Airplane travel and eating in France!

[Sunshine9]

I'm leaving soon to go to france for two weeks.. I'm curious what might be great snacks to take on the plane with me that would be filling and take up little space in my bag. I'm thinking maybe a green smoothie in a bottle I could throw away, maybe some dehydrated snacks (no idea which ones..?).. a lara bar, lots of water..

Also I have lived in france before and it is very unfriendly to anything vegetarian or raw. I was thinking I would take vitamineral green and drink it in a thermos so I would still have my greens, take a whole heck of a lot of lara bars, buy fruit from the health food stores, and eat salads if i go out.

any travel tips, flying advice, food recipes, ANYTHING, would be very appreciated. Thank you :)
love sunshine

[Autumn]

I have no idea how long the flight is, but I would take some almonds, raisins, the aforementioned Lara bar, seeds and water. If you're allowed to bring fresh fruit on the plane I would take that as well, along with baby carrots and celery.

I can't imagine (even in France :rolleyes: ) that there wouldn't be markets that sold fresh veggies and fruit? I know their cuisine is sauce heavy and rich, but surely they use veggies as well as fruit? The restaurants must get their produce from somewhere.

I don't expect you'll find much in the way of raw restaurants, but I'm sure you'll be able to eat your fill in fresh produce. :)

[rawpriestess]

Drink lots of fresh water, and make some dehydrated crackers to take with you.

get plenty of rest even on the plane, and have fun.
:)

[NoGMO!]

raw food travel in Paris
http://www.fresh-network.com/travel/raw_guides/paris.htm

[cactus]

HI there

because I live in England its just a hope skip and jump across to Paris and its one of my favourite places so we go there often, although France does specialize in rich food they all so have the best fresh food Ive ever seen in my life, they live differently than we do because they like to by locally and often, some times they go each day to buy their fresh produce ,
the Parisians like to shop locally from little markets full of fresh fruit and vegetables, they are very particular about the quality of their produce and it has to be fresh so these little markets are everywhere, and you can know for sure that most of what they sell wont have traveled half way around the world but grown lovingly with great care not far away,
I cant speak about long haul plane flights as Ive not done one since I became raw, but I can say that you will never be short of raw beautiful food in France/Paris.(your best bet is to ask the locals when and where their local market it)

[sweetgoddess]

ALong the same lines as cactus, I have friends who have just raved about the quality of the fresh produce at the small markets in France.

If you see a TCBY in an airport (there are lots here) you can ask them to make you a fruit smoothie with water instead of juice as the base. I do this in airports and love it! Anywhere that makes a smoothie with fruit in it can do this, though it takes a little explanation on the using water instead of juice thing. Well worth it though.

Most important of all, have a fabulous, memory making journey!

Blessings~
Carmel

[ren]

I'm going to Paris/Normandy for my honeymoon. I already know I'm taking green powder and goji berry snacks,etc. There are farmer markets there and that's why I'm making my fiance get a loft so I can juice there too :p

[calee]

Congratulations on going to Paris for your Honeymoon. Paris is one of my favorite places to go. I was only high raw when I went there last Thanksgiving but found fruit and veggies. I found that I had to be very clear when ordering a salad because they tend to put things like potatoes smoothered in mayo on a plain salad. Ask for dressing or lemon on the side so you can see what you're getting into.

As far as plane rides. This summer I went to China (12 hour plane) and took a big salad from Whole Foods, a Larabar, a few nuts and some fruit with me. For meals I order ahead and get the fruit plate. It generally comes with yogurt but someone next to me is always happy to eat it.

I have a 12 hour flight to Korea in December and a 15 hour flight home from Japan. I'm going to take salad, fruit, some nuts for the plane. I'll order a fruit plate so I don't feel deprived when I see other people getting served meals.

I'm planning to take some flax crackers, sealed bags of nuts and dried fruits along as snacks for my 2 week trip. I'm going to do a lot of snow hiking and lots of walking to explore all the Buddhist Temples in both countries so I'll need raw snacks to keep my energy up. I'm hoping to continue drinking my lemon/agave water for breakfast everyday so I'll take a sealed bottle of agave nectar along too. When I went to China I knew I'd be walking for hours everyday, as well as hiking on the great wall, so I took nuts and dried fruits and they came in very handy.

Have a great trip and make sure to tell us all about it when you get back! And best wishes for a lot of joy and laughter in your marriage.

[exurb]

I've been to France many times, pretty much any European country has awesome produce, at small stores as well as markets.

Just remember if you're taking dehydrated snacks on the plane to also drink a lot of water. Most people get generally dehydrated while flying, so you want to compensate.

That's a great link NoGMO, with raw-friendly places. Conventional French restaurants will be difficult IMO... to most French, dinner is supposed to go a certain way, it is actually often considered rude if you do not order an appetizer as well as your dinner, a cocktail before, etc... Maybe if you want to go out to socialize you're better for drinks, or even lunch versus dinner.

