Traveling in the raw

Drove down from VT to NJ this weekend. Was in the car yesterday and so I thought I would write what I ate and how I survive being raw vegan while traveling :-) So basically on the drive yesterday, I just kept things easy and simple. I had plenty of water for the drive. I had some nuts (I brought some gourmet spiced raw nut thingo-mo-bobbers) to munch on in case I wanted some but I didn't really want any. Matt made us all green smoothies for the road although the kids had theirs before we left. (Thanks Matt!) So I had about a quart of a green smoothie to drink during the ride. It keeps nicely in the cooler. TIP: you can make a green smoothie and take it to sip on during the day at work. Smoothies will last longer than a juice will. I brought some goji berries for the kids and yacon slices for the kids to munch on. I munched on blueberries too. We arrived in town early enough that I could go to my favorite little healthy food store here and get us some dinner. (I planned it this way. Otherwise, I would have brought dinner with us to have in the car.) The kids had stuff from the vegan salad bar and I got my daughter a modified green smoothie from their smoothie and juice bar. (At the moment, my daughter tends to do better with the greens in her smoothies - she hasn't been wanting big salads and so this is the way I get greens in her.) I had a large green juice and sucked it down. I also had some spinach and some of these macrobiotic nori rolls that they have. Oh and they had some seaweed salad at the store so I totally chowed on that. (I like to eat seaweed just about every day.) :-) I didn't bring my blender with me this trip. I realized that mostly I enjoy eating what is local to the place where I'm at. In the past I typically would bring the entire contents of my fridge and then still end up buying the local produce, etc. because it's here and looks appealing. So I finally realized that I enjoy seeing the new foods that are in the place I'm at and thus didn't bring much food with me this trip. I brought some small sample bottles of green powder with me to add to the juices or smoothies I'll be getting at the healthy food store. There's always fresh fruit to eat which is lovely. I also brought some coconut milk for the kids to have. At the store yesterday, I got some raw buckwheat granola (although I could have easily made some for myself and brought it with me) and the kids had that for breakfast with the coconut milk and some blueberries that I brought with me. (My nephew even ate it and enjoyed it, too!) :-) This probably sounds like sparse eating but it's very filling for me. I fill up on greens during the day, drink a lot of my food and then have something to chew on for dinner. It works for me and it makes things pretty easy to do just about anywhere. My advice if you are traveling is to know where there is a good healthy food store in the vicinity of where you are going to be. Or access to farm stands or farmer's markets or amish markets, etc. These things are in abundance in most places and there's more awareness around raw foods now, so in places where populations are bigger, you'll find a lot more options for prepared raw food items. If you find yourself at a juice or smoothie place, ask them to modify the smoothies - these places will often use apple juice as their base. Ask them to use filtered water and add some greens. They'll look at you like you are crazy but just smile and repeat your request. For juices, get more greens than things like beets or carrots. Keep yourself hydrated with decent water while traveling and be relaxed knowing that there's more than enough food around. :-)