A Vegetarian Goes on the Road Part IV: Eating Along the Highway

When I was about to embark for two weeks of business travel that involved a lot of highway driving, my biggest anxiety was what to eat for lunch on travel days.  In my mind, most places off highway exits and at rest stops didn't seem likely to have veg options, and I wasn't sure what I was going to get to eat on car trips.

However, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was for me to find filling and yummy veg friendly meals at fast food establishments.  Almost every fast food restaurant out there has a salad option, but most of them have chicken.  Good news - most fast food restaurants warm up their chicken before adding it to the salad.  Why is this good news for us vegetarians?  It means that it's amazingly simple to just get a salad without chicken.  I was able to do this at Burger King and Wendy's.  The Wendy's Almond Berry Salad (pictured above) was especially good.  It's a seasonal item, so it won't be available year round, but there will still be other salads on the menu and I'm sure they'll be just as good.

While we didn't eat at any of them, a number of the gas stations we stopped at had a full service Subway restaurant inside.  Subway is a good option for lacto-ovo vegetarians and not a bad one for vegans.

A number of rest stops/convenience stores had fresh fruit and vegetable snacks.  WaWa in particular had a good selection.  Pair the fruit or veggie packs with trail mix and you have a good back-up meal.

Readers, what are your go to options for vegetarian food along the highway?

A Vegetarian Goes on The Road, Part III: Convention Eating & St. Louis Restaurant Spotlight

Some of the Many Vegetarian Options available at ASAE 2011

The first part of my two weeks of epic travel was four days in St. Louis for my professional association's annual convention.  I have to give props to ASAE for providing terrific vegetarian options at every function.  Not only did fresh fruits and veggies abound, but there were entire stations in the exhibit hall that were purely vegetarian, and all of the seated meal functions had filling, veg options.  Additionally, at almost every event, meals were clearly labeled as vegetarian and clearly spelled out lists of ingredients.  It was great to be able to concentrate on business and networking and not worry so much about what I was going to eat.

Roasted Beet Salad from Lucas Park Grille

Since there were so many events at the conference, I only ate a sit down dinner at one restaurant, but it was a treat!  A group of fifteen colleagues and I came together for a reunion dinner at the Lucas Park Grille.  One of the vegetarian offerings was "Match Meatballs."  I was pretty sure Match had soy in it, but I decided to check with our server to be sure.  Normally, when I ask this type of question, the server runs back to the kitchen to check with the chef.  However, our server not only knew right away what the ingredients were, but was able to run through the menu to share which dishes were vegetarian or could be made vegan.  I was impressed at her preparedness. 

For my meal, I opted for the roasted beet & goat cheese salad, followed by a vegetarian risotto, which included mushrooms and frizzled leeks.  Both were delicious!  A variety of salads and sides are also veg friendly.

A Vegetarian Goes on the Road Part II: Getting Creative with Breakfast

A filling, veg friendly breakfast is just minutes away!

It's a cliche that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it's a cliche for a reason.  You've (hopefully) been asleep for at least seven hours, you probably haven't eaten in nine.  What you eat in the morning sets the stage for your energy level the whole day.

When you're on the road for work, breakfast is extra crucial.  You will likely have little control of your schedule or your meals, and you've got to be "on" for meetings, alert for navigating unfamiliar cities and maintain energy while you're away from home.  I know when I have a good breakfast, my day tends to go a whole lot better.

But, what do you do when you're a vegetarian and away from a well stocked home kitchen?  If you're lucky, you'll be at a first or second tier hotel where you'll have access to a breakfast buffet where you can get a variety of fresh fruit, and, if you're lacto-ovo, a veggie omelet.  At some of the nicer short stay hotels - Hampton Inn, Spring Hill Suites, Fairfield Inn, Hyatt Place, you'll get a free breakfast - cereal, bagels, apples, bananas, etc.  Since most of the short stay places have free wi-fi, you can catch up on work while you nosh.

But, what to do if your breakfast options aren't appealing, or if there aren't any at all?  I recommend the following back-up plan that I recently mentioned on Twitter: coffee maker oatmeal. 

This is a quick and easy breakfast you can make in any hotel room that has an in room coffee maker.  Before you leave for your trip, pack the following:

• Small bowl.  You may consider a few disposable ones if you don't want to deal with washing your bowl out in a bathtub.  The coffee cup that comes in your room will also do in a pinch.
• Spoon(s).  See above if you want to go disposable.  You can also likely grab one from a convenience store or restaurant if you forget to pack one.
• Instant oatmeal packets. I recently used Whole Foods Instant Oatmeal - Multigrain & Flax. 
• 'Fixins." Dried fruit, nuts, etc. - whatever you need to punch up the oatmeal.  I use dried cranberries and almonds.  Pack extra - you can eat a mix of fixins as a snack!

