Touring as a Vegan
#26
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 595
Likes: 0
From: West Philly, PA
Tahina is good stuff. It comes in concentrated form, which you add water to to make it a thinner consistency, and it makes a great dip for bread and vegetables. It was one of the staples of my 2 month backpacking trip across Israel. You may not be able to find it in small town grocery stores, but if you can, it rules.
#27
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
From: New York City
Bikes: Brompton M6R, Jamis Aurora Elite, Specialized Globe since 2007
Most people don't realize that vegans get plenty of protein. In fact most people get too much protein and it's usually the bad kind (animal sources). Beans are so full of protein that you could live on rice and beans for months -- and the price helps!
#28
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 169
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco
Bikes: Trek 820, Specialized Sirrus Elite
This is just my ignorance but outside of CA, do you get Tofu, Soja protein, soymilk etc in other States? like in smaller towns along the ACA routes?
#29
Avoid trauma
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
From: Dirty old town
Bikes: 2001 Bianchi Eros (my baby), 1994 Trek 930, Raleigh Twenty Folding Bike (For Sale)
#31
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 660
Likes: 24
To cook beans while camping you'd need something like a tiny pressure cooker. I wonder if there are any on the market. It would be a good way to cook beans and rice instead of relying on those awful dehydrated rice-a-roni packets that are full of MSG and other scary stuff.
In addition to instant hummus you can buy chickpea flour from Indian grocers and add it to rice and vegetables to make a meal-in-one-pot. I'm wondering if it's possible to make your own bean-flours using something like a coffee grinder. I'm going to experiment with this at home and try to perfect the high-protein meals-in-one-pot concept.
In addition to instant hummus you can buy chickpea flour from Indian grocers and add it to rice and vegetables to make a meal-in-one-pot. I'm wondering if it's possible to make your own bean-flours using something like a coffee grinder. I'm going to experiment with this at home and try to perfect the high-protein meals-in-one-pot concept.
Last edited by Clem von Jones; 02-19-12 at 10:53 PM.
#32
You might try checking out Sonya and Ali’s website www.tour.tk. They are both vegetarians and have been cycling around the world since 2006. Their country information pages contain advice on finding vegetarian food and Sonya is even planning on putting together a vegetarian cookbook for bicycle tourists.
#33
I am a vegetarian and my girlfriend is vegan, so a lot of the time I eat vegan. On a 2 day tour we baked some potatos at home then reheated them on the fire at night, along with corn and other things. That only works for short trips.
You can always look for "accidentally vegan" foods, you can find dozens of list and items online; here is one I found. (HERE)
I eat lots of peanut butter based items, and pasta. I make my own treats for rides, And you can find "vegan" jerky more, if you want to be "one of the boys".
Advice from my girlfriend:
You could also use the boxed 5 minutes rice, and just boil water for it, as well as using canned beans.
Vegan food is pretty easy to get a hold of, even Wal-marts carry non-dairy milks (as well as Krogers, and some gas stations).
Cans of soup are easy to reheat over a fire.
Making granola bars is a good plan. Carrying nuts and dried fruits is as well.
Primal Strips make delicious vegan jerky.
There are so many options out there for vegan/vegetarian cyclists on their travels!
You can always look for "accidentally vegan" foods, you can find dozens of list and items online; here is one I found. (HERE)
I eat lots of peanut butter based items, and pasta. I make my own treats for rides, And you can find "vegan" jerky more, if you want to be "one of the boys".
Advice from my girlfriend:
You could also use the boxed 5 minutes rice, and just boil water for it, as well as using canned beans.
Vegan food is pretty easy to get a hold of, even Wal-marts carry non-dairy milks (as well as Krogers, and some gas stations).
Cans of soup are easy to reheat over a fire.
Making granola bars is a good plan. Carrying nuts and dried fruits is as well.
Primal Strips make delicious vegan jerky.
There are so many options out there for vegan/vegetarian cyclists on their travels!
#34
The previous posts are great.
When I'm touring, I love Aldi fruit pies. They're 50 cents, 400 calories and come in boxes, so they are less likely to get crushed in a pannier and Aldis are relatively easy to find. Aldi has a suprising amount of vegan food if you look.
Hormel vegetarian chili is easy to find and is vegan. It costs about $1.25 a can. I usually opt for this instead of beans if its available since it's already seasoned.
The 5 minute boxed rice is good, but if you don't feel like cooking at all, you can buy the microwave pouches of rice and just mix them with some beans or chili and eat them cold.
I bring a small bottle or packages of soy sauce or braggs liquid aminos instead of salt. I also bring Nori (flat sheets of seaweed) since it weighs less than a sheet of paper and roll rice up into it and dip it in soy sauce. No cooking required unless you buy uncooked rice.
Oatmeal is good. Just soak it over night and eat.
Like other people have said, trail mix is great.
Of course there's also PB&J, but I prefer Hormel on bread if I can get it.
If you're riding through any bigger cities, find out where the best vegan restaurants are and stop at them. It's worth the while, especially if your new to veganism, to discover new vegan foods and replacements.
When I'm touring, I love Aldi fruit pies. They're 50 cents, 400 calories and come in boxes, so they are less likely to get crushed in a pannier and Aldis are relatively easy to find. Aldi has a suprising amount of vegan food if you look.
Hormel vegetarian chili is easy to find and is vegan. It costs about $1.25 a can. I usually opt for this instead of beans if its available since it's already seasoned.
The 5 minute boxed rice is good, but if you don't feel like cooking at all, you can buy the microwave pouches of rice and just mix them with some beans or chili and eat them cold.
I bring a small bottle or packages of soy sauce or braggs liquid aminos instead of salt. I also bring Nori (flat sheets of seaweed) since it weighs less than a sheet of paper and roll rice up into it and dip it in soy sauce. No cooking required unless you buy uncooked rice.
Oatmeal is good. Just soak it over night and eat.
Like other people have said, trail mix is great.
Of course there's also PB&J, but I prefer Hormel on bread if I can get it.
If you're riding through any bigger cities, find out where the best vegan restaurants are and stop at them. It's worth the while, especially if your new to veganism, to discover new vegan foods and replacements.
Last edited by ScottNotBombs; 02-23-12 at 01:19 PM.
#36
A little off topic, sorry. I am not a vegan, but a quick question to the OP: As a vegan do you find consume enough calories while touring? I found during my meat light/less times (hiking), I can't stop eating, constantly hungry. Random curiosity, thanks.
Peanut butter and Nutella are quite possibly the most important foods ever. They go well on everything, bread, pancakes, chips, (yes, meat), nuts, fruit, anything you could think of.......
Oatmeal is a good meal too.
Peanut butter and Nutella are quite possibly the most important foods ever. They go well on everything, bread, pancakes, chips, (yes, meat), nuts, fruit, anything you could think of.......
Oatmeal is a good meal too.
Anyways... You're constantly hungry because you burn 2x-4x the number of calories in a day. When riding, meat is the last thing I crave and, actually, meat would make me sick during physical exercise, some turkey maybe at most. Oatmeal is the bomb, except I don't like it that much and I don't like cooking it. I am not a vegetarian normally and enjoy some meat for lunch, but on long rides or hikes I don't eat any meat.
#37
To cook beans while camping you'd need something like a tiny pressure cooker. I wonder if there are any on the market. It would be a good way to cook beans and rice instead of relying on those awful dehydrated rice-a-roni packets that are full of MSG and other scary stuff.






