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These days, travelling as a vegan is a joy. Gone are the blank faces and confusion when you try to explain your diet, and instead there is a huge range of restaurants, street food stalls, and fancy bars, bursting with innovative, interesting, and most importantly delicious vegan and plant-based dishes.
However, as a vegan on the road, it is still always worth being prepared for the worst. The default setting for most restaurants (and many cultures) is still meat, and sometimes you’ll end up somewhere where finding healthy, plant-based dishes and snacks is just hard.
So it pays to be prepared. Luckily, there are loads of simple and tasty plant-based snacks you can pack in your luggage to keep those hangry feelings at bay. So whether you are planning to take a special offer cruise or head off on a road trip around the country, take a look at these fantastic vegan bites you can take with you, as well as a few bonus plant-based travel tips!
The best plant-based snacks
Ready-to-eat fruit
Packing a few resealable bags or Tupperware boxes with pre-peeled fruit, cut apples, grapes, or hulled strawberries is a healthy and easy way to provide snacks for the whole family. Making sure everything is washed and ready to eat makes them just as convenient as crisps or chocolate, and twice as tasty!
Veggie sticks
In the same way as ready-to-eat fruit, ready-chopped vegetables make for a convenient and healthy snack. Add a tub of hummus or tzatziki, and carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, or jicama are brought to life!
Pita bread and hummus
Like a fancy canape board, pita and hummus is simple and delicious, as well as being a reasonable replacement for a light meal. Use whole wheat pita to ensure the snack stays extra healthy.
Peanut butter banana sandwiches
Peanut butter and banana is a combination made in heaven, so pop the two together between a couple of slices of whole wheat bread for the ultimate breakfast (or mid-morning, or mid-afternoon snack!).
Bento Boxes
A wonderful way to pack a whole meal for the road that’s also great fun for the kids! Choose a plastic container with various separate compartments, and fill it (or get them to fill it) with their favourite meal components, anything from rice and edamame beans to dips, bread, or even tofu! Thanks to the compartmentalized box, it’s a meal that can be eaten easily and without much mess on the go.
Tips for vegan travel
Scope out your destination in advance
Doing a little research about your destination will make your life a whole lot easier. Check out where the nearest fruit and veg shops are, what supermarkets exist that might carry plant-based dishes, and make a list of the vegan-friendly restaurants near where you are staying.
Bring a cooler
If you’ve packed a bunch of plant-based snacks for the road, you’ll probably already have this down, but if not, a cooler is a great thing to have for vegan travellers, as it means you can always bring snacks with you, wherever you go.
Learn important vocabulary
Brush up your language skills and learn a few key food words, so you know what to ask for when you are at a restaurant or in a store. A little effort goes a long way, and you’ll find just a few words will help enormously.
Eat like a local
Most cultures have a plant-based side to their traditional cuisine, so avoid classic ‘international’ fare and try the local delicacies! Not only will you explore new, interesting cooking styles, but you might just be inspired by a few recipes for your kitchen back home.
