Air travel, raw foods, Boston

[Soose]

Traveling to Boston next week via Air Trans. Haven't flown since 9/11. Worried. [We should be in Boston Tuesday through Friday -- at which time we'll get a rental car and my worries will be over, as I feel I'll have the freedom to stop at a market.] Could I please have help with the following worries?

How to take foods and water? I've been drying some foods (apple slices, granola, nuts/seeds, jerky), but am worried if they'll survive in checked baggage as I hear thefts are bad.

How do we manage without an ice chest?

How to live raw out of a hotel (or we may get a B&B with no kitchen privileges)?

How to make the focus on the trip not all about procuring enough food for a family of 3, which is a distraction from the sight-seeing we want to do?

If there are raw restaurants, are they expensive? And maybe they will be on the other side of town, not sure where we're staying yet.

Advice, please?

[sport]

I do not think that the people who steal things from luggage will be interested in your food. I take fruit leathers and crackers all the time.
You will not be able to take water past security and if you have it you will be asked to dump it.
There may be a fridge in the hotel.
Take some lara bars or something like that in case you are stuck.
If you are checking in luggage take a sharp knife for cutting fruit.

[zinny]

Don't try to bring any drinks through the security line (x-ray/conveyor belt). After you go through security, you'll be able to buy bottled water in the shops that you can take on the plane with you. I recommend buying some--the bottles on the plane are tiny and travel can be dehydrating.

Don't worry about food being stolen from luggage, but don't go crazy packing lots of heavy stuff either. There are plenty of grocey stores.

When you arrive, go to a shop and buy some fresh fruit that can stay well on the counter, so that you'll have fresh fruit for breakfast.

There's a raw salad entree at the Other Side Cafe on the corner of Mass Ave and Newbury Street. Decent juice at Trident Booksellers Cafe, Shwarma King in Brookline, etc. Whole Foods with big salad bars all over. You can find veg restaurant suggestions on happycow.net, and look for ones with raw options.
Tell us where you're staying and maybe I will think of some other recs!

[Raw Angel Mom]

There were Alissa's restaurant but there are couple more left if think.

http://www.organicgardencafe.com/

There is another one that i heard, i will post the info when i find out.

You can always try to google for raw restaurant Massachusett

I am traveling too next week, i will bring dry raw food, dry raw snack, my vitamix greens and fruits.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

p.s With chia seed, dry fruits and one banana/one lemon juice, filter water, you can make a nice cereal in the morning. I intent to do this for my trip.

1 part of chia seed
4 part of water
cinamon to tast
1 part of combine goji berry, golden berry, raisin
1 tea spoon of vanilla

Mix well, add the juice of one lemon and one finely sliced banana. Blend gently. So good and delicious

[MelanieBear]

I have air travel down to a science. (I should blog post on this....)

Here's what I do:

1. Get a mason jar and fill it with water and 2 dropperfuls of Rhodiola Rosea tincture. Drink on the way to the airport so that it is empty by security. (I have never had my empty mason jar taken away.) I get a head-start on my hydration and on my oxygen uptake and avoid the BPA-filled (and expensive) bottles that I'd have to buy otherwise.

2. Bring fresh juicy fruits with me to eat on the plane if i get hungry. Dried foods are terrible to eat on a plane as you're already being dehydrated and deprived of oxygen. You need the antixoidants and the water in fresh fruit. Plus, I've honestly never been so grateful for strawberries as on a plane. (The jealous looks from other passengers can be pretty bad though!)

3. Continue to take Rhodiola every 2 hours I am in the air. Continue drinking water like it's my job.


I don't tend to bring tons of food with me. A few bags of sprouted nuts, some raw bars I've made, some fruit....I just hit a grocery store when I arrive and grab fruit, greens, and whatever looks good. I keep it simple. There's too much else to do and no reason to worry about food for my whole trip.

Good luck, and HAVE FUN!

Melanie

[Soose]

Tell us where you're staying and maybe I will think of some other recs!

Well, I had to wait to finish reservations but it appears we will be staying withing walking distance of downtown, over on the Constitution side.

Thanks to all for the advice. So very helpful!

I'm feeling a little more together about the foods. I'm going to pack some dried food, a mini-blender, knife and some dinner ware amongst jackets and check it. We've made two trays of raw granola (should be 4 days worth to add to whatever fruits we can find for b'fast during the days in Boston).

Then, it's apple season here, so I already had dried apple slices going; will make trail mix. I have veg sliced and ready to marinate for jerky, will dry today. We hope to have time to make some flax crackers or onion bread. Really, just making it past the days we're in Boston proper in a hotel, though there is supposed to be a mini-fridge -- once we're on the road, I'm not concerned.

