RAW VEGAN

TRAVELING
A GUIDE FOR HEALTHY, DELICIOUS TRAVEL ADVENTURES
This ebook includes health, fitness and nutritional information and
is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on
this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional
medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or
questions about your health, you should always consult with a
physician or other health-care professional.

Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health

related advice from your health-care professional because of
something you may have read in this ebook. The use of any
information provided in this ebook is solely at your own risk.

No part of this ebook may be reproduced without the prior written

permission of the author. For permission requests you are more
than welcome to send an email to [email protected].

Version 2.0 - May 2020

© by Anais Rath, 2020

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About me

I’ve done the ordinary thing – during my teen If you want to learn more about my journey from
years I had low self-esteem in my mind and 9-5 job in Germany to a raw food lifestyle in the
low-carbs in the diet, then I studied something tropics, check out my website Raw Expansion.
decent and got the office job I’ve ever dreamed Here, I also share content about healthy
of. Shortly after that, the nice apartment with all nutrition, conscious lifestyle and a powerful spirit.

the fancy furniture and finally the disappointing

realization that happiness was not included. About:
https://www.rawexpansion.com/about/
I then started to experiment with healthier diets
Raw Expansion Blog:
and all of a sudden everything started to shift. As
https://www.rawexpansion.com/blog/
now raw food and health enthusiast, daily
meditator and passionate minimalist I sold all Raw Expansion on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/rawexpansion/
our stuff and exchanged it for a carry-on
backpack, a notice of termination and a one-way
ticket to Asia in 2018 together with my partner. I hope you’ll enjoy this ebook and soon start to
create your own raw food travel adventures!
During our travels, we’ve spend much time
further educating ourselves and exploring more
about healthy nutrition, detoxification, natural
healing, sustainable living and spiritual growth.
Yours, Anais
This not only led us to meet many amazing
people along the way, but taught us a lot about
how we want to live our life and find our place in
this world. We are currently enjoying the fruit
abundance in North Queensland as well as the
comfort of a home after traveling for two years.

xlii
The challenge as raw traveller

Traveling is exciting, enriching, colorful but it can as a raw foodie can be especially enriching since
also be challenging. Where should I go, what can there are so many exotic fruits out there just
I explore, where should I stay, to whom do I talk waiting to be discovered by your taste buds.
to, what can I eat. Especially when we value a Local mangos in Thailand, juicy rambutans in
healthy diet and lifestyle, traveling can seem like Malaysia, creamy durian in Bali, exciting egg fruit
a steep mountain to climb instead of an in the Philippines - ever bite a new flavourful
enjoyable ride. But don’t worry, to succeed as a taste adventure.
healthy traveler we will give you some powerful
But to be honest, it has not always been easy to
yet simple tips and tricks that will keep you
sustain our raw food diet but we are grateful for
happy, fulfilled and healthy on the road.
any challenge along the way. Why? One success
story at a time, we gained many valuable
experiences in traveling as raw vegans which is
“It has not always been easy to sustain the foundation of this book. Hopefully the
our raw food diet.” knowledge in here can be a guide for your own
raw vegan adventures in the world, encourage
you to dip your toes into traveling as a healthy
conscious explorer.
For more than two years now we have been living
as digital nomads around the world - exploring
cave temples in Myanmar, diving into meditation
in Malaysia, chasing waterfalls in the Philippines
or mingling with the yoga scene in Bali - all while
sharing our passion for holistic health and
supporting others on their own journey. Traveling

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Table of contents

Travel Destinations 6

Raw Vegan Events 8

Travel Equipment 11

Raw Road Meals 18

Local Markets and Stores 22

Free Food Options 25

Hotel Room Meals 28

Hand to Mouth 31

Eating Out 34

Raw Vegan Community 37

Healthy Travel Habits 39

The Backup Plan 43

Raw Travel Recipes 45

Resources

Final Words

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Travel Destinations
HOW TO CHOOSE A TASTY LOCATION
 Greenland has always been on your bucket list and you can’t wait to
WARM CLIMATE explore the natural beauty of Patagonia? We totally share your
fascination for such breath-taking places but traveling there as a raw
foodie can be quite challenging, since colder climates don’t support a
great variety of fruits. Therefore we usually prefer to stay in more
tropical climates which makes a fruity getaway more enjoyable and
certainly easier.

To make sure you get the best raw food the destination has to offer,
Travel check out the different fruit seasons online and adapt your travel plans
to the perfect time for durians, to the middle of the mango harvest or
Destinations
full-blown fruit season. In the tropical climate there is normally always
something in season so you can’t go wrong with such places. And for
travels further North or South you might want to opt for the summer
season.

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 In case you are in for exploring some gourmet raw food, you usually get
Raw Food lucky in places that are also known as vegan hotspots. Most of the time
there is more than one forward-thinking restaurant that also
Paradise incorporates raw dishes. Our not so secret tip is Bali - we lived there for
several months and were amazed by its raw vegan scene. They even
have some fully raw restaurants and many others with delicious raw
options. Koh Phangan should also have its fair share of raw food places
to explore as well as many big, colorful cities like Sydney, L.A. or Berlin.

