My wife deserves a holiday after the stress of putting up with me after my 2 operations this year. The first in February, a spinal decompression, expected, and the second in July, a triple heart bypass, totally unexpected.
Problem is I’ve gone plant life because of the heart op and I’m struggling learning the right diet at home so how can I survive as a vegan on holiday?
Have a similar problem when we visit and stay at my sons for a few days. How do I cope?
Hello willsie01 and welcome to Vegan food for life.
It’s great to hear you’ve gone plant life as you put it and hopefully any problems, queries or ideas you have can be discussed on here, so you’re in the right place.
I think you’re right you and your wife deserve a holiday as I can imagine your situation would be stressful for both of you so I hope you’re recovering well.
Firstly where are you off to on holiday as I have been vegan for 4 years now and haven’t had a problem as yet and things are getting easier and easier. Most restaurants do vegan options on the menu now and you can always ask for a meal to be adapted if it looks as though that would be a reasonable request. (Italian, Mexican, Moroccan, Indian all do vegan options, plus most cafes)
When I go away I like to go self catering. (Mainly as I’m a coffee freak and need to know I’ll get a decent coffee first thing lol). I make my own breakfast and then eat out either at lunch or dinner or both. So are you likely to be self catering or full/half board in a hotel?
When you stay at your sons you could suggest meals that are not too difficult to cook for yourself or take some things with you that can easily be rustled up (ask if you would like any ideas that I can think of for that and I’ll have a think). Is there a specific problem when you go to your sons, like having vegan butter or milk. I take these to my parents when I visit them. Again ask if there is a specific thing you would like to know 😁
I hope this helps a bit as you can definitely cope in any situation that arises on a vegan diet. Anymore info would be great if you think I can help.
Best wishes
Ali 🙂🌱
The first holiday we will be having is a villa in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands.
My wife and I are going with my daughter, son-in-law & granddaughter.
At my sons I'll have to do the things you suggest.
I've been very poor at planning and preparing Vegan meals so far.
I have zero cooking experience and it all seems so daunting at the moment but I'll have to get to grips with it.
Enjoy your holiday 🏝
You might find this link helpful and also may want to down load the app.
happycow.net/europe/spain/c...
Ali 🙂🌱
That link looks very useful!
Hey Willsie01, everyone needs a holiday! Don't let diet stress you out. I have a policy of least resistance when away from home, if I can get what I prefer, great! If not, I'll take the next best, then the next best etc etc.
It's not always practical for me to take my own stuff but if I can I do. My best friend lives 80 miles away and when I stay with her she does her best but certainly early days she would frequently confuse vegan and vegetarian. I just ate it as she'd gone to the effort.
A small amount of dairy wasn't going to kill me. We did discuss options and these days she's on the button and enjoys trying vegan stuff herself. Likewise if I'm at a friend's and having a cup of tea I'm not going to freak if I get a bit of cow milk very occasionally.
At least when I'm able to buy for myself I choose what I really want which is animal free which is a far cry from where I was 👍🏻
How are you doing with protein now? I noticed your other post ref not getting enough. We tend to hit 80 to 100g a day with seemingly little effort (and no shakes or supplements.) Sweet potato is great for bumping up a daily intake.👍🏻
Thanks for your comments!
I also have decided that there will be times when I may have to deviate from a vegan diet and said I won't beat myself up over it but the primary reason for doing it is for health reasons and judging what I can substitute isn't going to be easy is it?
This is going to be an issue on holiday and visiting family.
When taking a relaxed view about having non-vegan food what is the most acceptable substitute from a health perspective? I'd guess dairy and meat being a no-no?
I'm only hitting the 80g protein target with the shake.
When you say "We tend to hit 80 to 100g a day with seemingly little effort..." can you say how that is broken down into breakfast, lunch & dinner plus snacks?
My typical breakfast is porridge with fruit and nuts made with plant milk and that gives me 10g.
A typical lunch is an almond butter & jam sandwich made with seeded bread that gives me 18g.
A typical evening meal gives me 30g.
Snacks maybe another 5g.
That's approx 63g.
I struggle to eat any more without the shake, which made with oat milk is another 22.5g.
The way I'm doing it I feel bloated after eating and I've put on nearly 1.5 lbs this week, which is not welcome news!
I just had a quick look back as I've stopped tracking now, I was tracking for a long time to make sure we were getting enough of everything.
It seemed to be 20 breakfast 20 lunch and 40ish dinner plus another 10 or so in snacks.
We use hemp seeds, chia seeds, and milled flax at breakfast, usually 10g or each which is about 6g protein, my husband adds cacao to his porridge too which is 2g per 10g used, could you add a banana for another g or a tablespoon of peanut butter which fetches 20g per 100g used?
Add a good spoon of chia to that jam sandwich for 2g more, they taste of nothing and if you leave it 5 mins they soak up a bit of the moisture and so hold everything together.
Dinners are fairly high in nuts, I'm addicted to adding cashews to anything with a sauce, topping things with chopped nuts that previously would have cheese on, sweet potato on average nets 4g per spud, we do eat mock meats, vivera and oumph. Add chickpeas to stews or pasta, use lentil pasta for an easy extra hit.
Snacks, I love a nut butter by nature valley which is a peanut butter snack. My husband loves veggie jerky. We eat a lot of bananas too. Look for things like hummus, lentil or quinoa crisps.
If I can't get vegan I might have something that has some dairy in it, I just try to adjust it out if ordering in a restaurant.
I haven't had to resort to any meat at all of any kind since making the swap last October. I've had a few eggy items and a very small amount of dairy when it has been cooked for me by others thinking veggie is the same.
Who says vegans get a raw deal, gluten free vegan cheese cake with ice cream...🍨