Vegan Travelling

Archive for the ‘vegan experience’ Category

Vegan Cruise is truly great choice to all those who take vegan diets seriously and who want to get revamp a mind, body and spirit. Well, checking up different vegan travel online offers I’ve paid attantion on follow ones:

1.Holistic Holiday at Sea™ IX which promises the ultimate gift for your mind, body and spirit and specially prepared organic natural foods and beverages prepared by our own chefs. You have to registrate on their site for order and details – www.atasteofhealth.org/ then use Promo Code “0016 ” you will get a $25.00 credit. You can also make a call for Information about the holistic program, classes or meals, contact Holistic Holiday at Sea directly.

Toll-free: 1-800-496-0989 or Ph: 1-828-749-9537
Email: info@atasteofhealth.org or john@atasteofhealth.org
Cruise the Eastern Caribbean will tale place on one of the world’s premier Italian luxury liners, the MSC Poesia, which combines the style and sophistication of Europe with American comforts and convenience

2. World Cruise on Pacific Princess is also open for booking. Santa Marta (Colombia), Puerto Quepos (Costa Rica) and Manama (Bahrain) are included among the 38 destinations on this sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to Venice.

3. I would prefer something like vegan Yoga Cruise.

Today, planning to travel you see that it’s definitely pretty easy for a vegan to spend a week or more in Paris, London, Jerusalem or Rome, or somewhere you choose because there are many great vegetarian restaurants there offerring a fair amount of food which is really suitable for vegans – from pizza, sandwiches, cakes and pastries, fresh juices, smoothies, coffees, ice creams etc to the various of salads and straight vegetable dishes from all around the world.

For inctance beeing in London dont forget to visit

Mildreds Restaurant – www.mildreds.co.uk – 45 Lexington St, London – 020 7494 1634

Beatroot Vegetarian Café – www.beatroot.org.uk – 92 Berwick Street, Greater London – 020 7437 8591

Maoz – www.maozusa.com – 43 Old Compton St, London – 020 7851 1586

Vanilla black vegetarian restaurant – www.vanillablack.co.uk – 17 – 18 Tooks Court, City of London – 020 7242 2622

Manna vegetarian restaurant – mannav.com – primrose hill, 4 Erskine Road, London – 020 7722 8028

Food For Thought – foodforthought-london.co.uk – 31 Neal St, City of London – 020 7836 0239

222 Veggie Vegan – maps.google.com – 222 N End Rd, London – 020 7381 2322

If you are looking for a vegan tour you should check out great number of online offers to choose the right one. So, you can also check Happyoasis.com which provides a wide range of travel tours for vegetarians, vegans and raw vegans who enjoy fun, gentle adventures amidst natural beauty offering to choose any international destination you love though it were Arizona, Hawaii, New Zealand or Thailand, Bali, Mexico, and India to travel with local guides and a maximum of 12 friends at a time.

As I see it sounds very attractively – adventure accommodations, cozy camping, friendly serenity and cheerful suites await Raw Spirits at The Oasis, a refreshingly smoke-free and pet-free home amidst bounteous wildlife – what migh be better?

(The photo has not any relation to, it’s just an illustration of my imagination of perfect vegan vacation I would like to get:-)

No doubt the the best country to eat vegetarian or vegan is the one where you work on an organic farm. According to gogreentravelgreen.com here is 10 countries where a traveller should have an easier time finding vegetarian restaurants

•Canada
Vegetarian restaurants near Toronto:
Full Moon Vegetarian Restaurant
Annapurna Vegetarian Restaurant
Bo De Duyen Vegetarian Restaurant
Lotuspond Vegetarian Restaurant
Lotus Pond Vegetarian Restaurant
Lotus Garden Vietnamese Vegetarian Restaurant
Vegetarian Restaurant West End
•Hong Kong
•India
•Malaysia
•Singapore
•Taiwan
•Thailand
•United Kingdom
•United States
•Vietnam

Siberian gifts

The sea buckthorn (oblepiha) and the pine nuts:

The hilling ability of the sea buckthorn (oblepiha) became well knowing during the last years. Oblepiha enriches nutrient levels in soil. Its berries are rich in vitamin C (a single sea buckthorn berry has 50 times the vitamin C of an entire orange. Along with vitamin C the sea buckthorn has chock-full of omega-3 fatty acids and carotene, which helps with the conversion of nutrients to vitamin A, and gives the berries their colour.

If you passing Siberia during September you can have the fresh buckthorn for 1 $ for 250 gr.