You might find your dream destination in some of the following places:

Europe:
- Portugal
- Spain
- Italy
- Greece

Asia & Oceania:

- India
- Thailand (e.g. Chiang Mai, Koh Phangan)
- Vietnam
- Indonesia (e.g. Bali)
- Malaysia (e.g. Penang, Kuala Lumpur)
- Borneo
- Philippines
- Australia (e.g. Queensland)

Americas:
- USA (e.g. California, Florida)
- Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador

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Raw Vegan Events
ENRICHING EXPERIENCES WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE
 Your excitement for raw food can even shape your whole travel
adventure. Enjoying amazing raw dishes created by innovative chefs,
sharing great experiences with like-mind people, cleansing your body,
mind and soul, learning more about raw food - there are so many
possibilities to turn your holiday into a raw food exploration.

The perfect place to be for any raw foodie. Surrounded by a fruit

fruit festivals loving community that is as interested in topics like healthy recipe
creation, natural living, music, movement, meditation, conscious
lifestyle, personal and spiritual growth. There are the Woodstock Fruit
Festival in the US, the UK Fruitfest, Canada Vegan Fest, Koh Phangan
Fruit Fest and more. They also often have volunteering options to
leave more room for your travel budget.

Since most vegan festivals are much bigger than the fruit festivals the
Vegan Festivals atmosphere might not be as intimate. Still, they are a great option for
making new friends with similar interests. Most vegan festivals also
cover raw food within their programs as well as in their colourful food
offers.

Spoilt with fancy raw food, flowing through a wonderful program of

Raw Food yoga, recipe presentations and nature excursions. There are also
retreats focused on exotic fruits such as a durian travel tour through
Retreats
Thailand or Borneo, of course with all-you-can-eat durian all day long.
You can check out the website Year of the Durian for such offers.

You are in for a cleansing reset? Regenerate yourself at a detox retreat

Detox Retreats with juice cleansing, vibrant fruit meals, relaxing massage treatments
and yoga classes at the beach. There are so many options out there to

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 pamper your body, mind and soul while enjoying amazing travel
destinations.

Maybe this might be less laid-back than a detox holiday, but

Raw Chef training certainly an enriching, empowering and fun experience. I went
through a two-week training to become a Raw Chef and the
experience was just beautiful. Despite stepping up my kitchen game
with mouth-watering recipes and valuable techniques, the real magic
of this experience was the connection with the other participants.
Creating such beautiful raw dishes together in a high vibrational
atmosphere was more than special.

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3 Travel Equipment
SMART TOOLS FOR SIMPLE, DELICIOUS MEALS
 You might have a huge suitcase fitting a range of kitchen gadgets to
take on your travels or you might be going minimalist style with just
a carry-on-backpack. No matter your setup, a few well chosen items
can definitely enrich your raw meals while on the road.

A spoon, fork and small cutting knife can come in very handy when
Travel Cutlery you want to munch on a papaya on the beach or share a watermelon
with your new friends in the park. Even better is the 3-in-1
combination of a spoon on one side, a fork on the other along with
a small edge of a knife - we call it Sporkni. But please let us know if
there exists a less weird expression for such gadgets. ;)

Such a cutlery miracle not only saves you a few grams of baggage
weight, it is also a great choice if you travel with carry-on luggage
only and prefer not to explain the airport officials that the sharp
knife in your bag is just for cutting mangos into bite-sized pieces.

Taking a fruit salad onto the flight, cutting up some veggies as

Lunch boxes dinner salad, keeping your fresh fruits away from small, hungry
animals, storing food scratches before stumbling across the next
waste bin. We always carry two medium-sized lunch boxes with us
and they are more than useful in day-to-day life on the road.

Lunch boxes are also doing a great job of transporting extra

coconut water back to your accommodation in case you want to
enjoy it all day without running to the stall over and over again. Or
maybe you just like your coconut water chilled and want to put it
into the refrigerator for an hour before drinking.

When buying your lunch boxes, you might want to opt for
high-quality so that they last longer and endure some more
adventurous traveling. They should preferable be made of stainless
steel, silicon, bamboo fiber or at least BPA-free plastic to avoid any
harmful impact on your health. You might have also come across

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 those smart silicon lunch boxes that are foldable, so that they take
up even less space when not in use.

Plastic waste is a big issue all around the world and especially in
Grocery Bag developing countries the simple plastic bag can become a great
environmental hazard over time. As a raw foodie, most of our fuel
comes from fruits and we eat lots of them. So let’s not add to the
plastic problem but be part of the solution by bringing our reusable
cloth bags to the market so that we can comfortably say ‘no’ to any
plastic waste.

We have a pack of around five light-weight bags in different sizes

that were always sufficient for the daily stop at the fruit and veggie
vendor. Nowadays, many organic stores and zero-waste shops sell
them as well as countless online stores. We also have one big, easily
foldable grocery bag along with our two daypacks to fit in all the
treasures from our fruit haul.

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 This is certainly not just an essential for raw food enthusiasts but
Water bottle
should be a must-have for any conscious traveler. There are bottles
available made of stainless steel or BPA-free plastic to keep it
healthy and green. We might not be able to avoid buying any plastic
bottles but there are often options to refill your reusable water
bottle in hotels, restaurants and natural springs. If that is not
available to you, you can at least buy bigger bottles and fill up your
smaller bottle over the day to save some unnecessary plastic waste.

Another option is to carry a water purifier with you which is what we

did during a trekking trip in Nepal. They usually filter almost all
bacteria and a great amount of viruses and chemicals out of the
water to make it safe for drinking. Some more advanced ones even
remove heavy metals. But your buying decision should certainly
depend on the local water quality, so make sure you do your
research before.

