How do you cope with travel?

[speltrong]

Hi all, this is my first month being raw, and hubby and I are heading to Las Vegas next week. I am fretting a bit because I really want to stay raw while we travel and I know from past trips that it's always a challenge to stick to any eating plan while traveling (especially someplace like vegas). We also have a trip to London coming up, and they are hardly known for their raw cuisine! Who has good tips & tricks for how to stick to it while on the road?

[Lady Green Jeans]

I have not done a long trip since raw but know I have been going out with friends and have gotten some really good salads. Vegas has tons of buffets with extensive salad bars. No issues there. If I had the op to travel abroad I would probably take a supply of dehydrated crackers--you can always make sandwiches with easy raw things like sprouts, avo, lettuce, tomato, shredded veggies, etc. Also can make pizzas if you have access to a blender.

Have you googled raw vegan restaurants in the cities you will be going to? Seems to be a really growing trend and you may be surprised to find some great little places.

Hope you have a blast on both trips.

[DebB]

Hi all, this is my first month being raw, and hubby and I are heading to Las Vegas next week. I am fretting a bit because I really want to stay raw while we travel and I know from past trips that it's always a challenge to stick to any eating plan while traveling (especially someplace like vegas). We also have a trip to London coming up, and they are hardly known for their raw cuisine! Who has good tips & tricks for how to stick to it while on the road?

Here are 2 vidoes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm_ytM-dlj0)on produce stores in Las Vegas by John Kohler - his videos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuqXZ6W4lpM)are great!

Last time we travelled, I actually packed my BlendTec on the plane. There are actually videos by John and by liferegenerator that show what they pack in their suitcase (things like a thin plastic cutting board, sharp knife, maybe a small blender like TriBest).

Never having been to Vegas, I have heard about the buffets though. Perhaps there would be nice salads and fresh fruit? (I don't know though). *Ü*

[speltrong]

You know, the last time we were in vegas, I really didn't see very many buffets in the major casinos, but then I wasn't looking for them. We are staying in the Wynn, and I know that Steve Wynn recently became vegan and ordered every restaurant in his casinos to have full vegan menus on demand. So maybe they'll have some really good salads. They have always seemed pretty customer service oriented, so they might also be willing to whip something up if I let them know that I'm raw. As for london, I actually did just google it and found a few raw options.. I am just not sure if they're anywhere near where we'll be staying, or if they're in the touristy parts of town, but we'll have a metro card so we should be able to get to them. I guess when we travel, it just seems like the cravings have always gotten the best of me.. you know, that feeling that you want to try the food while you're there, or why not let loose and have a good time type of mentality. I just really want to avoid having that happen, ugh!

[meowimacat]

There are some vegan restaurants in London! Google vegan London, there are some places with raw choices on the menu - not just salads either!! Sadly I've not been to London since changing the way I eat but I have done a bit of research! Have fun in London!! It's pretty vegan friendly in some parts.
Regarding the travelling - I carry food with me wherever I go! Usually fruit, dried fruit and some nut butter. If I am at a restaurant with no raw choices (side salads get boring!!) I allow myself a cooked vegan/vegetarian meal.

[speltrong]

Yeah, London actually looks pretty cool. I even found a raw catering service that will deliver daily meals to our hotel. So we should be all set there. As far as vegas goes, I'm just going to hope that Steve Wynn's new menus include some nice (not boring) raw salads! Or I guess I could probably go across the street to fashion show mall & could probably find salads there. I bet I could even find bananas or other fresh fruit at the walgreens near sephora at the venetian. The trick will be to just make sure I do those things and don't get back into the cooked food mind-set!

[Stina]

I rely on apples and oranges a lot when I travel, they pack well. And I make a very big bag of raw granola to take with me.

[speltrong]

I'm pretty sure I won't be able to take raw fruit with me to london (they usually check for stuff like that at customs), but i should be able to get away with the granola, so that's a good idea!

[LaniB]

You'll have no trouble finding raw fruit in London. :-)

[LaniB]

I did a Google for you & came up with this:

http://www.veganlondon.co.uk/rawfood.htm

They actually have a raw food delivery service if you are going to be in Central London.

[Tenuviel]

when i used to travel, I ate a lot of fruit and fruit salad :)

[speltrong]

Well, thanks to everyone for the responses. It turns out that I did quite well in both London and Las Vegas. London was actually quite a bit easier than Vegas, but neither were particularly difficult to stay raw. I feel confident that on all of our future trips, we'll be fine sticking to raw. The only ones I am worried about are the trips to more 3rd world type places... like, god forbid, if we have to go back to India again, there is just no way I would eat raw food there. I also have a trip coming up next year to the Philippines, and I really wouldn't feel comfortable eating raw there either. My feeling is, if you can't drink the water, don't eat the raw food. So, probably I'll end up taking a lot of dried raw food with me to those places, along with my steripen so I can drink the water, and then supplementing with cooked rice if I absolutely have to. Or maybe the hotel we'll be staying at will cater to us westerners and have a few raw items that we might be able to eat. Never know! One thing's for sure, even if I find myself in a situation where I have to eat cooked food, I'll limit it to rice only. I can't imagine a situation so bad that I'd be inclined to eat any sort of meat product!