one green planet
one green planet

Just because you’re not in your own kitchen doesn’t mean that you need to abandon your healthy raw lifestyle. With a little easy planning, you can continue to live an eco-friendly lifestyle that saves animals, the planet, and keeps your health in tip-top shape. Here are some tips and tricks.

1. Get friendly with the locals! Check for local resources and restaurants where you can order raw food or even just some delicious salads. Plan on visiting these places frequently. Call ahead of time and tell them your situation. See if some of the restaurants will help by preparing special things for you (if they don’t already have things available on their menu). Look for health food stores as well, because they often have raw snacks and/or fresh salad bars. Pick food up when you arrive and take it to where ever you’re staying. And, for heavens sake, don’t be shy about this! If you’re staying with company, just explain that this is your lifestyle and you’re doing everything you can to succeed. Ask for their help and watch how eager they become to support it. Before arriving at my travel destination, I always check for places that support my plant-based lifestyle. In fact, it’s often an important factor in choosing a hotel. A great resource for this is HappyCow.net, or better yet, get their trusty smart-phone app called VegOut.

2. Pack a kick-ass cooler. If you’re venturing out on a short car trip, then pack a cooler. Load it up with nutrient-dense green smoothies, fresh fruit and veggies, a jar of nut butter, raw packaged snacks, protein powder – shaker – water, etc. Even when I go to my mom’s house for the day, I pack a bag or cooler of stuff. She usually has plenty of goodies for me already, but I always want to be prepared.

3. Bring your kitchen buddies. I have a lot of best friends in my kitchen, which I can’t imagine leaving home without! When I travel, I have to bring a blender. Depending on where I’m staying and for how long, I pick either my travel blender or I bring my big ol’ full size Blendtec blender. This means I can enjoy my smoothies, fresh salad dressings, raw soups, and pretty much anything my heart desires. Heck, I gladly sacrifice taking an extra pair of shoes so that I can do this. Ditto for my pitcher-style Brita water filter. I also pack other useful utensils and a few ingredients such as vegan protein powders, organic nuts and seeds, mini packs of nut butters, dates, trail mix, snack bars, etc.

4. Get the lay of the kitchen land. Call ahead to see what options are available for kitchen appliances. If you’re staying at a relative’s house, ask about the equipment they have. If it’s a bed and breakfast, perhaps they’ll allow you use of the kitchen. If it’s a hotel, try to score a room with a mini-fridge at least. For longer trips, consider shipping some of your kitchen equipment ahead of time to arrive if that’s needed. And… if you can’t get access organic food, order it online to be delivered. BoxedGreens.com delivers nationwide.

5. Treat yourself with raw food delivery. If you’re going to be busy on a business trip or if you simply want a “true” vacation where you don’t have to think about food prep, then have prepared raw meals delivered. This can be more expensive, but hey, it’s your health and you’re worth it. Some of my favorites are: PureMarketExpress.com and RAWvolution.com (they can be delivered to hotels, too!).

6. Chill with pills. By all means, consider relaxing your raw lifestyle a bit while traveling and don’t stress about it. Just chill and take some pills (err… health promoting supplements, that is!) Don’t fret if you just want to relax and enjoy cooked vegan food and eschew salads for a spell. No biggie! It happens to all of us. When I do this, I make sure to pack health-promoting supplements so I don’t get too far off track. My staples are: green powder (usually in capsule form for ease of consumption while traveling), probiotics, digestive enzymes, multi-vitamin, to name a few. This way, you’re still getting nutrients into your hot-bod, even if the food you’re eating isn’t perfect. Okay, so that isn’t really a tip on staying raw, but it’s a tip for helping you keep it somewhat healthy, when you’re not in your own neck of the woods.