5 Tips to Eating Healthy on the Go

by Brandy Carvalho

One of the more daunting things to do when new to the vegetarian/vegan world is to find food when traveling. Don’t stress! There are plenty of resources and tips to help you get through any trip you have planned. And you can use these tips at home, too, to find great veg food at your local restaurants.

1.  The #1 tool for many traveling veggies is HappyCow.net. This website lists vegetarian- and vegan-friendly restaurants for cities and countries around the world. You can find sample menu items, links, prices and reviews. The website is free, or there is a cheap app to download that I find well worth the $2.

2.  Do a quick internet search for a city’s local vegetarian or vegan meetup or social group. Send a quick email, asking for suggestions. Veggies love to showcase their local cuisine! There are also great websites like The GGG’s www.VegJax.com to help all over the country! A quick internet search will help you find them.

3.  Think ethnic! Many international cuisines have lots of veggie options, and you may get to try something new. Look for Asian, Ethiopian or even Jamaican!

4.  Do your homework. It takes some extra time, but look for restaurants BEFORE you arrive at the city. You may save yourself some frustrations. Also, check to make sure restaurants are still open.

5.  If you can’t find ideal veg restaurants, there is no shame in visiting a grocery store and making your own meal. You can enjoy lunch in a park, or dinner under the stars.  Don’t let a vacation or work trip dampen your No Meat March pledge!

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Here is a list of national and local veg-friendly dining guides I've found so far that covers popular cities:

NATIONAL:

http://www.tryveg.com/

https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/

http://nwveg.org/restaurants

http://www.adaptt.org/restaurants.html


LOCAL:

http://www.bostonveg.org/restaurants/ - Boston, MA

http://www.vsh.org/Veg-Friendly-Maui.htm - Maui, HI

http://www.vegcf.org/veg-dining-guide.html - Orlando, FL

http://supervegan.com/restaurants.php - NY

http://www.vegparadise.com/restaurants.html - Los Angeles, LA

http://vegancrunk.blogspot.com/p/memphis-vegan-dining-guide.html - Memphis, TN

http://vegtriangle.com/ - Raleigh/Durham, NC

http://thecharlestonplant.com/ - Charleston, SC

http://rhodeislandveganguide.blogspot.com/ - Rhode Island

http://www.vegdc.com/restaurants.php - Washington D.C.

http://www.vegsarasota.com/restaurants  - Sarasota, FL

http://www.vegmadison.com/restaurants.html - Madison, WI

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/austin/restlist.html  - Austin, TX

http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/vegetarianrestaurants103112.aspx - Pittsburgh, PA

http://www.eatitdetroit.com/2012/04/hot-list-veg-heads-guide-to-everyday.html  - Detroit, MI

http://vegancarolina.com/veg-friendly-dining-guide/ - North Carolina

http://www.vegobx.com/ - Outer Bands

https://sites.google.com/site/njvegetarian/restaurants  - New Jersey

http://vegsandiego.com/ - San Diego, CA

http://www.valleyveg.org/the-valley-veg-dining-guide.html - Western MA

http://slcveg.com/ - Salt Lake City, UT

http://vermontvegetarians.org/restaurants.php  - Vermont

http://www.vegsf.com/restaurants.html - San Francisco, CA

http://www.vegsouthflorida.com/ - South Florida

http://oaklandveg.com/resources/dining-out/ - Oakland, CA

http://www.vegseattle.com/VegRestaurants.pdf  - Seattle, WA

http://www.veganmilwaukee.com/restaurants.html  - Milwaukee, WI

http://vegsyracuse.com/ - Syracuse, NY

http://www.scribd.com/doc/203704763/Philly-Veg-Dining-Guide - Philadelphia, PA