My last post covered options to explore when dining out, but what about those times when a vegan is truly on the go. How do you manage getting food during long trips, particularly air travel?

Today air travel is fraught with all kinds of challenges. Not only do travelers now have to pick between intimate groping or being blasted with radiation in order that a photo realistic image of their naked body be viewed by security agents, but then there are all the limitations about what you can or cannot carry with you onto the airplane. If your choice of personal indignities isn’t enough, most airports are a veritable “food desert” for vegans and very few airlines provide meals at all, much less custom meals.

How do you get through a day of travel and manage to eat compassionately? This became a real question for us a year and a half ago when we were traveling to Hawaii. We were leaving our house just before 4AM, pacific time, and wouldn’t arrive at our final destination until 9PM, Hawaiian time (which means midnight pacific). When we inquired about special meals we were very politely informed that the airline didn’t offer them anymore although there would be food for sale on the flight. For vegans on that particular airline that largely means potato chips.

The answer to these travel dilemmas is to bring your own food. Make sure you save space in your carry-on luggage for some things to get you through a long day of traveling. There are airline restrictions in the US that you have to get around, but they aren’t impossible. After some research, planning, and “field testing”, here are some results that may help get you through you next long journey via airplane.

Hummus and nut butters have the potential to be a “dangerous gel or paste”. On their own they can only be carried on if put in 3 ounce containers and stashed in that 1 quart ziploc bag with your lotion and toothpaste. OR….there are two ways we’ve found to get around this:

Photo by Paul Martin @jugglerpm on Flickr

1. Place said hummus, chickpea/tofu salad, peanut butter & jelly between two pieces of bread. Behold!! You have made “A Sandwich” and those are totally OK with TSA. You may pack a sandwich in your carry on luggage separate from the 1 quart ziploc of potentially dangerous liquids. Woo!
2. Similarly to the Sandwich Maneuver, you can roll your stuff up in either a tortilla or a giant collard leaf. Eureka! You have made “A Wrap” and this too can be carried on! This trick is extra great if you’re eating raw. I sent raw almond pate collard wraps with Christie for business trip flight and they worked out great!   *The collard might be a little odd for the PB&J, but hey, if it rocks your vegan boat go for it!
   Yes, we’re all screwed the day someone attempts terrorism by sandwich or wrap. Le sigh….

Other tips for eating on a long day of travel:

• Invest in some airport allowed travel utensils. We really like the Microbite utensils from Guyot Designs (pictured). They are light, pack well, get through security without comment, and you can actually cut things avocados and bread with the knife piece!

• Fresh fruit is easy to add in. Avocados travel really well and are easy to eat with some bread if you’ve got some travel utensils or disposable ones swiped from some fast food joint on your concourse. Only pack enough fruit to consume on the trip if you are going somewhere with an agricultural quarantine, like Hawaii. If you don’t finish it, you’ll have to dump it before leaving the airport.

• Nuts, dried fruit, and other “trail mix” types of things are very easy to pack and provide a good energy boost.

• Baked tofu in a ziploc will usually* make it through security with no hassles. This can be tasty all by itself or you can track down some kind of salad in the airport and add your tofu to make a more satisfying meal.

• Crusty bread travels pretty darn well. The squishier the bread, the more destroyed it will become in your carry on luggage. Crackers likewise tend to get rather destroyed. Pretzels stand up pretty well to being crammed into some corner of your bag.

• Things like trail mix, pretzels and quite often bagels offered with either hummus or peanut butter are often to be found in most airports. These can help supplement what you have brought with you.

• Carry an empty water bottle. You can easily fill it up at a drinking fountain and it saves you money as well as reducing the amount of plastic water bottles!

*A very special true story involving the Denver airport and baked tofu.

I used to go to Denver at least once or twice a year for business travel. I eventually made my way around to some pretty fabulous restaurants there, but flying home was always a hassle around food as I generally would find myself out at the Denver airport at dinner time, waiting on a delayed flight home, and hungry as all hell. In the past few years I was absolutely over-joyed by the addition of a fast food joint that provided mediocre rice bowls with the option of tofu!! Up until then I had started to bring a nice piece of baked tofu and would seek out a salad to have with it.

Generally this always went according to plan with no hassles. Of course it was only a matter of time before something happened to break my sense of security. What happened was irritating at the time, but in retrospect kind of hilarious.

It is about 6PM and I’m making my way through a relatively quiet security queue at DIA. Shoes off, laptop out, stuff on conveyer belt, no beep in the metal detector and I’m waiting for my stuff at the other end. And waiting…

“Excuse me, ma’am.” I hear a youngish, male voice behind me.

Turning around I see a very tall, twenty-something security guy with my bag open and in his blue-gloved hands my ziploc bag with a small piece of baked tofu.

“Yes?” I reply.

“Is this yours?.” Asks the gangly TSA agent while holding the bag at roughly eye level in order to more effectively give it a suspicious stare.

“Yes, that’s mine.” I respond with some confusion.

“What is it?” He asks, now carefully squishing my tofu through the bag with his gloved fingers.

“My dinner.” I tell him, growing mildly exasperated.

“What is it?” He asks me again, still going squishy-squishy with my freaking dinner.

“Tofu.” I say, “Specifically baked tofu.”

“And you plan to eat this?” He says giving me a bewildered look. Yes, more squishy-squishy!

