We’re back home again after an awesome vacation and some much needed quality time spent with family. Unfortunately, it will probably be the last time we fly for awhile. It seems the whole experience was spent in a ‘hurry up and wait’ mode, and all the extra charges and security checks pretty much took the fun out of flying.

You are allowed to bring your own food aboard the plane, but not your own water bottle, or any other liquid unless you purchased it inside security for an inflated charge. So we guzzled the last of our water, then ditched our bottles before security check in. Fortunately, we had plenty of fresh fruit and trail mix to munch on until we got back home. I think next time we’ll drive out to California to see our family.

So I got to thinking about the best ways to staying raw on a road trip. I figured I’d post something here for those of you still getting ready for your vacation, whether it’s to see family, go to Disney World, or fly to another country. It’s important to know ahead of time and plan your meals so that you aren’t forced to eat food you don’t want in your system. Keep in mind that if you are spending any mealtimes with your family, you’re going to be in for quite a bit of scrutiny, questioning and ridicule.

As you can imagine, traveling is one of the biggest obstacles to maintaining a diet high in living foods. And you are much more likely to stay raw if you pack accordingly, and are prepared. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. Traveling with little preparation and then left to eat what is provided or available makes it difficult to get the support you need to stay raw while on the road. Good intentions are basically useless if you aren’t physically prepared with all your raw goodies to stay mostly raw. It simply does not matter how long you’ve been following the raw path - if you go somewhere without your raw food snacks you’ll find yourself being compromised!

Maintaining a live food diet while traveling can be easy if you have the right information. Once you’ve made the decision to go raw, the small inconveniences of your new lifestyle are quickly outweighed by renewed energy, rapid weight loss, and improved health. After a month or so, you should have an exciting repertoire of new foods to enjoy—some that involve more or less work than others, and some recipes that require special equipment like a dehydrator, a Vitamix, or a food processor.

So what should a “raw foodie” do when it’s time to hit the road? You can’t very well pack a five screen dehydrator and Vitamix in your overnight bag, can you? Fortunately, there are many quick solutions that will enable you to stay 100% raw and feeling great. I will say that I did pack my BlendTec blender and had fun making some raw food dishes, as well as smoothies to share with our family. But for most people, it is not realistic to pack a blender, unless you have a small portable one, like this one: Elite Cuisine Mini-blender.

So it goes without saying that you are much more likely to stay raw if you are prepared and pack accordingly. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. I found out the hard way myself when I showed up as a guest at someone’s house and I didn’t bring some of my own raw food. Good intentions are basically useless if you aren’t physically prepared to stay mostly raw. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been eating raw…if you go somewhere unprepared you’ll find yourself in a tough situation.

Grocery and Health Food Stores
Be sure to do your research before leaving to locate hotels with organic grocery stores within walking distance of your hotel. A simple search, for example, for “organic stores, Boston” provides a Google map of the city with about 15 choices. Find one you like, and then do another search for a nearby hotel.

What to buy:
• Salad in bulk (if there’s a big organic salad bar)
• Pre-packaged guacamole (make sure it’s dairy free), salsa, or olive tapenade to for dipping with carrot sticks or the crackers you made at home
• Lots of fresh fruit to keep around your hotel room in case you get hungry
• Buy a bag of pre-washed baby greens, some olive oil and raw nuts, and mix up a salad right in the bag!

Room Service
Room service is usually NOT what you want to eat, so don’t bother even looking at the menu…. Unless you need to order fresh fruit – but generally it’s best to get outside, get some exercise and find a fresh fruit stand (no, not a bakery or deli!)

Even if you are in a remote location sans organic food stores, order plenty of fresh fruit for breakfast, double portions of salad for dinner, and request olive oil and vinegar or a light vinaigrette dressing. Eat until you’re full—and stay away from the bread basket!

In Case You get Stuck in Timbuktu!
Always remember to pack a Live Greens type of supplement no matter where you’re going. You never know you might be out in TimbukTu and not a grocery store for miles. In case you end up in some far-flung place and no grocery store in sight, and unable to get any fresh produce—organic or otherwise—you can still travel stay raw. With a small mason jar, and filtered water, you can shake-shake-shake to health!

You might want to consider purchasing a battery-operated portable blender to pack in your suitcase. Throw in a banana and distilled or filtered water, mix with your organic green powder like Live Greens, and you will survive!

Keep up the Greens
A big challenge will be maintaining your daily consumption of greens at a proper level. I always travel with a big bottle of Live Greens, and bring along little mason jars for easy mixing while on day trips. It’s easy to simply add your green powder to filtered water and shake it up.

Remember the experience is more important than the food!
It seems when you travel, either to some exotic location or just to visit family, it always turns into a big eating fest. Shopping, planning and preparing the next meal before finishing the plate in front of you seems to become a time consuming endeavor. When you haven’t brought along any of your own food, it’s easy to become concerned about where your next meal will be coming from, or your hosts are concerned about having enough food available to feed you and your family. It would be great to learn to enjoy the vacation experience, sights, sounds, and smells of new and different places. Packing your own raw food makes this possible, because no longer are you concerned about your meals, restaurants, etc. And it puts less pressure on your hosts if you are staying with friends or family.