Hydration doesn’t have to come from water only and even better
Reusable straw than buying drinking water is the magical water of young coconuts.
Tropical countries usually have a year-round abundance of coconuts
which are way healthier and much more natural than any
store-bought bottled water. Bringing your own straw allows you to
avoid the nasty plastic straws and reduce your footprint on the
planet. They can also come in quite handy for slurping freshly
pressed orange juice in the local juice bars.

Along with a straw, you also might want to buy a small case as well
as a thin brush to keep it clean on the road. In many countries in
South East Asia we came across great social, non-profit projects
offering hand-made bags for straws with a very original touch. This
can be a perfect souvenir that is practical and supports the local
community. You can even encourage other travellers as well as locals
to get a reusable straw themselves which we did in several countries
just by bringing them along with us to the coconut stall and act as
inspiration.

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 These basics definitely simplify your life as conscious raw vegan traveler.
If you have some spare room in your luggage and want to level up your
raw food experience on the road, check out the following more
advanced kitchen gadgets for traveling

They are small, handy and powerful enough to make a delicious

Travel blender breakfast smoothie. Especially if you didn’t do your proper research,
arrive in between the fruit seasons and you are stuck with just bananas
and some frozen berries at your destination, a travel blender can be the
hero of the trip.

You might not get to make fancy banana ice-cream with them since they
are usually lower in power but simple smoothie recipes are an easy task
for them. Some of them might be strong enough to make some creamy
dressings based on soaked nuts, others can still do a great
tomato-mango or zucchini-date sauce for your dinner meals.

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 Yes, you can also go big and make some space for your normal-sized
kitchen blender. It is all about your priorities, right? We came across
quite a few foodies that were traveling with a big blender and
certainly didn’t say `No` when they offered to share their self-made
banana ice-cream.

Even if you are staying in an accommodation with a kitchen, the

Cutting board cutting boards often don’t look as clean and inviting as you’d wish
for. Of course, this depends on the price range in which you are
traveling, but even the most fancy kitchen might have a cutting
board where raw meat and fish was prepared just a few nights
before. Therefore we usually take a small, light cutting board with us
to chop up our fruits and veggies more safely.

After a few months, we also started carrying around a pretty big

spiralizer spiralizer just because we didn’t want to miss our zucchini and
cucumber noodles in our travel lifestyle. Do we need 10 shirts in our
backpack though? We personally don’t, which leaves more space for
such kitchen gadgets.

Nevertheless, there are also very small hand spiralizers available, but
so far we weren’t convinced by their performance unless they have
really high-quality blades so that we made room for a larger one.

Some raw foodies choose to travel with a little superfood kit

Superfoods including green powders, healing herbs or versatile spices. If you
want to add some more luxury to your culinary travel experience,
why not. Such addings can go very well in your smoothies or onto
any banana meals.

But be aware that you have to claim food stuff when entering some
countries and at times it is not allowed at all. Apart from that, secure
the package very carefully, you don’t want to open your suitcase and

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 find spilled spirulina or turmeric on your clothes. A sealed lunch box can
help to keep such precious powders save in your luggage.

You are a nature lover, choosing tropical locations with an abundance of

St0cking up amazing fruits and a scarcity of traffic, noise and busy people. Despite
all the beauty, such places often leave you with one challenge - where
do you get your smart and conscious travel products like a bamboo
toothbrush, organic soap or a new bag of high-quality spirulina?
Sometimes delivery services can be a bit unreliable in remote areas and
if it is not a healthy lifestyle hub like Ubud in Bali you might miss out on
such shopping opportunities.

No worries, since you probably have to leave the country now and then
for a visa extensions or the jump to your next location, you might make
a short stopover in a big city like Kuala Lumpur and find a suitable
organic store that fulfils all your travel needs. Here you can stock up for
the following weeks and months.

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Raw Road Meals
TASTY, POWERFUL SNACKS FOR BUS, TRAIN OR PLANE
 Especially for long-distance flights, airplanes often have a wider range
ON THE PLANE of meal options also for special dietary needs. A plant-based dish is
usually among them including some fruit or salad. Ask for the options at
the check-in and the airline personnel might be able to put together a
raw meal for you.

On one of our longer flights we asked for some raw options when we
were already in the air and the steward made a great effort and put
together a whole raw food meal platter with fruit salads, raw veggies
and juices so that we don’t have to stay hungry. At the end, you have
nothing to loose by asking for some options but I prefer to come in well
prepared so that I don’t distract any travel companions with a grumbling
stomach.

No matter if airplane, train, bus or car - you don’t want to make a big
mess by taking along dripping fruits or any meals that are difficult to eat
without leaving your hands and seat sticky.

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 So, let’s look at some delicious raw snacks that give you sufficient plant
power for traveling and are simple to handle on the go.

Bite-sized fruits without any dripping, as if they were designed for a

GRAPES clean ride. They also keep you well hydrated and give you enough
calories for a long journey.

If you peal them with a tiny amount of care, you won’t have to deal with
TANGERINES any juicy hands. The peel keeps them fresh and protected so that you
don’t even need any lunch box to transport them. Again, a great fruit for
proper hydration especially if you are stuck in an airplane for many
hours.

Crunchy, fresh, almost anywhere and anytime available - no gadgets

APPLES needed. And the best part, it is actually quite difficult to make a mess
with them.