The see buckthorn:

Another great thing to bye during the autumn time is the pine nuts. Pine nuts contain, the Siberian specie, about 34% protein. Its also contain thiamine and vitamin B1.

This year in Altai was the one when the trees yield, this happening only once in four years.

Pine nuts:

My acquaintance Acai berry has begun in Brazil but then I still did not know about its wonderful properties. Scientists have opened a secret of a berry of Asai only in 2004.The berry for today wins first place among all vegetation by its antioxidant properties. With my interest to healthy food I couldn’t miss such a remarkable plant. So, what can we learn about Acai berry.

Euterpe Oleracea
Euterpe badiocarpa, Cabbage palm, Euterpe palm, multistemmed assai palm, Palisade palm
Berry has the unusual taste reminding taste of a raspberry or a blackberry with smack of a nut. Acai oil is very strange looking it is liquid, greenish, with very weak nut smell.
The berry is rich with the antioxidants, necessary fatty acids (Omega 3, 6 and 9), vitamins and minerals, fibers, amino acids, micro minerals, a complex of carbohydrates.

Acai comprises in 30 times more antioxidants and at 10-20 times more anthocyianins, than red wine has them. The berry is very calorific (in 100gr is 182 kcal), contains the same quantity of proteins, as well as cow milk. It is especially rich with iron, vitamins ?1 and E. Also it’s notable for low level of cholesterol, strengthens immune system, promotes regeneration of muscles (that especially important for sportsmen), has the general toning up an effect, is recommended to those who have an anemia.
Some time Acai remained fruit of exclusively local consumption, then, thanks to the unusual nutritious properties, and present “boom of health”, has extended across all Brazil and the beginnings successfully to win the western and European countries.
They eat it fresh. Also make of them juice, wines, liquors, cocktails, ice-cream, various desserts, with addition of sugar, honey and other fruit. All it looks wonderfully. But it is necessary to learn about opinion of opponents of special Acai Berry Diet or using acai in diet pills. Special researches show, that everything is not as simple as it seems. We can try, we can decide.

I’m already one week staying in Siberia and spending my time in searching vegan products with high nutrition value. As a basis for all dishes I use season locally grown vegetables. Unfortunately, there’s still no such concept as organic products here and I buy all vegetables in the city market. I personally believe that small home farm will use fewer chemicals because of its costs therefore I prefer to buy vegetables and herbage from old ladies, that sitting on the short chairs around the market and bus stations. Of cause I may be wrong.
While I staying in Novosibirsk (the center of Siberia region) my daily ration include:
tomatoes, beetroot and beet leaves, cucumber, egg-plant, lettuce, coriander, parsley and young carrot. All this vegetables I use both in fresh daily salad and in hot borsch as well. As a sauce for salad I use flax oil, which is very reach in Omega 3 and its all natural and plant based. The local Siberia Oil Company (this company specialization is edible oil only) are use to add to flax oil ginger, carrot and other additions.
As a main dish I use buckwheat, rise, boiled green beans or red beans, lentils or hummus. For the desert I eat some fruits, kiwi for instance.
I checked the Daily Nutrition Value of my ration and the conclusion is that I have more than enough vitamins, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B, B6, B1 (Thiamin) and B2. I’m ok with Omega3, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Proteins, Dietary Fibers. Regarding Iron and Calcium. I have 95% of needed daily Iron and 49% of calcium. So, calcium is still an issue. What I’m adding for calcium is soy milk manufactured by Alpro with adds of calcium and eating some musly or other products that contents sesame which is reach in calcium.

Baba Ghanoush

In this post, I want to share with you the recipe of one of my favorite vegan dishes- Baba Ghanoush or eggplants (aubergine) with tehina
(thina), which is a Mediterranean sauce made of sesame seeds.
Baba Ghanoush is served in Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and other neighbored countries as a side dish or part of the salad’s plate. You can find a lot of variations of it in the different geographical areas.

I use to prepare Baba Ghanoush in this way:
First, you have to roast the eggplants in an oven. Eggplants can be broil over an open flame, if you have such a possibility. It will give the dish very special test.
Do not forget to make small openings by fork in order to prevent eggplants from an explosion. When the eggplants are almost done, I used to add to the oven two tomatoes.
After the eggplants are cocked you have to peel it and then to mash.
Then you have to prepare Thina in the bowl by gradual adding to sesame mixture of lemon juice and little water. Now you can add to thina purified tomatoes, garlic, salt, grinding coriander and onion.
Finally, you can blend the mashed eggplants in this thina sauce and to add olive oil.
The Baba Ghanoush is ready!
The reason I’m so exiting about this dish is its nutrition value. Regard to the combination of thina and eggplants, this dish contains about 32% of Iron Daily Value and about 12% of Calcium Daily value. In addition its contents: vitamin C, Magnesium and Vitamin B6. Not bad at all for the side dish, is in it?

