Eating Vegan While Traveling

My daughters and I are currently on a road trip, checking out famous (and not so famous) space exhibits and sites in New Mexico (more on this later). We knew from the get-go that eating a healthy vegan diet whilst traveling was probably going to be challenging. It is, but we've got some suggestions on how to make it easier:

1. Take as much food with you as you can manage. Many things don't have to be refrigerated, such as pb&j, Clif bars, pretzels, and misc. snack items. Things that do have to be refrigerated can often be carried for a few hours and eaten as your first trip meal.
   
2. Check happycow.net for restaurants and health food stores at your destination (and on the way to your destination). This site is an excellent resource for finding vegetarian and vegan friendly stores and eateries. Be sure to write reviews of the places you check out. I always read reviews of places I am considering going to.
   
3. If you see a health food store, go into it, even if you aren't hungry. We found our supper today by stumbling upon a health food store. While most of the items were very much not vegan, we were able to find healthy choices.
4. Don't let yourself get dehydrated! Buy bottled water if you need to, it is worth it.
5. Don't let yourself get to the point that you are so hungry you are willing to eat anything you find. Seek out food well before you are starving.
6. Find meals at grocery stores and eat at parks. You don't have to eat all your meals at restaurants and fast food joints. We've found some fun fruit and dry cereal for breakfast. If you know that fast food places are going to be your only choice, figure out what you are going to order before you go in. Many meals can be veganized if you ask the right questions and make your needs made clear (politely, of course).
   
7. Don't hesitate to eat the "wrong meals" at the "wrong times". If you have access to delicious and nutritious vegan burritos, eat them even if it is breakfast time. Ditto on cereal for supper. My daughter highly recommends spaghetti for breakfast and peaches for lunch. I'm not actually a big cereal fan, but it does make for easy and quick trip food.
8. Have fun and try new things! You just might find new favorites.