Yes, they are a bit sticky and you might have to wash your hands after
DATES your meal. But they leave your spot clean and are a great, delicious
snack in between destinations. Apart from that, they don’t take up much
space and fuel you with healthy sugars to keep your body and emotions
happy during stressful transits.

The queen of travel fruits. A perfectly protected package designed by

BANANAS nature, which gives you all the power you need to carry your heavy bags
from the bus station to your night’s stay. On top, they are super easy to
eat leaving no room for a spill.

You got your lunch boxes with you, as well as your Sporkni? Perfect. Get
FRUIT SALAD creative and mix your favourite fruits to snack on during your travels. I
really like the banana-mango combo, but in warm weather cut up
mangos sometimes go bad pretty quickly. Bananas, apples, dates and
cinnamon is another winning mixture that easily endures a few hours of
travel before eaten. Check out our raw travel recipes in the last chapter
for some salad inspiration.

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 The traditional travel snacks, not just for raw food lovers. No wonder
NUTS & why they are such a hit - simple, high-calorie, small space needed. We
DRIED FRUITS personally try to opt for juicier meals during long transits since they help
us to stay well hydrated. Proper hydration can also be a game changer
for dealing with jet lag or travel sickness. Despite that, a few walnuts
and dates are always a good backup.

Level up by not just bringing nuts and dried fruits but mix them
ENERGY BALLS together into some delicious energy balls. You can easily store them in
your lunch box and they certainly don’t mind long hours without
cooling. Of course, there are also similar raw store-bought snacks
available. Just make sure you check the label for any hidden sugar,
gluten, milk or other unwanted ingredients.

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Local Markets and Stores
WHERE TO GET THE BEST FRUITS AND VEGGIES
 Exploring the ethnic cuisine makes traveling more exciting for you? We
EXOTIC FRUITS are totally on your side and a lot of cultural dishes around the world are
not vegetarian, vegan or even raw vegan. But you can still dive into local
foods while traveling. Fruits - you wouldn’t believe how many different
kinds of fruits there are in the world, even various varieties of one kind.
Over 500 different edible bananas, up to 1.000 mango varieties, many
different kinds of pineapple, papaya… you name it. And of course there
are those fruits you might never have heard of like durian, rambutan,
longan, mamey sapote, egg fruit, cempedak, mangosteen or jackfruit.

The most authentic way to jump head first into new fruits are local
LOCAL MARKETS markets. We love to mingle with the locals on colorful, busy,
flavour-filled markets, which by the way are available in almost any
country we’ve been to so far. Here you get the freshest local fruits
usually for much better prices than in any supermarket. The best fruits
and veggies are those that are in season, from local farms and perfectly
ripe. Here you find some fruits you have never tried before and also get
to ask the locals about how to open and enjoy those exotic treasures.

A lot of vendors are even so kind to let you try their produce right away
without any obligation to buy. Whenever we are arriving in a new
location, we check out some fruit stalls, compare prices and quality,
choose one or two. Since we mostly stay more than a few weeks in one
location, we let them know that and they often offer us better prices or
higher-quality produce right away. In some places it is custom to
bargain, other cultures might be offended by that. So better research
the local customs around prices for your destination.

By the way, we always search for organic markets in our destinations - no

BUYING ORGANIC matter if far away in the Philippines or close by our home country in
Europe. This way, we support environmentally-friendly farming methods
and allow only the most natural foods into our body. Some countries are
known for their high use of pesticides so that we avoid buying any
imported goods from that region, such as China. If no organic fruits and

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 veggies are available, we stick to the Clean 15 list of food items that are
the least treated with pesticides and stay away from all those on the
other side of the spectrum, the Dirty Dozen list.

Depending on your location, you might also find a health store offering
HEALTH STORES some superfoods for your smoothie or organic spices to fire up your
salad dressing. Many of them are also listed on Happy Cow, apart from
that an online search for your destination always does the trick.

We have made the most beautiful, spontaneous connections with such

CONNECTING vendors on local markets. One time we even got invited to visit a huge
organic farm in Malaysia including a private tour through all the banana,
pineapple, papaya plants and many more fruits and veggies. The farmer
explained to us how the fruits grow, which local harvest practices he
uses and his creative endeavours to make his farming techniques as
environmentally-friendly as possible. Local markets are certainly the
right place to be if you seek to learn more about where your fruits and
vegetables come from.

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Free Food Options
NATURAL FOOD SOURCES FOR THE BUDGET
 During our travels we’ve met quite a lot of raw food enthusiasts that did
WORK & TRAVEL some work and travel on fruit farms and got a whole bunch of delicious
fruits back home every day, on top of their well-earned salary. Mango
farms in Australia seem to be especially popular for that, but there are
many other options for farm work out there if you want to combine
income with fruitful abundance.

WWOOFING and similar work exchange concepts like HelpX open up

WORK EXCHANGE the chance to learn more about organic farming, spend time supporting
a good cause with your volunteering work and get free food and
accommodation in return. We’ve met many people who had fantastic
travel experiences on such farms and this way could easily save money
for further adventures.

The platform Workaway goes beyond farming and also lists other kind
of projects like helping in the household or with baby sitting, supporting
a co-working space, an alternative café, the construction of an
eco-village and much more. You can check out the listings without
signing up right away to figure out if there are some exciting
opportunities waiting for you at the next dream location.

