Living Vegan For Dummies - Alexandra Jamieson [111]
Depending on how large the airport is, your choices will vary greatly. Smaller, out-of-the-way airports may only have a newsstand while huge regional hubs will have food courts with ethnic joints, fast food, lounges, and restaurants. Here are some ideas of where to look for vegan food to tide you over until you reach your destination:
Newsstands: At these stands you often can find water, trail mix, fruit, nuts, pretzels, and crackers.
Fast-food joints: If you’re forced to choose something from a fast-food restaurant, try a baked potato. Ask for an ingredient list if the restaurant offers veggie burgers or bagels to ensure there are no hidden animal ingredients.
Delis and food stands: If you come across a deli, see if it sells peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, veggie wraps (though check for cheese and mayo), nuts, fruit, pretzels, crackers, veggie sushi, bagels, or packets of peanut butter.
Restaurants: Some restaurants provide a vegan-friendly selection. Look for ethnic dishes like stir-fried rice and vegetables, vegetarian burritos and tacos (hold the cheese), bagels, salads with beans, veggie burgers, veggie sandwiches (check for mayo and cheese), or pasta with veggies.
Lounges, airline clubs, and bars: These types of places usually offer crackers, pretzels, nuts, fruit, wine, water, and hot beverages. Some may even offer a menu of freshly prepared dishes and may be able to specially prepare a vegan pasta dish for you.
No matter where you are, don’t be afraid to ask for what you need and want. But, of course, do so with complete politeness. Be sincere and ask your waitress if your special dietary needs can be accommodated. From truck stops to fancy French bistros, I have always received help from the server when I gently explain my situation. A little smile and a kind voice go a long way. Don’t forget to tip a little extra too, to say thank you, and to pave the way for the next hapless vegan who comes through town!
Healthy traveling vegans
Even with the best vegan diet, the onslaught of travel stress, loss of sleep, or foreign germs can be too much for the human immune system. Staying healthy on the road starts with eating well and ensuring your diet includes enough protein, complex carbohydrates, clean water, and veggies.
To ensure you don’t get stuck in the hotel with the flu for the whole trip, stay hydrated, avoid overconsumption of sugar and alcohol, abstain from illegal drugs, and know your physical limits. Make your own little travel pharmacy that includes the following:
Vitamin C packets that can be added to juice or a glass of water as well as a multivitamin to tide you over in case you can’t find nutritious food choices on your journey
A hot water bottle, which can be filled with hot water from the tap in the airplane or hotel bathroom (A water bottle is perfect for a cramped neck, stomach pain or bloating, or cold feet.)
Hand sanitizer wipes and bandages
Sunscreen
Pain medication like aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen
Tweezers, nail clippers, and a nail file (stored in checked baggage, if you’re flying)
An ample supply of your regular medicines in their original containers, along with extra prescriptions for them just in case
A couple more tips:
Contact your health insurance company to find out the procedure for visiting a doctor in another country.
If you’re going to a country that’s known for “traveler’s diarrhea,” be sure to order your vegetables cooked and steaming hot. Peel all your fruit yourself, and don’t eat precut fruit; this will help you avoid anything cut with an unclean knife or cross-over contamination from nonvegan foods. Avoid raw salads, and drink your water from commercially-sealed water bottles.
Be sure to eat substantial protein and complex carbohydrates throughout your day while traveling. Walking all day and seeing the sites can lead to exhaustion if you don’t eat properly.
Traveling Together: Cruises