You may have noticed a shift towards highlighting vegan options during our travels. The reason is quite simple: the female half of LooknWalk, Cris (me!), has switched to vegan (from vegetarian) in August 2017. Thinking about my journey led me to ask fellow travel bloggers about theirs and also about traveling as a vegan.

Deni from The Full-Time Tourist

My transition to veganism is probably one of the most unorthodox. It didn’t start with your typical “watched a documentary” or love of animals, but rather with an allergy and dietary preferences.

Growing up, I never really liked to eat meat. My grandparents had a farm, so any time we would visit, I would learn where eggs and milk came from. I’d also learn where pork, beef, chicken, and turkey came from. While I never formed much attachment to the animals (they were often much bigger than I was or full of bravado, which was scary to my tiny tot self), I didn’t like the idea that the bologna on my sandwich came from the pig I met that time last year.

As a result, I would fight every night at the dinner table with my parents about having to eat the meat on my plate. I hated the taste and texture, and when I moved out of home at age 19, the only time I ate meat was the rare occasion when I went out for dinner.

I didn’t go full vegetarian until four years ago when I first started dating my (now) ex-boyfriend. He explained that he was a vegetarian, and I decided then that I was too.

Dairy was also an easy transition, as I never liked milk and it never sat well with me. For instance, I would have a bowl of cereal with enough milk to whet it, be full for 4 hours and then suddenly starving and shaky from low blood sugar. I’d also get 3-day stomach aches from the former love of my life, ice cream. I eventually cut out dairy after a particularly bad instance of stomach pain that ended with me in the hospital. I was sent home without a diagnosis. But to this day, I’m not sure that dairy caused it, but I was so over the stomach pain that I just cut dairy out completely.

Eggs were the hardest to cut out, as I’m gluten intolerant and most gluten-free products, unfortunately, have eggs in them. One day, I decided I had enough and went full vegan and have never looked back! Veganism has a massively positive impact on our environment, and that’s what motivates me every day to remain vegan. Since then, I continue to travel the world as a gluten-free vegan and share my travel tips and restaurant recommendations through my gluten-free and vegan eco-travel blog, The Full-Time Tourist!

Claire from Claire’s FootSteps

Ran away to Vietnam 🇻🇳 #sheisnotlost #femaletravelblogger #mytinyatlas #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverything #passionpassport #passportready #wearetravelgirls #wanderlust #vietnamtrip

A post shared by Claire's Footsteps 👣 (@clairesfootsteps) on May 6, 2018 at 7:42am PDT

A lot of people say travelling as a vegan must be tough, but I’ve actually made most of my dietary changes on the road. I was vegetarian for two years, but after learning about what happens to the animals in the dairy and egg industry, I could no longer consciously eat those products. When I watched Cowspiracy, I knew that the only real answer to the huge environmental problems that the world is facing is to give up consuming animal products. I was already blogging about sustainable tourism; and how could I be an advocate for protecting the environment when I wasn’t doing the key thing that could save the world?

My blog has grown with me, so it reflects my transition into veganism. When I was vegetarian, I made a point of only recommending restaurants with a very good vegetarian menu – now, I write about the vegan options in any destination. I’ve learnt that it’s not that hard; my travels this year have taken me around Europe, to Vietnam and China and now to Mexico, and there’s always something!

This year, I’ll be posting many more vegan food guides and sustainable travel tips. It’s honestly not as hard as you’d think to be vegan and travel when you make the plunge.

Cris (me!) from LooknWalk

A #vegan in #Budapest. Oh, what an adventure. This was an awesome #pizza I had in an Italian place we discovered by chance. . . . . . #travelfood #traveltuesday #heathyliving #healthyeating #Looknwalk #aroundtheworld #yummy #deliciousfood #whatveganseat

A post shared by Cris (Looknwalk) (@cricketro) on Nov 7, 2017 at 1:00pm PST

I still find traveling as a vegan somewhat challenging. Many times, I default to fries and salad or veggies pizza without cheese. I’m very happy when I can find grilled vegetables or more “complicated” dishes such as quinoa with vegetables.
I’ve switched (back) to being vegan in August 2017. During my 5-weeks stay in Italy the previous January I over did it with cheese and I continued the pattern during my trip to Greece the same year. My lactose intolerance was starting to bother me (I know, most people choose to ignore it, so did it for a very long time). Since I’ve been vegetarian since 1999 the only other thing I had to give up was eating eggs. To which I am allergic anyway and most often would avoid like the plague. It’s worth to mention that I was vegan before (2007-2008) but after a somewhat long discussion with my doctor I was convinced to at least eat eggs, cheese, and maybe fish. Last August, I gave up all animal products and I felt better from the first days.

Luckily the male half of Looknwalk likes what I cook – and also feels better eating mostly vegan. I learned to “veganize” my favorite recipes. On the blog, I try to include vegan (and vegetarian) options and also highlight places that are better avoided.