Whether you are traveling for work or leisure-planning and preparation is key!
You’ve discovered that the raw food diet and lifestyle definitely allows you to feel your best. Now you need to maintain that level of energy as best you can while enjoying life in another city. It can be easy to fall into bad eating habits while traveling, so you need to make your raw lifestyle and personal health a priority when you’re away from the comforts of your home kitchen. I’ve found that bringing along dried, portable foods and supplements, as well as some fresh foods can be the difference between staying raw and completely falling off the wagon and experiencing a wave of regret. Planning ahead, some internet research before you leave, and getting to know the local natural food stores will help you enjoy the healthiest trip of your life.
These are all things I do and doing all of them allows me to never be apprehensive towards travel. I would hate for my diet to hold me back from traveling. I don’t think it would be worth it if it did! A couple days before you leave, start thinking about what raw snacks, superfoods, and supplements you’d really love to have with you. I portion my superfood snacks into small plastic baggies, and keep them in a larger zipped bag (for example: handful of almonds, goji berries, pumpkin seeds, dried figs, etc). I usually bring at least one raw food snack bar for each day I’ll be on vacation. Other handy (and super-nutritious) travel snacks could be sea vegetables (such as whole leaf dulse), bee pollen, and an old vitamin jar full of superfood powders (green powder, maca, a little stevia for sweetness). I always bring a glass jar with a screw top lid to shake up the green powders in water. I never go anywhere without my Celtic sea salt shaker bottle either. All this, believe it or not, will fit in a large plastic zipper bag.
If you take multivitamins and other supplements, bring those too! Most of us will need this kind of nutritional support the most while traveling because we may not have access to all the foods we’re used to. I love reusing the tin cases mints come in for toting around vitamins, enzymes, and other supplements. They’re the perfect size!
A couple more things you may want to pack: a thin plastic cutting board, silverware (including a butterknife or something similar-packed in your checked in luggage, please), and some herbal laxatives–a change in diet plus travel makes for constipation-you’ll thank me!
You’re almost set! If you’re staying in a hotel, be sure to ask if there will be a refrigerator in your room. There is usually no charge for one, especially if you say you have a special diet. If you’re staying at a friend’s place, let them know about your diet and ask them if they don’t mind you having a special area in their fridge for your foods. If you’re going to be in a car for a while, maybe think about bringing a small cooler. The bottom line is, you’ll want to keep your salad greens, vegetables, and fruit cool so they don’t go bad.
Also, before you leave, be sure to spend some time online checking out all the raw vegan, vegan, vegetarian, and/or organic restaurants near you. Write down the addresses and phone numbers before you leave. Find out where the nearest natural food store is and see if there are any farmers markets in town. These should be some of the first stops you make when you reach your destination. Natural food stores will be essential in supplying your greens, organics, and other fun snacks you’d like. Many times you can find a raw food section with prepared gourmet raw entrees as well!
Here are some great websites that will help you:
- rawfoodrestaurantguide.com/blog (Enter your email on the website and the guide link will be emailed to you.)
- sunfoodtraveler.com
- HappyCow.net (lists all vegetarian, vegan, and raw food restaurants)/li>
The key is to not feel nutritionally deprived at any point during your trip. The people you will be traveling with may have to make an extra stop just for you, but as long as you have what you need, you can hang out with them from that point on.
Some people have asked me if I travel with my Vita-mix blender or Magic Bullet mini-blender. I don’t. But I usually don’t travel for more than one week at a time. If I was to travel for two weeks or more, I would definitely consider bringing a blender with me because I love green smoothies in the morning. I could also make juice with the Vita-mix using a nut milk bag. But for trips of only a week or less, organic fruit in the morning is perfect.
I usually make a salad for the plane flight, or long car ride, too. I do this for several reasons:
- I usually can’t go for more than three hours after my typical fruit-only breakfasts without eating.
- I usually have plenty of greens, veggies, and ripe avocados in my fridge that will go bad while I’m gone, so why not use them?
- I like to get one last awesome meal in before switching to more dried foods and possibly non-organic meals.
- I like saving money on meals and snacks.
- I need a couple of reusable plastic containers for salads I’ll make in my destination city anyway, so why not start using them now?
Now you’re set! You have most of the non-fresh things on you and you’ll be buying your organic fruit, greens, salad veggies, and avocado (great to use for dressing) when you get there. Enjoy your trip, stay raw, and have the best time ever!
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