Another thing you could consider eating there if in a difficult spot (or if you want to partake of some local gastronomie), is some of their raw milk cheeses. (obviously not raw vegan, but I do know some raw people who eat this sort of stuff). The European laws for dairy and meat are MUCH stricter than American laws, there are no growth hormones allowed, and I don't know when the law took effect, but I also read they have laws regulating antibiotics, and a ban on subtherapeutic antibiotics. BTW, their organic protocols are also much stricter.

ALSO PLEASE EAT LOTS OF OLIVES WHILE YOU'RE THERE!! Some stores have amazing olive delis beside their delis, where you can get all sorts of different kinds of olives by the pound in bulk. By looking at them and how they come, and by how particular and traditional the French are about good food, I would say that in most stores with a beautiful array of artisanal olives in bulk, the olives would be raw. Obviously not the jars. I like the olives de Nice, they're small but very flavorful. If you're going anywhere into the countryside, you should stock up on raw olive oil, you're allowed to bring it back when I last checked. I have found some amazing oils, made by old-timers on farms, etc... If you're not leaving the city, see if you can get some at a farmers market.

Also, I don't know if you avoid all alcohol, but those gorgeous French red wines are raw. The prices are amazing there too, and you get some fabulous ones in the mid range that would cost a fortune here.

[aisah]

Hi Sunshine! As I travel often I totally would advise to have loads of liquid. You know how flying is very dehydrating. I have even been on a liquid fast on a plane but still do need lots of liquids for my dry throat. Not sure how particular on plain water drinking you are but most flights carry only mineral water so I, depending on the flight-hours, would carry a big dispensable bottle of water. I have even gotten a big bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice and it was so needed and refreshing!
As for foods, I would go with luscious watery fruits. I have done this time and time again to not only get glances from the other passengers but I can tell how they wished they had what I am having instead. I would usually ask for a fruit platter but most times their fruits are not totally fresh plus it comes with a bread roll! So I opt to not have their food and waste it.
So I would usually have cut up fruits, honeydews/melons alone or a mixture of other fruits (berries/grapes) in a dispensable container or better a ziplock bag but a container is much more easier to eat from however can be a space constraint. I would also bring along banana/orange/apple, anything ready to be consumed. Again depending on the flight-hours.
I have even packed salad and sushi rolls on one of my long flights.
Never been to France but what I can say is that you may want to pack some crackers/bars for emergencies, many times I thought I would have no problems then in those many times situation I wish I could turn back the clock and brought them along with me.
What I have done was brought along salad dressings/pestos and boy was I glad I did so. Even though it did not last, (I finished them up in like 3 days!) at least I am happy I got to eat good food the first few days.
As far as I know of travelling, some countries forbid bringing of fresh produce. So finish up the fresh foods in the planes and save the salad dressings/pestos for your lovely meals in France!
Oh don't forget to have something prepared for your trip back home too!
I bet you can find fresh local foods there. I have been to developing countries and survived :) you will definitely have a blastful stay there :)

[calee]

I tend to buy a lot of my own food while in Paris. The two places that I thought were fantastic were: Lafayette Galeria (dept. store) which is located right behind the OLD opera house. (not the new one in the Bastille). They have an entire floor of gourmet foods where you will find the freshest and most gorgeous fruits and veggies. On my trip to Paris last Thanksgiving, we stayed in St. Germaine and our hotel was across the street from the Department Store Bon Marche. They too have an entire floor that is gourmet foods. You'll find the same in fruits and veggies there. At Bon Marche, if you're in the neighborhood, they have a good fruit salad at the cafeteria line. I went there for breakfast every morning.

I was in China in August and found my stash of Larabars to be a real timesaver. They were great for snacks while out on those long treks around town. The best thing is that it's compact, wrapped and won't spoil. Those wrappers take a lot of beating in my purse or backpack.

Aisah's tip on airplane food is so true. I've been packing my own food, long before i was raw and everyone on the plane always lusts for my food. Take lots of juice and water to stay hydrated. The OJ on the plane is pasturized and won't nourish you. I pick up a couple of flash pasturized juices at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in case I run out of time and can't juice before I go. It seems like I'm always in a rush the day of a flight because I tend to work all day then catch a night flight in hopes of sleeping to pass some of the 13 hours on the plane.

Have fun!

[Sunshine9]

THank you all for these awesome replies!!! I am looking forward to the markets and all of the delicious fresh produce. I know where a lot of them are so there won't be any problems with that... Also flying there the flight is at night, and I usually avoid eating at that time anyway, so it won't feel unnatural. Rather I'll just eat a salad before I go, pack some juice, and have some fruit ready for "breakfast" time on the plane.

Please post any more suggestions!! they are all very helpful :)