My Plant-Based Family

Eating Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet recipes, On a Budget.

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On the Road Again part 3

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This is the third part of a series on eating well while traveling. Today’s segment will is about eating well while staying in a hotel. We have also discussed Eating Well in the Car (packing food) and Eating Well from Fast Food Joints.

Do you struggle to eat well while traveling? It can be difficult but it isn’t impossible even while navigating multiple food allergies and eating a plant-based diet.

Eating Well while Staying in a Hotel

I’m not talking about creating gourmet masterpieces while staying in hotels, I’m talking about eating well enough that you don’t get sick. We usually stay in mid-range hotels when we travel. We usually look for hotels with a microwave, mini fridge and a breakfast buffet. We can’t always get everything we want but it helps to keep us from eating out at every meal.

Breakfast Buffet

The last hotel we stayed at had the worse breakfast options I’ve seen at a hotel (that actually serves breakfast). There was no fruit! They had lots of pastries, packets of oatmeal (the kind with flavors and sugar already mixed in), sugary cereal milk, yogurt, a waffle maker, and juice. Had we not been plant-based it would have been ok. If my son wouldn’t have had a wheat/gluten allergy we could have made due with toast or bagels.

Many hotels have great breakfast areas. I’ll list some of the options that I’ve made work in the past. If you or someone you are traveling with has food allergies I would recommend skipping the hotel breakfast area completely due to cross contamination.

  • Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts
  • Bagels with peanut butter and sliced apples or bananas
  • Fruit
  • Whole grain cereal that is low on sugar
  • If they have an omelet area ask for just the veggies
  • Toast with peanut better and fruit

Some hotels have more options, others have less. Since we were concerned for our son’s allergies I packed most the food he ate for breakfast including cereal, rice milk, hot rice cereal (just add hot water), lots of fresh and dried fruit.

Mini Fridge & Microwave Options

  • Pre-cooked Rice Bowls
  • Instant Soups
  • Sandwiches
  • Steam in bag veggies
  • Frozen Food (store-bought or homemade)
  • Salad from a deli
  • Non-dairy yogurt
  • Hummus and raw veggies

This is a pretty simple list but we really wants to spend a lot of time cooking when you are traveling. We also had a bag with small sunflower seed butter packets that could be used in a food emergency.

Do you ever find yourself needing to cook in a hotel?

We’ve stayed in places with full kitchen’s and I hated all the time I spend cooking and cleaning. Now I opt for easier and quicker (microwave) cooking methods while on the go.

Do you have a suggestions I may have missed for eating at the hotel?

 

On the Road Again part 2

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This is the second part of a series on eating well while traveling. Today’s segment will revolve around eating well while on the go (restaurants). Last time I discussed Eating Well in the Car (packing food). In later segments I’ll discuss eating well in hotels, etc.

Do you struggle to eat well while traveling? It can be difficult but it isn’t impossible even while navigating multiple food allergies and eating a plant-based diet.

Eating Well on the Road Part 2

As you know we pack plenty of food when we travel but we still supplement by eating at restaurants throughout our journey. The following are healthy (or at least healthier) choices you can find along the way. I won’t be listing any Vegan restaurants but will focus on establishments that are easy to find and widely known.

Chipotle: My Happy Place! Chipotle has an amazing burrito bowl that can be ordered with black beans, brown rice, your choice of salsa, and guacamole. You could also get a salad or burrito, both are delicious! I frequent my local Chipotle so often I usually get free drinks.

Taco Bell: I know, not known as the healthiest option but their beans and rice are both vegan. I usually opt for a burrito without cheese and add rice. They also have a Cantina Bowl just that is customizable but avoid the dressing (it contains dairy).

Subway: Who says you need meat on a sub sandwich? I order the veggie delight with avocado. You could also try a salad or a wrap if a sub isn’t your thing.

Wendy’s: I know this is a burger joint but it has some workable options. I like to order the baked potato, some locations have guacamole I use to top my potato. They also have salads that can be made without meat and apple dippers.

Starbucks: Do I really need to say anything here? I order my coffee with soy milk instead of dairy and leave off whip cream. Thanks to a friend who works at Starbuck’s I now know you can order the oatmeal with soy milk also. I once picked up a veggie and hummus pita at an airport but I don’t know if those are found everywhere.

Pizza: I love a good veggie pizza without cheese. My son can’t have gluten so we only get pizza when we find pizza place’s with a gluten-free crust. You may want to do a little research before choosing a restaurant to find out what is the crust.

We’ve also eaten at “regular” restaurants and found things that work for us. Chips and salsa (and guacamole) are usually acceptable. Most restaurants offer salads and baked potatoes. Most vegetables are made with butter or oil so inquire about their preparation.

We found a great restaurant that worked for us on our last trip. I’ll share more about that another time when I offer suggestions for finding hidden gems while traveling. Do you have a favorite and maybe even unexpected restaurant I should mention? Email them to me or leave them in the comments.