But oftentimes you don’t even need to work to get free food. Foraging
WILD FORAGING for fruits is a real thing, especially in abundant tropical countries where
delicious fruits grow everywhere. To make the treasure hunt a bit simpler
for you, check out the website Falling Fruits which shows public fruit
trees, veggie plants, nut trees and more around the world just waiting
for you to fill your belly with them. And apart from the fact that free is
always awesome, it can be really rewarding to pick your own food in
wild nature.

There are some passionate fruit lovers out there documenting their
foraging adventures on Youtube to inspire others for their own fruitful
explorations, see some examples in our resources.

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 Many people have abundant fruit trees in their garden but don’t harvest
BACKYARD them all due to lack of energy, motivation or maybe they have just way
FORAGING too much produce to eat it themselves. If you see some treasures in the
neighbourhood, ask if they might allow you to harvest some of the fruity
goodness. This way you get free food, usually un-sprayed, fresh from
the plant. As an exchange you might want to share some of the harvest
with the generous home owner. Some people even post in local
facebook groups or on other sell-and-buy platforms that they have too
many fruits and want to share their abundance. You can also create a
post yourself asking for some backyard fruits from whoever has
something to share.

Your travel destination has a local herb shop? They might organise
HERB EXCURSION herbal tours in the local wilderness to forage for some treasures where
ordinary people see just grass and dirt. Once you are familiar with the
local plants and can easily identify them (and only then) you might go
on your own herb adventure hunt and pick some delicious and healing
foods for your morning tea, lunch smoothie or dinner salad.

Although it might not be for free most of the time, a great way to save
LEFTOVER some money on food is to visit the local markets right before closing
PRODUCE time and to ask around for some leftover or second choice fruits for a
small price. A 10kg box of cherries for 7$, 8 rockmelons only for 4$,
maybe a small box of mangoes for free - that certainly happens when
you arrive at the right time and gift them with your friendly smile.

A lot of produce is thrown away by supermarkets although it is still good

DUMPSTER DIVING to eat - making room for new produce, fruits with small bruises or
veggies that simply don’t meet the industry standard in size and shape.
Some people dive into the local dumpsters to save those fruits and
veggies that are too good to go. Make sure you check the legal
conditions in your location before breaking any laws.

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Hotel Room Meals
SMART IDEAS FOR SMALL SPACES
 If you don’t have a kitchen in your accommodation, your dishes need to
be simple so that you can easily put them together without making a
mess. Here are some ideas how to dine tasteful without much space.

MONO MEALING Any fruits will do that are quick and easy to open and don’t spread their
juicy nectar all over your bed. Apples, apricots, bananas, berries, dates,
dragonfruit, grapes, mangosteen, melons, papaya, peaches, pears,
plums, rambutan, tangerines and more. On the other hand, fruits that
are not such a good choice as hotel room feast - pineapple (difficult to
cut), durian and jackfruit (strong smell) or pomegranate (preparation can
be messy). If available, you can upgrade your rain coat to a picnic
blanket to make sure you are not spilling anything.

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 Got your travel blender with you? Go crazy with your smoothie creations
SMOOTHIE including fruits that are simple to prepare. Find inspiration from the
monomealing ideas above or check out my Instagram page.

Sure, you can also make it more colourful and cut up any of the fruits
FRUIT SALAD above into your lunchboxes. In Nepal for example one of our beloved
mixtures was bananas, pomegranate, apple, spirulina and nettle leaf
powder - so delicious and filled with powerful nutrients.

In case you travel with a blender, you surely can create the most
VEGGIE SALAD beautiful salad dressings during your travels and don’t have to miss out
on such fancy dishes. But if your equipment is more minimalistic, there is
still hope for a vibrant salad. You can easily mash up an avocado with a
fork, add a bit of lemon to it and you have a creamy, tasty dressing. With
some careful skills, you can cut up soft veggies like tomatoes, cucumber
or zucchini as well as leafy greens and local herbs without the need for a
cutting board. Put everything in your lunchbox, stir in the creamy
avocado, close the lid and shake it well - dinner is served.

For now, ethnical cuisine is often dominated by cooked dishes but you
LOCAL SPICES can still bring the cultural flair of a country onto your dinner plate by
using local spices and herbs. Garam Masala and flavourful curry spices
for your travel to India, herbs de Provence for your trip to France and in
Mexico you put cilantro onto your salad and spice it up with chipotle.
Once you get to know the little things that make an ethnical cuisine
unique, you can easily adapt it for your own raw dishes and get the full
cultural atmosphere.

So, yes - you can certainly survive as a raw vegan in a simple hotel room.
Nevertheless, we always opt for an accommodation with kitchen when
we are staying longer than a few nights. It just makes traveling so much
more enjoyable for us since we have a greater freedom in food choices
and the preparation takes less time.

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Hand to Mouth
EXPLORE A DIFFERENT FOOD EXPERIENCE
 We have these amazing tools perfectly attached to our arms, so skilful
HANDS ON and versatile. Yet we choose to use other tools in the believe that they
do a better job. We call it cutlery and it is in most countries the only
accepted way of eating. In other countries though, hands are still the
preferred spoon without any reservations.