Georgia (Sakartvelo), country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia

I am warmly recommended to visit Georgia. It is very beautiful place with old architecture, nature and very nice people that really believe in hospitality.

Young lady in Georgian costume:

Views of Sighnaghi:

Sugar cotton man:

One of the first things I met during my trip to Signaghi (one hour from Tbilisi) was this village café with the board outside that welcomes all the guests, including vegans:

The national Georgian cuisine includes a lot of vegan dishes with rich nutrition value. The dishes are spicy and even hot. Georgian dishes usually prepared with a lot of walnut, coriander, garlic, vinegar, red pepper, pomegranate grains, barberries and other spices.
The first dish you have to try is Lobio (kidney red bean) which is a must dish in every meal. Lobio usually prepared with garlic, onion, a handful of basil, mint, coriander and parsley. The general name for the combination of these spices is Khmeli Suneli. This herbs mixture is an ingredient of many traditional Georgian dishes and sauces.

Another culinary recommendation from Georgia is Badrijani Nigvzit. This is a dish with eggplants seasoned with ground walnuts, vinegar (or pomegranate juice), pomegranates and spices. You should also try eggplant rolls stuffed with ground walnuts, garlic, coriander and parsley, spiced with Khmeli Suneli and saffron.

Ispanakhi Pkhali (Spinach Salad) is also very testy vegan dish. Its ingredients are: spinach with ground walnut, garlic, dried coriander, chopped onion and paprika. You can also try another roll variation: the cabbage stuffed with the some traditional filling (garlic, coriander, onion – all spiced with Khmeli Suneli):
Vegan rolls with walnuts:

Finally, we need sweets! In Georgia, you can find few vegan deserts. I preferred a Churchkhela. It is a traditional sausage or roll, shaped madden of hazelnuts sewn onto a string, dipped in thickened fresh grape juice and dried in the shape of a sausage. The color of Churchkhela depends on color of the used grapes Churchkhela was and still daily favorite delicacy of people and necessary component of ancient soldiers’ ration.
Churchkhela:

As you can see, it is really easy to stay vegan in Georgia while having delicious dishes.

Russia and other Eastern European countries

I travel a lot to Eastern Europe. Few years ago it was incredibly difficult to find in restaurants vegan meals.

The main enemy of the vegans in this region is a lack of basic awareness. Most will not understand your diet, and even if you try to explain that you don’t eat any meat, after all the efforts you might still get the chicken pirogues. This actually happened to me in my first domestic flight from Moscow to Yekaterinburg.  I ordered a vegetarian dish in advance, and I got one. The problem was that my food was a 100 years old and a totally rotten. When I turned to the steward and told her that my meal had spoiled she ignored me. When I explained to her, that she had to find the solution, she finally offered her lunch box with the chicken pirogues…

When ordering the salad in the restaurant – be careful. It might be helpful to prepare an exact list of what you don’t eat! Explain to the waiter, that the meat dish is not just a dish with meat pieces but also the meat based soup. Don’t forget to mention, that you don’t eat mayonnaise: you will find it everywhere, in all kinds of salads, potato dishes etc.

Actually, if you try to explain your vegan diet and try to get something to eat this way, the chances not to starve are close to zero. However, there are few solutions!

In the last few years something good has happened that gives us  hope! In the big cities, you will find a lot of Asian cuisine restaurants and Sushi bars. Most of them will have a vegetarian menu.

When I am in Moscow  meeting with my friends, I usually  go to Pekinskaya Utka (Pekin duck) chain:

http://www.ytka.ru/

In their branches, there is a salad bar. You can fill up the plate with all kinds of fresh and pickled vegetables and even soy milk skin (sparja). The salad bar could include:

white wood mushrooms and black mushroom salad, laminaria salad, cucumber and garlic salad, Sichuan style cabbage, assorted soy sticks and mushrooms, celery salad, colored soy shoot salad, Chinese carrot salad, lily shoot salad, soy noodles  and etc.

However, you have to be careful…It has happened to me that I didn’t notice the difference between strips of pig’s ear, squid and radish…

This is a cheap and “friends’ friendly” solution because they will have  lots of choices what to have while you’ve arranged for yourself the safe dish (almost).