Tag Archives: travel

March 10, 2012 · 9:08 am

Cheesy-Lime Kale Salad…in a bag. And a Winner!

Thank you to everyone to entered the first Vegus Juice Giveaway! There will be THREE more chances to win this month and feel free to enter every time, until then I’d like to present our winner of the week…

Sharon Felton! Sharon, you can e-mail me at veggiecentrickitchen@gmail.com so I can get your info and have these lovely juices sent out to you!

So I realize that the food photos while at the hotel are less than appealing…I promise the recipes are still delicious though!

I often get teased for my “salads in a bag” when I’m away. While my juicer makes the packing cut, my tupperware does not. I do my best to fit most of my groceries into my backpack and tote bag but when excess kale requires a plastic bag it does not go unused: it becomes my new salad bowl for a day! Not perfectly sanitary I’m sure but I’m not much of a germ freak (all the germ freaks are making notes to themselves never to be near me without hand-sanitizer. I’m not that bad, I promise ;) ).

Cheesy-Lime Kale Salad in a Bag…bag optional.

1 bunch kale
2-3 limes
4 oz raw goat cheddar
1 clove garlic
NuNaturals stevia, salt, and pepper, (I actually just used stevia)

Remove kale leaves from stems (save stems for juicing). Tear the leaves into bite sized chunks. Shred cheese, juice limes, and mince garlic (or, if your at a hotel room like me, hack at it with your plastic butter knife). Add to salad and season to taste. Feel free to use a bowl.

Last month I wrote an article for Modern Hippie Mag called Staying Healthy on the Road. Coincidentally, it happens to have been posted right in the middle of “Travel Month” which was completely unplanned, I didn’t even know I’d be traveling when I wrote it! Check it out, I’d love to hear what you think :)

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March 6, 2012 · 7:57 am

Transparency and Travel Salads

I admit it: I chose to work in Arizona this month because…well…I didn’t think I’d be doing a whole lot of working. I anticipated a massive dose of sunshine, plowing through my stack of library books, and brainstorming brilliant recipes from my hotel room. Instead, I’m literally working twice the hours I normally work and grasping for my sanity.

On today’s agenda:

1. A blog post I wrote a couple days ago but refrained from posting- I always hesitate on the really personal stuff but I’ve gotten some really wonderful comments from people who could relate to things I’ve posted in the past so I’m attempting to censor a little less.

2. Another day in the life: what happens when your flight gets diverted and you’re sent overnight to a hotel…without your wallet…or your juicer…

3. Travel salad recipe number 2!

From 03/03/12:

“How much transparency is too much? Apparently, in the blogging world, there is no such thing. *sighs* here we go. How does a blogger *ahem* go on and on one day about the importance of meditation, self-love, and properly feeding the body only to “fail” the very next day? And how does this blogger, who very much wants to be a good example to her readers, admit that she isn’t perfect without appearing overly dramatic/whiny/attention-seeking etc?

I share, on occasion, my struggles with emotional and binge-eating. While I don’t want that to be the focus of my blog I believe authenticity is important. I shared every day of the Rose Cleanse with you, told you when I was feeling awesome and the days I wasn’t. I’ve been in such a good flow, and although I knew that abusing myself through food was still possible, I thought I was doing everything I could to prevent that from happening. And then I spent three days working more flights than I usually work in two weeks. And I crumbled to bits in the middle of a loud, vibrating metal tube (AKA an airplane) while aching for sunshine, fresh air, and a creative outlet. I binged. I had brief waves of self-loathing, disappointment, and a body that did NOT appreciate the sudden interruption of non-food items in the midst of all that juice and veggie-loving-living.

And then I moved on.

I’ve learned that no good comes from punishing myself. If anything, I need EXTRA self-love and care after a day like this. Bingeing means I’ve found myself in a situation that I wanted to escape from and I turned to unhealthy methods of distraction and soothing. So why would I punish myself for that?? I journaled. I wrote down the things I was feeling pre-and post-binge and what I could have done differently. I rested. I had green juice the next day. I looked at myself in the mirror: naked, bloated stomach, under-eye circles, and puffy face: and told my reflection she was beautiful. I apologized to my body and thanked it for putting up with a really tough day. I gave myself a literal hug.”