Some friends who are also traveling on raw food inspired us to start
HOW TO START experimenting with the hand to mouth style of eating. First with pre-cut
pineapple pieces, later eating a whole mango just with our hands. To be
honest, we haven’t tried it with our dinner meals yet - except for that
one time in Marrakech a few years back when a local couple shared their
tagine dish with me (Anais) during a couchsurf. Social conventions are
deeply engrained in us and it takes some curiosity and courage to do
something that might go against our taught beliefs.

Try it yourself and you might actually enjoy eating with your hands much
more than expected. As long as you wash your hands beforehand, there
is absolutely nothing unhygienic about this. It not only gifts you with a

32
totally new eating experience, but also let’s you connect with your food
on a deeper level. We all do it with grapes, apples or strawberries yet
here are a few fruits that are a great fit to further dive into eating with
our hands:

- Pre-cut fruit pieces like papaya, pineapple, kiwi, stone fruits,

mangosteen.

- Open and enjoy mango, dragonfruit, mangosteen, rambutan,

passionfruit only with your hands

- Durian - some already popped open but usually you can’t

open them with your hands. But once opened, you have to
eat them with your hands, that’s a durian rule.

As it comes to traveling, eating with your hands can be a great way to

enjoy fruits in the park, at the beach or at the next beautiful waterfall
without having to carry around any kitchen tools. Nature doesn’t care if
you are dripping mango sauce onto the ground and often it also
doesn’t disturb anyone if you throw your fruit leftovers into the bushes,
out of sight from fellow travellers as well as the locals.

You might want to bring your water bottle though, to wash your hands
afterwards in case there is no ocean or river next to your lunch spot.

33
 Eating Out
TIPS FOR STAYING RAW IN RESTAURANTS
 Let’s imagine you are not in Bali with one amazing raw food dish
ROOM SERVICE exceeding the next but rather in a random city somewhere in warmer
climates. In case breakfast is included in your accommodation, this is
usually not a raw vegan buffet. But they often include fruits in their meal
options and you can just ask for a big fruit portion instead of the
suggested dishes. It might not fill you up till lunch but at least you got a
decent start into the day and can now hunt for the abundance of
exciting fruits your destination has to offer.

HAPPY COW Nevertheless, you don’t have to settle for fruits in the park every day -
although this is a great way to enjoy a raw meal. You want to go out,
maybe even together with people that follow a conventional diet. Don’t
worry, you still got options here.

The Happy Cow app is not only a great address for vegan world
explorers, in their premium version they also have a filter option for raw
food that often leads you to places that offer raw treats, juices and
smoothies. And sometimes you even stumble across mouth-watering
raw food dishes like raw pizza or colourful, creative salads.

Many cafés have juice and smoothie options on their menu that can
JUICE & SMOOTHIE easily be turned into a raw version. Cut out any yogurt or milk and
substitute with bananas. Make sure they don’t add any honey for those
of you that follow a vegan diet. To get the most out of your smoothie
experience, don’t ask to leave out anything but rather ask for a
substitute. No honey in there? Well, then maybe they can add some
dates. No cereal as topping? Please replace it with more fruits.

RAW SALADS When it comes to dinner choices, a lot of restaurants have salad options
on their list that are mostly raw. You can usually check out their menu
online and even ask in advance about any unclear ingredients. Again,
you might need to make some adaptations, cut out some cooked items

35
 and replace them with fresh, raw veggies. For the dressing, you can
either opt for oil (ask for cold-pressed) and vinegar or some mashed up
avocado as topping instead of a dressing. If they don’t have any of that,
just bring your own prepared dressing (e.g. avocado-based) in a lunch
box or bottle along with you.

Before you go on your restaurant hunt in a foreign country, it is wise to

LOCAL LANGUAGE check upon the local expressions for “no meat, fish sauce, egg, milk,
butter, yogurt, honey,…” to make sure you get a vegan dish even if
there is a language barrier. Since raw food is still a pretty foreign
concept for many people, making sure that there is no cooked food
involved can be a bit more tricky.

36
Raw Vegan Community
CONNECTING WITH OTHER RAW FOODIES
 You’ve seen other fruit enthusiasts on Instagram traveling to your future
CONNECTING destination? Just drop them a message and ask for some insider advice
ONLINE for your holiday getaway. We have always been happy to supply some
other travellers with the best raw restaurants in Bali, fruit shopping tips
for Manila or the best durian stalls in Kuala Lumpur.

There are also often Facebook groups for certain areas where you can
get great advice about local grocery shopping, organic options and
more. And of course, you can use such groups for joining local meetings
or setting up a fruit potluck yourself.

Couchsurfing or meet-up can also be great platforms to connect with

like-minded people. You can post an event there for a fruity picnic in the
park and this way invite other fruit lovers to join you. On Couchsurfing
this is free, meet-up asks for a small fee to post events. We haven’t done
that before but used those apps to create other valuable experiences.

If you’d rather connect offline, you might want to hang around at your
POPULAR PLACES favourite vegan cafés, juice bars or the popular park in town where you
tend to meet a lot of people as an outgoing person. And of course, if
meeting like-minded souls is your travel mission, the possibilities in the
chapter “Raw Vegan Events” can guarantee you an unforgettable social
experience.

38
Healthy Travel Habits
STAYING FIT AND VIBRANT ON LONGTERM TRAVELS
 Longterm traveling can sometimes put a strain on your health since you
might be changing your location every month or even week. Here are a
few tips that helped us to stay on the health track while living
location-independent.

