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Vegan Traveler

I made it through my Vegan Challenge and decided that I’m sticking with it. I like the way I feel. I have great energy, feel lean and fit and my athletic performance hasn’t suffered one bit. (We’ll see what I think about suffering next Sunday at SOS, but that’s another story!). To the contrary, August was a relatively high training-volume month for me and the plant-power kept me fueled and strong. I’m ready to keep this “experiment” going!

When I started the Vegan Challenge, I wrote that the environmental and ethical concerns weren’t my primary motivation. But as I get more “into” this diet and spend time educating myself about it, I’m finding those issues increasingly impossible to ignore. There is no question that a plant-based diet is better for the environment and for everyone living on it. And that is becoming part of my motivation to continue the vegan diet. I’ve been trying to avoid being preachy here, but I’m sure I’ll write more on those thoughts soon.

Right as the Vegan Challenge ended, a few weeks of heavy travel began. Flying to the east coast with a fair amount of traveling while there. I’ll be mostly staying in hotels without my refrigerator full of fruits and veggies and without my precious Vitamix. We went to a rehearsal dinner and a wedding in Princeton over the weekend. During this coming week I have more time in a hotel, some work events and meals out with friends. It will definitely take a lot more focus and determination to stay on a vegan diet while I’m away than it does while I’m at home. I have to accept that during travels I won’t be “perfect”. And that’s fine.

During the weekend in Princeton, I did pretty well. When we got into town, I did some research and found the Whole Earth Center Grocery Store. That place is awesome. In addition to tons of organic and natural grocery items, they have a nice juice bar and good prepared food. They have this delicious salad with kale, almonds, brown rice, tofu, carrots and some other yummy stuff. There’s also a Whole Foods in Princeton, but the beauty of the World Earth Center is that it’s right near the middle of everything on Nassau Street. I did break down a little at the wedding itself. For dinner, they actually had a vegan option (a delicious lentil and beans dish), but there was some cream in the pasta during cocktail hour and I bet there was a pound of butter in the tiny piece of dessert I had.

Yesterday afternoon we drove to the City and are staying near Union Square. The location is totally hooking me up! There’s a Whole Foods a five minute walk from the hotel. I’d read about Liquiteria – a juice bar in the East Village. I went over there today and had one of their green juices for breakfast. Frankly, I was disappointed. First, now that I’m used to the “meaty” juices I get out of the Vitamix, whole fruits and veggies, fortified with goodies like maca, chia, chlorella, green protein, nutritional yeast and coconut oil, the juice at Liquiteria didn’t really do it for me. Second, paying the exorbitant prices they charge was a little unsettling when I was thinking about what exactly I was getting! Tomorrow morning, I’ll walk over to Jus instead. Their juices still won’t compare to the Vitamix, but if memory serves, they’re better than Liquiteria. Tonight, I had a delicious falafel sandwich and sweet potato fries from Maoz. There are a few well-reviewed vegan restaurants around the City. I’ll try to hit some of them during the week while we’re here.

Things will get tougher for the rest of the week as the social commitments kick in. But again, I’ll do the best I can.