5 TIPS FOR TRAVELING AS A VEGAN

Ironman and I travel as much as we can and we often get asked how we eat on the road!  It's not hard to be vegan travelers.  It just means we have to be flexible and creative.  Here are the 5 tips that I would give to other travelers who are trying to stick to the vegan lifestyle!

You can watch my YouTube video on the topic, or scroll down to read my blogpost:

1.  HIT THE GROCERY STORE - Stock up on your favorite fruits, veggies, grains and nuts if you are staying somewhere with a kitchen.  Breakfast can be as easy as a smoothie or a big bowl of cut up fruit!  For lunch, whip up a salad with spinach leaves, colorful veggies and top with avocado.  And dinner can be rice, topped with steamed veggies.

2.  FIND A JUICE/SMOOTHIE BAR - Most juice and smoothie bars have plenty of options for vegans!  Just look through their menu and be sure to ask them questions about ingredients.  Plus, they often have smoothie bowl too.  Yum!  I could seriously spend all my money at these places.  It's like heaven.  Not cheap, but heaven all the same.

This smoothie bowl was amazing!

3.  LOOK UP VEGAN RESTAURANTS - They are not always available, or listed online, but if you can find a vegan restaurant, you'll have tons of options!  Chances are it will be a little more expensive than a regular restaurant, so be prepared.  Some restaurants aren't 100% vegan, but will have vegan options.  This is probably your best choice if you can find it.

4.  GO OUT TO A REGULAR RESTAURANT - When all else fails, go eat at a regular place.  You can almost always find something vegan or ask for substitutions.  Usually I just focus on the salads and sides.  We often have to ask the waiter to hold the meat and cheese and add extra veggies, but they always do.  Easy peasy.  Even a baked potato and steamed veggies would work!

We got a veggie pizza, no cheese, extra veggies!

5.  WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS - Don't leave home without snacks.  If you have no idea about the area, go prepared.  You don't want to show up and find out there are no decent grocery stores, juice bars and no restaurants with vegan options.  I love keeping bananas, nuts, protein bars, carrots and dates around for quick and easy for snacks.  These have held me and Ironman over for many trips!

People often think that it's hard for us to go out to eat, but it's really not.  The secret is just being prepared and flexible.  Know the menu ahead of time, if possible.  If not, just look it over and find something that works.  We have yet to go somewhere that we weren't able to find something to eat!