Touring as a Vegan - The Europe Chapter (Pt. 1)

It's been a couple years since I've done a blog post and many changes have come about since my last entry here - one being, I became a full-time vegan. I have been a vegetarian, who occasional ate fish, for over 18 years, but since embarking on my yoga teacher training journey, over four months ago, and completing an online nutrition course, I decided to challenge my diet and ethics by converting to a fully plant based diet. The transition was quite simple really. I was eating 80% vegan as it was, so basically I cut out eggs and butter, no more Bulletproof coffee or frittatas.

For the past few months I've mostly been eating raw before 4. My daily diet usually consists of a superfood smoothie for breakfast, a huge colorful and nutrient dense salad for lunch, and a cooked dinner - this was winter so I was making lots of curries, soup and stews, stir-fry, and experimenting with some raw entrees as well.

Fast-forward a few months to my first tour, lasting longer than a week, of 2015...and it's in Europe no less.
Before leaving for tour my health was stellar! I did the obligatory prep-shop by going to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to stock up on some essentials - granola, oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit, avocados, hemp hearts, kale chips, etc...
Upon arriving in Brussels, I checked into the hotel, walked around the city(about 7 miles total), did a hot yoga class, at a delicious Buddha bowl, and went to bed early. The next day, and first show of the tour.....I got sick! No thanks, I'm sure, to the gentleman in the seat in front on me on the flight overseas, who coughed the entire flight. Over a week later, and I'm just getting over it. I always take the hard road, no drugs or antibiotics. Keep the gut healthy!!!!

As for food thus far on this tour...I've been eating a lot of fruit. A couple avocados a day, quite a bit of bananas, and some local berries, apples, oranges, or whatever else I can score backstage or at the local produce shop.
The UK was definitely a highlight for vegan cuisine-
- Brighton had a few proper vegan restaurants, shops, and a great co-op all within a few blocks
- I had a great curry (no fish sauce) in Bristol
- London was filled with delicious Ital (Jamaican vegan food) at BoxPark and I ate at Manna (Classic London vegan resto) for the first time.
- there was even veggie sausages at multiple hotel breakfasts.

Health is coming back to normal, energy levels are good, physical yoga practice has resumed, and I'm finally going to start running.
One more week to go as I head east into Germany, Hungary, Austria, and Romania....areas not particularly known to be the most vegan friendly, but I'm staying 'above the line' with optimism.

That's all for know.
See you at the show