Also, the benefit of taking the pressure of meal planning and preparation away from your hosts is that you can prepare some of your favorite raw food dishes and introduce them to new flavors, and share the benefits of a raw food lifestyle.

When your vacation is no longer just about the food anymore, it provides you with time and opportunity to explore the area, such as historical museums, art, theater, festivals, shopping, and day to day life.

Travel with Raw Food Partner or Friends
It definitely helps to have a raw foodie partner or friend who shares and enjoys the same meals as you do. It makes the experience so much easier and definitely more fun. Together you can enjoy the raw food journey while traveling to exotic locations or simply visiting family. It also helps to have the support and encouragement that you can give each other. Larry and I enjoyed our raw food snacks together, and I helped him to stay strong when dealing with pressure to eat this or that from his family members.

If your friend or partner is not a raw foodist, then you’ll be able to share and example with them why raw food is important to you. Make time to sit down with them, go over menu ideas, food preparation suggestions, and really set the intention for what’s to come. Getting them excited will get you excited too, and you’ll be able to support each other along the way.

What to pack
Below are some suggestions to pack for your trip:
• Green Superfood: Live Greens are my favorite, but also Vitamineral Green, Sun is Shining, Pure Synergy
• Raw Honey or Agave: Only good quality dark agave or organic honey, forget about the cheap stuff, you deserve the best.
• Bee Pollen (some vegan purists don’t do honey or bee pollen)
• Goji Berries and/or Cacao Nibs
• Dried fruits and nuts: take it easy on these and always try to soak them the evening before consumption.
• It’s very important to pack a variety of easy snacks in your carryon bag in the event that you can’t find healthy snacks in the airport, train station, or hotel when you arrive. It’s easy to forget just how many options there are:
• Fresh veggies: carrot sticks, celery, broccoli and cauliflower.
• Dehydrated vegetables: sweet potatoes, white potatoes with salt and vinegar, zucchini, and yellow squash.
• Fresh fruits: a banana and grapes for the plane/train/car; apples, oranges, and pears packed in your bag.
• Dried fruits: dried apricots, apples, and pears; raisins, prunes, figs and dates.
• Raw cookies or snack bars: made in your dehydrator at home, last 3-5 days in Ziploc bags.
• Raw crackers: a huge variety can be made, a wonderful, crunchy treat when you’re craving salt.
• Granola: make a big batch in your dehydrator before you leave
Many organic grocery stores are beginning to carry prepackaged raw food bars. They’re a bit expensive ($3-5 US dollars each), so it’s best to make your own if you can, but some great brands are:
• Raw Organic Food Bars: cinnamon raisin is a favorite
• Raw Revolution bars: cashew is terrific
• Pure Bars: ginger snap—yum!
• Smart Monkey Bars: chocolate brownie
• Think! Organic: apricot coconut

Many of these brands can be pre-ordered by the case. Stock up before you leave. Note that international flights may not allow perishable items in carryon bags. Find out the rules before you leave.

Be on the lookout
Be alert for exotic fruits and try everything. Check the local paper for farmer’s markets, fresh fruit stands, and organic restaurants and shops. Don’t be discouraged, more and more towns and cities are providing organic and fresh vegetable shops. Don’t be shy, ask the locals where to find the organic food stores.

If you’re traveling overseas, you may want to look into the services of a local guide, who can be hired for as little as $1 an hour to show you around and help you locate organic foods by asking detailed questions to vendors like…”Are pesticides used? Do you have raw honey? Do you give discounts?” and so on.

Restaurants and Juice Bars
United States
• Atlanta: (live food truck that will deliver meals to your hotel or office)
• Boston: Grezzo (Alissa Cohen’s new restaurant, open 2/1/08)
• Miami: Tree of Zion (raw-friendly, fresh juices)
• New York: Pure Food and Wine (amazing gourmet raw food), Jubbs Longevity LifeFood Store (take-out live food)
• San Francisco: Alive! La Vie Cafe
International
• Amsterdam: Unlimited Health
• London: VitaOrganic
• Rio de Janeiro: Universo Organico (first live food restaurant in Brazil, great juice bar and raw food with local flavor, won Best of Brazil)
• Toronto: Live (affordable, delicious raw food), SuperSprouts and Remedy Café
• Vancouver: Eternal Abundance (organic produce, raw food in the back of the store)

Traveling Overseas
Traveling for pleasure overseas is a luxury for most, and if you’re going to a foreign country, remember to be a positive example of your home country…(The USA needs all the help it can in that area right now) … get a foreign language phrasebook or go online and write down some key phrases, like:

• Thank you
• Please
• Hello & Goodbye
• How much?
• Yes & No
• and of course, “cheaper?”

I think you get the point, a little goes a long way!

Needless to say a little planning definitely goes a long way. Kind of like the Boy Scouts’ motto: Be Prepared. Remember to pack your essentials, and your chances of having the best trip ever will skyrocket.
Safe travels…and never stop exploring. You will always discover more of yourself in the process.