In the morning, pour your water in the coffee maker as if you were about to brew a cup of coffee, but don't add in the little individual coffee thingee the hotel provides.  You'll get hot water almost instantly.  Stir it into the oatmeal, add your fixins, and eat.  You can even sweeten it a bit with the sweetener that comes with the coffee if you desire.

If you are lucky enough to have a dual cup coffee maker like the one above, you can even make your oatmeal and your coffee or tea at the same time.

A Vegetarian Goes on the Road, Part I: Airport Dining

Those of you who know me in real life know I travel quite a bit in my capacity as an association executive. I go to conferences, visit members, staff events, etc.  As a result, I spend quite a bit of time in airports and exploring new places, large and small. Over the second and third weeks of August, I will have been/be on the road quite a bit.


So, as a special edition of this blog, the next several entries will be specifically focused on how to be a vegetarian on the road - navigating the airport food court, figuring out breakfast options, grab and go options off the highway, veg options at catered events and spotlights on veg friendly restaurants in various parts of the country.

This first blog will focus specifically on Airport Tricks.

Delicious Vegan Friendly Salad From Potbelly!

This particular trip had me flying from Baltimore to St. Louis by way of Chicago, and then looping back St. Louis -> Chicago -> Newark for the second leg of my trip.  Last Saturday, I departed out of BWI.  I wasn't sure what my food options would be.  In my opinion, of the three DC metro area aiports, BWI ranks at the bottom in terms of food options, so I was skeptical that I'd be able find a something veg friendly.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a good vegan option at Potbelly.  If you omit the cheese and egg on their Chickpea Veggie Salad,  you get a filling, vegan salad - chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and lettuce.

Black Bean Burrito Bowl from Burrito Beach

Usually, any layover in Chicago involves a massive sprint between terminals and inhaling trail mix. On my way to Newark, flight delays gave me the opportunity to sit down for a less rushed dinner at O'Hare.  The Food Court at Terminal 3, near Gate H has a variety of options (click here to see all the food available at O'Hare).  I elected to go with a bowl from Burrito Beach - lettuce, black beans, fajita veg and a tiny bit of cheese. 

As someone who spends a ton of time in airports, allow me to share a few tricks to make your air travel veg friendly:

• Plan ahead! A number of airports have dining guides, like this one from National Airport in DC.  The catch is knowing in which terminal your gate is.  I take this for granted given how often I fly, but you'll probably be able to tell from a terminal map.  You can consult the website and see what eateries will be available to you on your trip.  Also, get to the airport a little earlier so you have time to explore.  You'll thank me when you aren't rushing around at the last minute with no time to grab a sandwich or salad for your six hour flight!
  
• Pack What You Can.  Yes, the liquid restrictions are still in effect, so don't plan on bringing soup or a bottle of kombucha through security.  I wouldn't try and bring anything with refreezable ice packs either.You can, however, bring hardy items, like a nut butter sandwich, that you plan to eat that day, as well as non-perishable snacks you can plan to eat throughout the week.  For this trip, I packed Barbara's Bakery whole grain fruit bars and Annie's Cheddar Bunnies.
  
• You'll Find Something - You Just Have to Look.   Don't despair if it only looks like burger joints at every gate.  In my experience, you can get a fruit cup at almost every airport eatery, trail mix at the news stands and granola bars at kiosks.  Most airports also have Au Bon Pain, Subway, Great American Bagel Co., or another sandwich shop that will be happy to make you a veg friendly treat. If you luck into a full service Starbucks, look for the protein power pack or the fruit & cheese tray.  And if your only choice is a plain garden salad, you can punch it up a bit by buying nuts at a news stand and mixing them in.
  
• Bonus Tip: International Flights.  Most of you are aware by now that meals are no longer served on domestic flights.  However, if you're traveling internationally, or are fortunate enough to be bumped up to first class, you do get a free meal.  The three times (oh yes, I've counted!) I've been bumped to first on American Airlines, I was pleased to find that vegetarian options (fresh salads, yummy pasta, fruit) were easily available.  I will suggest when you are flying internationally, you contact the airline ahead of time to request a vegetarian meal in advance.  If you have flexibility in international travel, go with British Airways.  They have more than one vegetarian meal - my options on my last trip to and from Germany were lacto-ovo, Jain, vegan . . . and the list goes on!  When you book your international flight, you can request a special meal at that time.

Readers, what are your tips and secrets?  Or, do you have any questions about particular airports or train stations?

