita bread, or other simple foods for a picnic lunch. However, if you find this option appealing, it is a good idea to pack a couple of knives, forks, and plates for your trip to avoid scrounging for disposable utensils.
After You Arrive
Getting Settled
During your trip, particularly if you are staying in the same place for several days, it is a very good idea to ask around (i.e. at the hotel front desk) for the names of vegetarian or veg-friendly restaurants. Hotels often have take-out or delivery menus for area restaurants, and they can usually tell you which restaurants are good, cheap, clean, etc. At the beginning of long trips, I sometimes go to a grocery store and pick up things I will need during the trip. Some hotels have a microwave and freezer and I can pick up some frozen vegan burritos for a cheap meal. At the very least, I like to buy sugar-free fruit juice or bottled water so that I am not stuck drinking tap water or soda for the entire trip.
Dining Out
When eating out during trips, it's important to be open to trying new types of food. If you stick with big chain restaurants like TGI Friday's, you'll have trouble finding a good variety of foods. Local restaurants can include better vegan options, and can also give you a chance to meet more people and see areas that are less tourist-dominated. Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Ethiopian, and Mexican places are very common in most cities and often have vegan options, or meals that are easily made vegan by leaving off obvious items. Italian restaurants can be tricky, because servers often don't know whether their pasta contains egg. It is not uncommon to be informed by a well-meaning server that all pasta must be made with egg.
Generally, the smaller and less chain-like the restaurant is, the more knowledgeable the servers are, and the easier it is for them to ask the cooks if they can't answer your questions. Every type of cuisine has its own pitfalls, and it's usually best to explain your dietary needs to your server and ask them if there is anything in the dish that would be objectionable. As a general guide, Thai food frequently has fish sauce or occasionally milk, Indian food often has butter or ghee, and Chinese and Japanese foods can include egg or fish. Obviously, each restaurant is different and in a place you don't know, it's best to ask your server.
Actually, asking your server is important even in chain restaurants that you know well. Different franchises can use slightly different recipes, and getting a salad covered in cheese that you aren't expecting can cause complications with your server. One other related issue is that there are occasionally language barriers at restaurants serving international foods. In those situations, just do the best you can. Try to ask about any ingredients that you would find objectionable, and if the food arrives wrong, politely ask them to remake it. As you become more familiar with a particular type of cuisine, you'll get a better idea of what ingredients to watch out for and will probably even learn a few key phrases in the applicable languages.
Vacation Attractions
On vacation trips, particularly with children, eating at a city's attractions can be extremely difficult. If you go to baseball games, amusement parks, zoos, or museums, the only food without overt animal products can end up being sno-cones or candy. While your kids might find these options appealing, you probably prefer more healthful possibilities. These attractions are also almost always overpriced. Generally, I just avoid eating at these places altogether. You can eat before you arrive, or if you need to spend the entire day there, get your hands stamped and return after lunch. Packing a picnic lunch to eat at the park is another possibility.
Visits to Family and Friends
If you are visiting family or vacationing with friends, you have to meet the needs of other families as well as your own. In a culture where many children subsist on cheeseburgers and chicken fingers, this can make dining out very difficult. If the family you are with does not enjoy the types of foods you would prefer, you have a few options. First, you can take turns choosing a restaurant. If everyone agrees to try to find foods they enjoy, you can all benefit by being a little more creative than usual. Second, you can explain to the other family that your dietary needs can only be met by certain types of restaurants. The biggest obstacle to a workable compromise is usually children, who tend to prefer familiar foods. However, if everyone else acts excited about being "adventurous" at the Thai place, they can become more willing. They can also often find something familiar enough at international restaurants that everyone will be happy. Items like fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, or fried appetizer platters tend to be popular with non-vegetarian children in our family. If all else fails, their parents can pick them up a kids' meal from a fast food restaurant and bring it to dinner with you. The last possibility is that you can split up for dinner. Obviously, this option is not as much fun for anyone, but after a few days of salads and fries I sometimes find it necessary.
After Your Trip
To a vegetarian or vegan, traveling can seem like a hassle because of the difficulty of finding food, but a little preparation and creativity can make it both easy and enjoyable. Visiting new types of restaurants gives me a much more unique perspective of each city than I got when I frequented the chain restaurants usually favored by meat eaters. One final tip for frequent travelers is to keep a journal of all the places you try in each city, listing the place, how to get there, and what you thought of the food/service/prices/etc. That way, if you end up back in a city, you don’t have to revisit a place only to find that you remember it because you got sick after eating there. These journals can be fun for children, who enjoy keeping track of information and collecting keepsakes with the names and logos of all the attractions, hotels, and restaurants that you visited. A journal can also be a great way to keep track of all the memories of your trip together.
Lara Douglas lives with her partner Jeremy in Elkins, Arkansas. She is a graduate student in biology and loves cooking and spending time outdoors.
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