“Yes, that is my plan, once I get to my concourse.” By now I’m fighting the urge to ask him to please stop fondling my damn dinner.

“Well, I guess…” He finally responds,  stops groping my tofu, puts it back into my bag, zips it closed and sends it along down the metal rollers to me.

Seriously, just like that. True story. Lesson learned: baked tofu has always made it through security, however, I have had to endure some gawky TSA agent fondling it as though he was sure it was some new form of explosive.

As part of Try Vegan Week this year I volunteered to mentor someone who was new to being vegan. I’ve been vegan for a few years now and hoped that maybe I could offer some insight to another person. One of the questions my mentee has asked me was what to do when you have to dine out.

This is really a great question and one that I think all vegans face. It is not always possible to make all your meals yourself and there are lots of occasions when dining out is part of a social activities. So how do you stick with a commitment to compassionate eating when you’re not in control of the kitchen?

I’m really fortunate in a couple of ways when it comes to addressing this question. I’ve always been a more adventurous eater, meaning that I’m more than willing to try new cuisines. I also live in Portland, Oregon, where opportunities for vegan food abound.

The big thing – know your cuisines! There are all kinds of cuisines that feature dishes that are vegan or can easily be made vegan. Dining out at various ethnic restaurants gives you the chance to explore the varied vegan dishes that many cultures enjoy as part of daily life. Some of my favorites:

African – There are truly amazing lentil, split pea, and stewed veggie dishes that are almost always vegan to be found in Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants. Usually served with injera, an amazing fermented crepe-like bread that uses teff flour and is most usually vegan. There are some Moroccan dishes the feature chickpeas and can easily be made vegan. I dined at a restaurant for a friend’s birthday where they carefully cut the buttered top off of some bread so that I could enjoy it.

SE Asian – I adore both Thai and Vietnamese dishes. I love all the crisp veggies and rich flavors of Thai cuisine. In Vietnamese dishes I am a huge fan of the many dishes that feature fresh herbs and veggies! Always check about fish sauce being used, many Thai and Vietnamese restaurants may still use fish sauce even in dishes listed as “vegetarian”. Several Thai dishes are often served with egg on top, but restaurants are usually quite happy to leave it off.

Middle Eastern/Mediterranean – This is a huge category that covers Lebanese, Greek, Persian, and Israeli dishes (and more). Pick from falafel sandwiches, hummus, baba ganoush, mjadarra, stuffed grape leaves, spinach pies, lentil soups, bread with zaatar, and many more tasty items. Each region has a different interpretation on these classic dishes and it is fun to explore the subtle differences between the falafel made at the place run by a Lebanese family versus those made by the restaurant with the Syrian chef versus those at a little place operated by an Israeli family. Check to make sure that dairy isn’t used since it is a common ingredient as well.

Central/South American – Nearly all of the restaurants I’ve been to featuring Central and South American (e.g., Mexican, Brazilian, Peruvian, Salvadorean, etc.) dishes are happy to make up a special order that leaves off the dairy products. Check to make sure the beans aren’t made with lard, which is common, but otherwise a big plate of beans, tortillas (or perhaps potatoes, quinoa, or plantains – depending upon some major differences in various cultures) and some veggies makes for a great meal. Every once in a while I’m lucky enough to catch a lady near our neighborhood who sells homemade tamales, including spicy vegan ones (shredded broccoli & jalapeno – yum), out of a rolling cooler. I say lucky because they have been the best tamales I’ve ever had anywhere!

Caribbean – There are some great dishes that prominently feature beans, rice and lots of great flavor. Cuban restaurants may have some great selections easily made vegan. I’m also grouping Ital restaurants here, which feature cuisine important to many Rastafari. Ital dishes are most often entirely vegan and are delicious!

Indian – Oh how I adore Indian food! From Punjabi (Northern India) specialties like aloo gobi (cauliflower with potatoes – the dish that made me love cooked cauliflower again) to Southern Indian favorites like masala dosa (a vegan crepe stuffed with spiced potatoes). Vegetarian cooking is a huge part of Indian cuisine and many dishes are vegan already. Some dishes merely need to have yogurt dressings or ghee (clarified butter) left off. If a dish is listed as a “korma” it usually has a yogurt or cream base. Dishes that feature paneer, an Indian style cheese, are also not vegan. Naan, a lovely flat bread, is sometimes made with yogurt, sometimes vegan, so be sure to check. Sadly, most Indian sweets use milk but once in a while you can find vegan ones. Vegans aren’t unheard of in India, they are often considered to be practicing a very devout diet, and I’ve always found that Indian restaurants are more than happy to modify or suggest vegan dishes.

What if you don’t have one of these obvious choices? What if you’re stuck at a team meeting being held at a steakhouse in Denver (true story)? Grab your server, even if you have to get up from the table and corner them, and ask for them to come up with something. Some chefs will take this as an unexpected and welcome challenge; you’ll end up pleasantly surprised. Some chefs will resent it and you might end up with a lackluster plate of grilled veggies. You might end up having a lot of salads. Bring snacks, like raw walnuts, when you are faced with situations like this so you can supplement that big salad with some more protein.

Yes, sometimes this is irritating and frustrating. Remember, you’re choosing compassion for yourself, other sentient beings, and the planet. Those things are all bigger than being irritated at having another salad or uninspired hummus plate.