Adventures in Vegan Convenience Part II

My weeklong vegan adventures continued this week with a few meals out and cooking with our new pots and pans.

Last night, we went to Evolution Burger.  While a majority of their menu items include beef patties, they also offer a vegetarian burger (Veggie Burger #1) and a vegan burger (Veggie Burger #2).  If you have allergies, ask the counter for the ingredients list.  That's how I discovered the vegan burger was soy free and thus safe for my consumption.

A while ago, I did a post about salad options in Downtown DC.  At that time, I neglected to mention Devon & Blakely, since I primarily went there for pre-made sandwiches, namely their English cheddar and avocado on whole grain.  But, it has a terrific number of vegan options as well.  There's a selection of soups, all of which are clearly labeled to note if they are vegan or vegetarian.   Anyone with any sort of food sensitivities will feel comfortable eating here  - I also saw labels for gluten-free and dairy free.  There are also a number of vegan sandwiches.

The salad options are a lot of fun.  You can opt for a small or large salad, mixed leaf or spinach.  You then take your bowl of greens to the counter.  At that point, you choose from a variety of toppings, including tons and tons of fresh veggies, as well as beans, sunflower seeds, nuts and other vegan friendly toppings.  There are also a number of dairy-free dressings.  Today, I opted for a spinach salad with chickpeas, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.  I also had a cup of the vegan lentil soup, which was hearty and full of veggies.

So, while I've been enjoying all of these convenience foods, tonight, I was determined to cook with our brand new ginormous saute pan, as well as some of our other new cookware.  We had an eggplant in the fridge, so I diced that and sauteed it in olive oil with red onion and yellow and red grape tomatoes.  I then threw in some chopped kale, added vegetable broth, and put a lid on the whole thing to steam the kale down.  I seasoned it with salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder (alas, we were out of fresh garlic - I thought we had a few cloves) za'atar and fresh parsley.  I then stirred in some whole wheat rotini (and yes, it was vegan) and the last of my current stash of mozzarella daiya.

The broth added an extra dimension of flavor to the dish, so I think I'll try that trick again soon.  However, it had a higher pasta to veggie ratio than I would have liked.  Rather than making two cups of pasta, next time I'll cut back to a cup and a half.  We'll still have multiple servings, but the veggies will stand out more.  White beans or chickpeas might also be a nice addition, and this mixture can also nicely go over quinoa, farro, couscous or the grain of your choosing.

Adventures in Vegan Convenience

My experiment this week, now that our kitchen is back in operation, was to try and make it a full week eating only vegan meals.  Easy enough if I was cooking, but a variety of things have gone haywire since Monday - massive metro delays, meetings going well into overtime, etc. - that have put my plans to cook up a storm awry.

Breakfast has been easy - avocados & tomatoes, whole grain bread & Earth balance and, this morning, farro with spinach & daiya.  We had leftovers of Sunday's Seitan dish, but they've since been depleted.  I've barely had time to scarf down food at my desk, but, lunch in my work neighborhood fortunately has tons of convenient vegan options.  Instead of white pizza with veggies or grilled cheese (my usual "I have no time to eat!" standbys), I've opted for rice and veggie bowls from Java Green and vegan sushi from Oh Fish!

Convenience vegan dining!  Samosas, bean salad and baby carrots.

Tonight, I finally got home around 7:30 p.m. in no mood to cook.  Rather than throw in the towel on my nascent experiment by ordering pizza, I decided to walk over to our local market to see what they have in the way of vegan convenience foods.  I've explored convenience foods before, but never through the eyes of a vegan.

Our market has a terrific little deli.  It was very easy for me to find prepared bean salads that were vegan.  One was three bean (kidney, pinto and chickpeas) with diced veggies in an apple cider vinaigrette, and the other was a black bean salsa with corn and tomatoes.  Directly across from the deli, I was able to pick up some vegan samosas from Saveur India, a local Indian restaurant.  I knew the frozen section had a wealth of lacto-ovo veg options, but I wasn't sure what was available in terms of frozen vegan options.  However, I found a Sukhi's Vegetable Frozen Naanwitch and an Amy's Kitchen Black Bean Tamale Verde.

We happen to have tons of fresh-cut produce and whole fruit in the fridge, so it will be easy for me to supplement all of the above with fresh food.

So, while a crazy week doesn't seem like the ideal time to experiment with a vegan diet, it has shown me that you can enjoy healthy vegan options when you're strapped for time and patience.  Granted, I am blessed with a number of local grocery, quick-serve and casual dining options that go above and beyond for vegetarians and vegans, but I think the variety of plant based foods out there is only increasing.