Where do you eat while on a trip? Is there a special spot that shouldn’t be missed?

Packing a Lunch

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I’ve had a few request recently for meal idea’s that can be packed up and taken to work. My husband takes his breakfast and lunch to work almost every day so I have a little experience with this. He has a pretty sweet set up, a break room with refrigerators, microwaves, and a coffee maker. I know not everyone has the same situation so I’ll offer my suggestions and I’ll encourage my readers to chime in with their ideas as well.

The Sweet Set Up

If you have a kitchen available like my husband there is not a whole lot you can’t do. He usually takes cooked oatmeal (spiced up with cinnamon, raisins, and a touch of agave), Breakfast Quinoa, or a baked sweet potato for breakfast. He also takes 2 to 3 pieces of fruit everyday to eat throughout the day.

For lunch he usually has leftovers from the night before. He is also very fond of Baked Potatoes for lunch. These are not your plain ol’ potatoes, he prefers them with steamed veggies or vegan chili. He is also as happy as a clam to pour whatever else he can find in the fridge. If he were taking a Baked Potato tomorrow he would likely top it with Quinoa Taco Meat, Salsa, or guacamole because that is what we have available. Leftover soups are great for lunches on their own or poured over a potato.

Lunches don’t always center around potatoes. Mexican food makes really kickin lunches the next day. Just mix up whatever you have left, heat it up, and stuff it into a tortilla, or if you have more time eat it with organic tortilla chips.

During winter months or if you work in a cold building soups, chili’s, and casserole’s would be a nice way to warm up during the day.

Brown Baggin’ It

More than likely you’re not actually taking your lunch in a brown bag, not that I’m judging. You can buy an ice pack to use in a reusable, insulated lunch bag or even a small cooler (depending on your situation) fairly inexpensively. This set up can keep your food cold for at least half the day. The key here would be packing food that is good at room temperature or cold.

A few options that come to mind is a Not So Tuna Salad (or Not So Chicken Salad) Sandwich or wrap. This is made with chickpea’s so it is a good source of protein and fiber helping you feel full longer.

I’m also a fan of Veggie Wraps with Jalapeno Hummus (or other flavors), spinach, carrots, and bell peppers. You could add cucumbers, mushrooms, corn, tomatoes, or your favorite veggies. I have these for lunch often because they are easy to throw together. You could even make up a bunch at the beginning of the week, I’d pack the hummus separately to keep things from getting soggy if you were gonna wait a few days.

Big Salads are another option, just fill a big container with your favorite veggies, and store salad dressing and wet veggies in a separate container until lunch time. Some people like cold pasta salads or quinoa salads. These can also be quite filling and full of nutritional goodness. I’m sitting here dreaming of a Black Bean Quinoa Salad with roasted corn, avocado and salsa. A side of hummus and veggies is always a good idea too!

Another option is to make smoothies and freeze them ahead of time so they can slowly thaw throughout the day.

I’ve seen many a Brown Bagger go into convenience stores to heat up lunch. If this is an option for you then you have graduated to the Sweet Set Up category.

Emergency Stash

Sometimes life gets busy and we don’t have time to pack a lunch. For times like these I send McDougall’s Soup Cups, Tasty Bites (read label because they are not all vegan), or a can of Amy’s Soup (again not all vegan).

If you need to eat out you can grab a bean burrito, a meatless Subway meal, or even better a meal for Chipotle. Just don’t eat vegan junk food, you won’t be doing yourself any favors.

On our recent trip to the zoo we packed a lunch of 2 almond butter, gluten free sandwiches and 2 peanut butter wheat bread sandwiches, a few GoGo Squeez applesauce pouches, 2 apples, 2 rice milk boxes (a huge treat), granola bars, raisins, and water. Lunch was a success and super easy, never underestimate the power of a nut butter sandwich.

So do you pack a lunch? If so what do you pack?

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Snacking While Traveling

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We have not taken a family trip since before we went to a Plant-Based Diet. A lot of the fun of our trips was related to food. We would pack a ton of snacks and stop at gas stations and buy tons more. Once we little one’s came along we had to be intentional about buy them healthy and kid friendly snacks because there was no way I would feed my precious babies the garbage we were eating. 😉

Another tradition that will continue is making a freezing PB&J’s or AB&J’s. They slowly defrost throughout the day for a quick and timely lunch. We pack easy to eat fruit and crackers, dried fruit and trail mix has always been a big hit with us. 

This year we will take Go Go squeeZ. GoGo squeeZ is applesauce in little handy pouches, I know you’ve seen them. They are easy to use because they require no dishes, perfect for my 3 year old. (They are a much better deal at Costco so if you have a membership buy them there instead of a regular store.) Additionally they are all natural and gluten, nut, and dairy free.

I’ll share my experience of traveling with kids and eating a Plant-Based diet in a few weeks, but for now I seek your advice. What would you take on a trip?

If you follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook you will get to see how it is going in real time because somethings are just to funny to wait.