By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Imagine a 10-day road trip to some of the most scenic areas of the American West – days filled with hikes and nights filled with star-gazing. Now, imagine doing a combination of car camping and staying in small motels in remote areas. My husband and I recently returned from such a trip. We suspected that we weren’t going to find vegan restaurants and that vegan offerings at local restaurants would be limited. We weren’t even sure if local grocery stores would have much to offer other than fresh fruit and fresh or frozen vegetables. We opted to bring most of our food from home and supplement it with a stop or two at grocery stores near where we were staying. Neither of us wanted to spend a lot of time cooking. We prepared food on either an old camp stove or in a motel microwave.

Here’s what we ate:

Day 1: Leftovers from home kept cool in an ice chest – Sesame noodle salad with tofu and vegetables

Day 2: Canned vegan chili beans over microwaved sweet potatoes

Day 3: Reconstituted TVP with vegan sloppy Joe sauce over microwaved potatoes, carrot sticks

Day 4: Canned vegan lentil soup with bread and carrot sticks

Day 5: Ramen noodles with cubed silken tofu and frozen vegetable medley

Day 6: Coconut Squash Dahl (in pouch) over 10-minute farro with frozen vegetable medley, bread

Day 7: Ramen noodles with TVP and canned green beans, bread

Day 8: Canned vegan baked beans with canned sliced potatoes, carrot sticks

Day 9: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (not motivated to cook), fruit

These dinner ideas would work for quick-and-easy meals whether or not you are traveling.

For more ideas for quick and easy meals while traveling see:

Cheap, Easy Vegan Camping Food

Take it Outside

Vegan on the Road

For travel guides see:

Vegan Journal’s Guide to Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in the U.S. and Canada

Vegetarian Travel and Restaurants

Veggie Dining Options at US National Parks