On the Road, Rua, Workplace…
Dr. George Guimarães, nutritionist specializing in vegetarian diets
December 2007
Being a vegetarian in a world not vegetarian may not be the easiest of tasks, but also does not mean that it is impossible. We know that the quality of our food directly affects our health and we must give due importance to the care with feeding under unfavorable. Some of these situations are everyday and so end up being accepted as part of daily routine. Others happen only when we left the usual routine, in the case of travel, eg. With proper planning and some simple solutions, it is possible to overcome these situations without jeopardizing the nutritional balance and health.
For more that they can not predict all the variables under unfavorable, there are some solutions that give us the possibility to adjust to circumstances. The first step is to have some food handy key. These foods are those that are both highly nutritious and easy to transport. The dried fruit, the brown, Complete the biscuits and the tahini (sesame paste) Some examples.
In a travel status, search on the fate, evaluating local tastes, the presence of food stores and market access, even those who are not specialized, is always very important. The worst case scenario is one where you can not even have access to a market that offers simple food bread or fruit. Numa hipótese May otimista, there is still the possibility of finding some foods most peculiar, as the integrals, pasta, juices, crackers, etc.. Whatever the case, is important to know what you'll find on your journey.
If the kitchen where you will stay at your destination can receive a special request, prepared with the same ingredients you will, is a good idea to take with rice, soy protein, and a quick cooking noodles (as rice noodles, eg). All very easy to be transported and prepared, and may help save some meals. Complete with nuts and tahini or dish-made fish accompanying beans with bacon, or the hotel's rich buffet composed exclusively of exotic meats and seafood-fish, not be an impediment to your meal. In most Brazilian cities and in many cities around the world, find fresh fruit is no problem. Some dried fruits accompanied by nuts can help complete a meal that has been unsatisfactory, where all that was available was inadequate to their food choice.
Even in the streets of your town, the situation may not always be the most hospitable. Really, some people end up struggling unnecessarily, since these are programmed situations, in other words, difficulties which are expected to find. The same food (dried fruits, chestnuts, fruits) into action, but can also be added to other more perishable or reasonably easy access. In large cities, eg, fresh fruit juices can be found in almost all bakeries or similar establishments. If a papaya juice, avocado and banana by itself is not enough to complete the one meal that is far from ideal, it can be improved. With a little conversation and after some possible weirdness, most of these establishments will accept add soymilk ("Milk" soy powder) you even carry in your backpack or purse in order to enrich this preparation, that in addition to fast is also very affordable.
Perhaps the challenge is in the company cafeteria where you work and that is far from any other power source. In this case, worth always insist and insist again for some vegetarian preparations are included on the menu, always emphasizing that they will also be of interest to others who are not necessarily vegetarians. Even if you get it, or especially if your request fails to be met, you may have saved the company a jar of tahini and other rich foods already mentioned, and can carry some preparations which are easy to be performed at home, such as a sandwich bread stuffed with tofu, tahini and vegetables. Though simple, this preparation is very nutritious.
Many vegetarians find it difficult even at home. When the challenge is the lack of ideas or skill, good research or participation in a course vegetarian cooking are important initiatives. When the challenge is in the time available to devote to the kitchen, we again call on our foods. The list expands home, since the possibility of storage is different than when you're on the street or on the road. The example of the sandwich prepared at home and brought to the work already shows the inclusion of a novel food rich, what is tofu. Besides very nutritious, it is also very fast to be prepared. Having proper planning with the routine for the purchase (the period of validity is short), tofu can be handy to be turned into steaks, cubes, pasta, pates, sauces, fillings and many other possibilities. Besides tofu sandwich with tahini, another solution for quick and nutritious preparation to be done at home is an integral mass with tomato sauce enriched with tahini and plus diced tofu and nuts. The preparation time is about 10 minutes, simply cook the pasta full while the rest is mixed with sauce.
Some foods are very practical and useful to save one or more meals, but it is the food variety and daily planning we ensure nutritional balance in the vegetarian diet. This discussion focused on some key foods. However, even in adverse situations, we must not lose sight that meals should be supplemented using all the magnificent array provided by plant foods.
Article published in Revista dos Vegetarians.
