5 Ways to Eat Vegan on Your Vacation

According to a recent Gallup poll, only 3% of Americans claim to be vegans. This number is up from 2% in 2012.

Since there are so few vegans out there, what do you do to make sure you can still enjoy your vacation? How do you eat when you are in a less than vegan-friendly world?

Being on vacation shouldn’t mean a lot of extra work, but you are going to have to plan the way that you eat. You need to have a plan in place to stay on your diet without eating the same thing over and over again.

If you read through the rest of this article, you will know how to keep up with your vegan diet, even while on vacation. Let’s get into it.

1) Vegan-Friendly Restaurants

It may not be easy to find restaurants that offer meals that are specifically vegan-friendly. Though there may not be many vegan-friendly restaurants, there is likely to be at least one in the location you are visiting.

If you are having a difficult time finding an establishment to offers the food that you need, reach out to your vegan network. It is likely that there are other people just like you that live in those areas. While you may not have the time to do all of the research to find vegan-friendly options, they are likely to have already scoped them out.

You could call restaurants in the area to find out if they offer options that will fit the vegan diet even if they aren’t specifically labeled vegan. For instance, if you were visiting Las Vegas, you could contact a Henderson Mexican restaurant to find out what their offerings are.

2) Pack Your Favorite Vegan Snacks

You never know when hunger might hit and that is why it is important to have your favorite vegan snacks available when those times do come.

If you’re new to veganism, you may think your options are considerably limited, but that isn’t the case. There are even some snacks that are accidentally vegan-friendly so don’t despair if you are just beginning.

Some of the popular vegan snacks you will find are:

Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Flavored Tortilla Chips
Famous Amos Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Louisville Vegan Jerky
Original Fritos
Stacy’s Pita Chips
Sour Patch Kids
Original Sun Chips
And many more

Once you understand the most common foods for vegans, you can mix and match your own combinations to get the treats that you want. Getting your snacks ready before you go on your vacation will help you keep on track with your diet.

A study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows spending more time on meal prep leads to healthier eating habits. A little more time on meal prep can be the difference between a good doctor report and one that you are less than excited to hear.

3) Find a Play to Stay That Has a Kitchen

If you run out of options for vegan-friendly food establishments, it always helps to have your own kitchen. Having a kitchen in your room makes it easier for you to prepare food that you like while staying on your vegan diet.

If you can’t get a room that has a full kitchen, you should at least ask that they provide you with a microwave and a small fridge. Even if you don’t use the microwave or fridge, it is better to prepare than not to have these appliances when you need them.

Meeting new friends and inviting them over for a taste of the vegan life can also be fun. If you didn’t have a kitchen, that would be difficult to do.

4) Locate Local Grocery Stores

Before you arrive, you should do a quick online search to see where the local grocery stores are. You want to make sure you know where you can get your ingredients for any meals that you want to prepare. Once you are on vacation, you don’t want to spend your time searching. You want to be enjoying your vacation, not doing research.

Buying produce from the local grocery stores can be a fun part of your adventure. When you look at shopping in new places like an adventure instead of a chore, you will look forward to it instead of getting frustrated.

5) Fly Airlines that Offer Vegan-Friendly Meals

If you are hopping on an airplane for a long flight, the airline might offer a meal during your flight. While a complimentary meal might sound great, not all airlines are going to offer vegan-friendly options.

Some of the airlines that do offer vegan-friendly options for in-flight meals are:

United Airlines
Virgin Atlantic Airlines
Singapore Air
American Airlines
Qatar Airways
Cathay Pacific

And you may find other airlines that have added these options since the writing of this article.

Enjoy Your Vacation Guilt-Free

Eating vegan isn’t just a diet. Eating vegan is a lifestyle and a commitment to what is right.

If you have people in your community that are also vegan, it makes it easier to stay on track. Having friends that don’t share your vegan lifestyle can be challenging when you go on vacation together. Being prepared for the trip means that you won’t have to spend a lot of time and energy on your food choices. That means you can spend more time on what is important to you – your friends and family.