Since we love to spend time in the fruit-abundant tropics, coconut water

COCONUT WATER is usually available everywhere. We often don’t drink any water in such
destinations, but just fill ourselves up with coconut water over the day. It
gives you some powerful hydration and is rich in minerals. This is a big
plus if the selection of organic leafy greens is very limited in your
location or your accommodation makes it difficult to create big salads.

A little tip - bring your water bottle or sealed lunch box to take some of
the miraculous water with you for later.

40
 No matter if cold climate or warm one, close to the ocean or in big
LEMON WATER cities - everywhere we’ve been so far there are lemons or limes
available. Especially if your travel days get a bit hectic now and then,
you might favour comfort over health and don’t follow any of those
healthy habits you incorporated at home. But you can go for lemon
water in the morning without the need for any fancy equipment except
for a knife and a glass. It alkalises your system, removes obstructions
and on top gives you a great wakeup refreshment.

To protect your teeth from their acidity, you can rinse your mouth with
water and baking soda afterwards which alkalinises your mouth again.

Especially if you are in a location where you regularly eat out and enjoy
FRUIT TILL DINNER lavish gourmet raw food, you might want to focus on juicy fruits during
the day. Fruits are the perfect healing food, giving you the vital fuel to
perform at your best while smoothly supporting your body in its
detoxification.

Although we might not want to hit the gym in our holidays, it can be so
MOVEMENT easy to build in some powerful yet enjoyable exercises into your travels.
Let it be hiking in a National Park, snorkelling along corals and the
miraculous ocean world, walking through the city and observing the
local street life, biking your way through the landscape or swimming in
the sea.

Yes, it deservers to be mentioned again - swimming in the ocean is a

OCEAN WATER great exercise but not only just that. The salt water cleanses your aura
and this way helps your body to rebalance itself naturally. It also works
wonders for the skin especially if you are dealing with skin issues like
acne, psoriasis or dermatitis.

41
 Now, combine the ocean with sunshine and have a powerful yet free
SUNSHINE wellness treatment for you. The sunshine includes all color rays which
each have a specific health effect on certain body parts. On top of that
it fulfils your vitamin D needs which is one of the most important
aspects of long-lasting health. So no matter your physical condition,
sunshine in regular doses might do a lot of good for your body.
Nevertheless, you might want to avoid the hot midday sun.

Sit or lay down in a peaceful spot, maybe even surrounded by beautiful

MEDITATION nature. Relax and focus on your breathing, the sounds around you or
any sensations you feel in your body like the light wind touching your
face. Meditation can look really simple and yet if practiced on a
consistent basis greatly helps you to calm down and let go of
unnecessary chatter in your mind. The health benefits are vast, the
investment is minimal. Only 5-20 minutes a day no matter where you are
and you can already improve your physical, emotional and mental
wellbeing.

42
The Backup Plan
WHEN NO RAW FOODS ARE AVAILABLE
 That happens. You are at the airport and you didn’t plan properly, now
during the stopover you are super hungry and unripe bananas seem to
be the only raw item at the food court. You might be into intermittent
fasting and take this as a welcoming opportunity to stick to water. But
traveling can also be a bit exhausting and maybe you don’t feel like
challenging yourself with an empty stomach right now. We’ve been
there and played with different solutions.

Many convenience stores at airports sell dried fruits like dates or mango
RAW SNACKS and when you get lucky, they didn’t put any sugar or additives in there.
Apart from that, you can find some nuts or seeds there most of the time
which can satisfy your hunger for a while. But take into account that
some uncomfortable effects of traveling like slight dehydration or jetlag
can be alleviated by sticking to foods that are lower in fat and more
hydrating.

If you feel like eating some cooked foods as an alternative, do a quick

COOKED FOOD search for plant-based options in your location, for example with the
OPTIONS HappyCow app. Apart from that, a few places at the airport might offer
salads that have only a few cooked components in there or even a salad
bar where you can put together your own mixture. But for the big
hunger during your travels, you might want to go for something more
substantial.

The few times we got caught in such a situation, we chose meals with
the most natural ingredients, the least fat, no gluten and no animal
products. That means turning our back to chicken wrap, French fries or
pastries and moving over to veggie stew, oven potato or Indian curry.
Find what feels good for you and don’t be too hard on yourself.

44
Raw Travel Recipes
SIMPLE DISHES FOR YOUR TRAVEL ADVENTURES
 3-5 ripe bananas
APPLE-BANANA
CRUNCH 2 small apples

4 dates

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Optional: 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

1. Mash up the bananas with your fork.

2. Wash the apples and chop them up together with the dates.

3. Mix everything in your lunch box.

46
 1/2 cup dates
ALMOND-
APRICOT BALLS 1/2 cup dried apricots (unsulfured)

1 cup almonds

2 tbsp coconut flakes

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Put the almonds into a processor, add the dates and apricots as
soon as the nuts are coarsely chopped.

OR Chop the nuts and fruits into fine pieces with a knife.

OR If you can’t get the nuts into fine enough pieces, use nut flour
instead (e.g. almond, hazelnut, coconut) together with only half a
portion of nuts.

2. Add coconut flakes and cinnamon. Mix well.

3. Press or roll them into balls.

I usually create my energy balls in a 1:1 ratio of nuts and dried fruits
together with some spices or superfoods. Here you will find some ideas
to make your own unique creations.