I just realized I need to get a big map of Boston and mark in the stores and restaurants mentioned, so we can see how to get there. I have never been to a Trader Joe's! (We have Earth Fare and Fresh Market but no Whole Foods either. We do have a couple of other local health/produce stores we mostly frequent, very lucky.)

Okay, a sidetrack. I have just found myself wondering if I can dehydrate the taco-filling we make of chopped walnuts, taco type spices, and tomatoes. All chopped up. Then, we could just add water and it would be much the same as carrying trailmix. Add to a guacamole salad which some Mexican restaurants have. (My teen in particular needs more at least emotionally than all raw whole veg.) Would be useful for camping, too. We already soak and dry the walnuts so if I add in diced or sauced tomatoes and spices at the time... don't see why that would not work.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Well, I had to wait to finish reservations but it appears we will be staying withing walking distance of downtown, over on the Constitution side.

Thanks to all for the advice. So very helpful!

I'm feeling a little more together about the foods. I'm going to pack some dried food, a mini-blender, knife and some dinner ware amongst jackets and check it. We've made two trays of raw granola (should be 4 days worth to add to whatever fruits we can find for b'fast during the days in Boston).

Then, it's apple season here, so I already had dried apple slices going; will make trail mix. I have veg sliced and ready to marinate for jerky, will dry today. We hope to have time to make some flax crackers or onion bread. Really, just making it past the days we're in Boston proper in a hotel, though there is supposed to be a mini-fridge -- once we're on the road, I'm not concerned.

I just realized I need to get a big map of Boston and mark in the stores and restaurants mentioned, so we can see how to get there. I have never been to a Trader Joe's! (We have Earth Fare and Fresh Market but no Whole Foods either. We do have a couple of other local health/produce stores we mostly frequent, very lucky.)

Okay, a sidetrack. I have just found myself wondering if I can dehydrate the taco-filling we make of chopped walnuts, taco type spices, and tomatoes. All chopped up. Then, we could just add water and it would be much the same as carrying trailmix. Add to a guacamole salad which some Mexican restaurants have. (My teen in particular needs more at least emotionally than all raw whole veg.) Would be useful for camping, too. We already soak and dry the walnuts so if I add in diced or sauced tomatoes and spices at the time... don't see why that would not work.

Whole food has great choice of fresh food. You may want to check the area.

[nadien alexandra]

I am on the road constantly and here are some things that are quick, and satisfying and easy to transport:

my "Oatmeal" substitute:

3tbsp Flax Seed Meal
2tbsp shelled hemp hearts
some sunflower seeds
some pumpkin seeds
raisins
cinnamon
honey

mix flax with water, let it turn into a glutenous paste
add other ingredients and ENJOY!!
VERY SATISFYING :)


other things I travel with:

nuts and seeds
DATES and raisins
goji berries
Spirillina (algae)
homemade raw tahini
honey
apples
bananas

and when i first left home, I made a ton of raw "granola" bars that are very similar to Lara Bars (but frankly taste much better. ;) hehe)

Everywhere I go, I walk into the grocery store and get some fruit. Everything in my pack is for when I can't get fresh fruit. Then my friend and I have fruit picnics in the grass. We carry a roll up cutting board and a good compact knife.
good luck, and it's not so hard!

[Eva]

quick note for you ~ wish i had time to leave a longer one!

you will find that the raw restaurants in boston are not convenient for sightseeing as they are in the suburbs. (sorry!)

but there are plenty of trader joe's and small markets in the area. trader joe's has a great guac kit and plenty of to-go type fresh raw items, which is why i mention them...

i was just in a similar situation in boston a month or two ago and found it to be no big deal.

i hope you have lots of fun! :)

[Soose]

Ya'll are a wealth of help! Thank you so much! Eva, that's what I feared about the restaurants -- suburbs. Plus we're going to sightsee and I think it's much better to be visiting a theater during the evening than eating! We are hopeful! :) I am so looking forward to trying out all the little markets and seeing fresh produce of diff types! I have not yet laid eyes on a raw thai coconut! Maybe we'll run into one!

Sorry to be not checking back often -- been working hard on trip preps and closing things down, trial packing, finishing dehydrating, dog sitters, etc..

We went into our new Earth Fare Saturday and they had spring rolls which reminded me we can make something similar and picnic with leaves as wrappers. My son was tickled with what we concocted for lunch. Hooray! :) I'm taking a tiny paring knife (found them colorful and 4/$1) and a cutting board for each of us. (It's plastic and flat but doesn't roll, haven't seen those.) And a bowl for each, a solo-type plastic oval plate that can be rewashed and reused ad infinitum.

I have way too much dehydrated foods to pack. Sure hope they survive the flight! Oh! We upgraded to a hotel that has a full kitchen. I've decided this time it's worth it!

Thank you all!!