Nuts: Walnuts, coconut, almonds, hazelnuts, etc.

Dried fruits: Raisins, dates, apricots, figs, etc.

Add-ons: Cinnamon, raw cacao, vanilla, maca, etc.

47
 3-4 ripe bananas
FRUIT SALAD
1 mango

2 kiwis

1 pomegranate

1. Chop up the bananas, mango and kiwis.

2. Remove the seeds from the pomegranate.

3. Mix everything together in your lunch box.

Fruit salads are one the simplest meals while traveling since you can
easily fix them up in your hotel room without the need of a kitchen. To
balance the flavors, I like to mix some sweet (like banana, mango) with a
little slightly sour fruits (such as kiwi, pomegranate).

48
 3-5 ripe bananas
SUNSHINE
SMOOTHIE 2 oranges

1 mango

1 grapefruit

Optional: hand full of fresh mint

3-5 ripe bananas

TROPICAL
SMOOTHIE 1 dragonfruit

1 cup kale, bok choy or other local greens

1/2 tsp cinnamon

49
 Salad Sauce: Salad Fillings:
AVOCADO SALAD
1 avocado 1 small head lettuce

Juice of 1 lime 2 tomatoes

1/2 cucumber

Optional: Fresh herbs

1 tsp onion powder

Dash of cayenne pepper

Dash of sea salt

1. Mash the avocado with a fork and add the other dressing
ingredients. Mix well.
2. Chop up the veggies and add the avocado sauce. If you like your
greens a bit softer, let the mixture sit for around 10 minutes.
50
 Kale, cos lettuce or other green leaves
SWEET GREEN
SNACKS 3 bananas

1 cup dates

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1. Mash the bananas with a fork.

2. Put the mixture into the kale leaves, sprinkle dates and pumpkin
seeds on top.

You can also use any other green leaves, dried fruits or seeds that are
available at the local market in your destination.

51
Resources

Woodstock Fruit Festival : One of the biggest fruit festivals every year in the USA
http://www.thewoodstockfruitfestival.com

Seeds of Life Bali : Raw Vegan Chef Trainings right in the raw food hub Bali
https://theseedsoflifecafe.com

Year of the Durian : Everything you need to know about durian as well as durian retreats
https://www.yearofthedurian.com

Fit Shortie Eats : Fruitarian couple exploring exotic fruits worldwide

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7vTq7aY0zIbr8a2Fa0a_Zw

Clean Fifteen : The fifteen fruits and veggies that have the least amount of pesticide residues
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php

Dirty Dozen : A list of produce with the highest pesticide residues

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

Light My Fire : Smart spoon-fork-knife travel gadget

https://lightmyfire.com/products/eatn-drink-collection/spork/spork-titanium/spork-titanium?group=pr
od_prod_grp-s1%2F1032

Klean Kanteen : Reusable water bottles for conscious travellers

https://www.kleankanteen.com

Workaway : Support local projects and get free accommodation and food in exchange
https://www.workaway.info

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WWOOFing : Learn about sustainable farming while traveling for free
https://wwoof.net

HelpX : Another work exchange platform for the budget-conscious traveler

https://www.helpx.net

Happy Cow : Find vegan and raw food restaurants around the world
https://www.happycow.net

Falling Fruit : Forage public fruits trees with the help of international maps
https://fallingfruit.org

Meetup : Join local gatherings that spark your interest

https://www.meetup.com

Couchsurfing : Stay with locals, build great connections and save some money
https://www.couchsurfing.com

xli
Raw Vegan abundance - 55 Recipes for healthy taste explorers

I recently launched an ebook with all my RAW VEGAN RECIPES

favourite dishes from 3+ years on the raw vegan
Explore 55 delicious meals to create at home
and 6+ years on the plant-based lifestyle. If you
like to feel great in your body without missing • Creamy fruit smoothies
out on amazing tastes, this ebook is for you!
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WHAT YOU GET
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of experience • Raw veggie soups

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• With minimal equipment possible, no • Raw cakes, pralines and other treats
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• Including 7-day raw vegan Meal Plan Go to Raw Vegan Abundance on my website to

• +130 pages, incl. 35+ pages with powerful download it right away and start creating your
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xxxix
reinvent your dairy at home - being healthier without dairy

My friends Leo and Timi created this amazing RAW VEGAN RECIPES
ebook full of recipes how to deliciously and
Explore 80+ delicious meals to create at home
easily substitute your dairy products at home.
• Savory and fruity milk alternatives

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• 80+ tasty raw and cooked recipes for all • Cream cheese recipes
levels of experience
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• +150 pages, incl. 35+ pages with valuable Go to Reinvent Your Dairy on my website to
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xl
final words

Since you’ve made it till the end of the book, I You know anyone who would enjoy this book?
assume you got something out of the content to Please share the link so that they can also start
enrich your own raw food traveling or make your learning more about raw vegan traveling:
healthy holidays easier. I would be more than https://www.rawexpansion.com/raw-vegan-
happy to hear about your feedback. And yes, I traveling-ebook/
would be just as grateful for any suggestions to
improve the content so that future readers can In case you are ready to begin your own
benefit from it. transformation and need some more inspiration,
browse through the free content on my blog via
Drop me some feedback: “Explore” or check out my Instagram account for
[email protected] daily raw food inspiration.

Or leave a message on my website:

https://www.rawexpansion.com/contact
Yours, Anais

xxxix