It has been a long week. Just the other day I was working a flight, we were making our descent…and then we weren’t. Our landing was aborted last minute due to weather and we ended up spending the night in a completely different city. Sans juicer with only enough time between flights to sleep, I felt completely unprepared for the next day! I dug into my work bag and found some wheatgrass powder, grabbed some fruit from the hotel, and (yes, I must admit it) drank some really bad coffee to carry me through to green juice time. Having carried the Rose Cleanse through February, I’m feeling pretty “off” after this week. After a couple of teary, discouraged, and exhausted phone calls to Britney (my poor lady) I sent myself on an online mission for some positivity and found some of the most beautiful, encouraging spots on the web. For some serious feel-good, definitely hop over to Cynosure and Divine Winks (thanks, Sam!).

If you scrolled all the way down for the recipe I don’t blame you (I do it all the time!).

Rande’s Other Favorite Travel Salad

Because it's awesome...and because I ate the salad before taking a picture...


1 5 oz box baby greens
1 jar organic salsa
1 ripe avocado

Chop avocado and add to greens. Pour salsa over the top. You may only use half the jar, I like to use the whole thing and sometimes even an extra avocado to make it really creamy.

P.S. You still have until Friday the 9th to enter the Vegus Juice Giveaway!

P.P.S. I’m late in the game but Pinterest and I are now friends :)

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March 1, 2012 · 7:27 am

Travel Day One for a Juice-Obsessed Flight Attendant

I arrived yesterday for my first of 30 days in Arizona. My first stop was the local Fry’s Grocery for 3 days worth of produce. My flying schedule is packed at the moment but only so much can fit in the hotel mini-fridge so frequent trips are necessary :) . I’ve listed below what I brought with me, what I bought at my destination, and what I do my first night at a hotel (besides thank my lucky stars that the juicer made it all the way to baggage claim intact!).

What I brought with me:

my travel juicer (Breville)

a big bag of my favorite herbal teas

NuNaturals stevia (vanilla and original)

dark chocolate bars

miscellaneous items from my cupboard: nutritional yeast, spirulina, sun dried tomatoes, cacao and carob powder.

two 32 oz. travel jars (one for veggie juice, one for tea)

a cheese grater (totally necessary ;) )

colon cleansing devices (such is the charmed life of a detoxer)

organic bath products (to avoid using the hotel’s toxic hair and body products)

Goodies I brought with me.

What I bought when I got here:

veggies for juicing (cucumbers, beets&greens, lemons)

a couple logs of goat cheese (sadly pasteurized but it’s the best I can do)

a container of olives from the olive bar (not soaked in oil)

bags of organic carrots (for pre-dinner munching)

boxes of organic greens (for a built-in travel bowl)

bags of frozen broccoli (keeps my food cool during the day but is thawed by dinner)

dijon mustard

Goodies from the grocery store by the hotel

What I did when I got to the hotel:

stocked the mini-fridge with produce (greens on the bottom, frozen stuff on top)

placed items that didn’t have to be immediately refrigerated atop the fridge (cucumbers, lemons, and carrots do alright for a few days)

made a batch of juice for the next days flight (juice went into the fridge, pulp into the toilet, juicer cleaned out in the bathroom sink)

The glamorous life of a traveling juice-fiend...

And that is what my usual first day looks like at a hotel! Does it look crazy to you? Do you have ways of keeping things simpler or does this look “normal” to you too? Usually what looks “normal” to me get’s a lot of sideways glances or full on horrified remarks (“that is a BIG-ass salad!” or “what IS that??” in reference to my green juice ;) ).

I’m off to do some hotel yoga (this one in particular) and get some much needed sunshine before my flight!

Home Sweet Hotel

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February 8, 2012 · 4:40 pm

Adventures and Travel-Juicing


Yesterday I embarked on a mini-adventure. I’ve been a Flight Attendant for about 4 years and have traveled quite a bit in that time. I’d been feeling a little (ok, a lot) over the airplane thing and put a ban on all unnecessary flight time for about 6 months and I’m happy to say my wanderlust has returned. Something I’ve wanted to do for awhile was to show up at the airport…with no destination in mind…and take the next flight out. So at about 9 A.M. I found myself in Sacramento for the day :)

Traveling unplanned made for quite a day- I got to the airport and sat down with my first of many herbal teas. While walking about, I discovered that the only way to have access to bathrooms or WIFI was to make a purchase. I was well hydrated ;)

Much wandering occurred, I’d never been to Sacramento so exploring the downtown and old town areas was all new and exciting. Unfortunately I was rained on for almost the entire day- apparently even Seattle saw more sunshine than I did!

My go-to’s when I’m in a new city tend to be: the local health food store, thrift shops (I’m a sucker for The Buffalo Exchange!), and hiking trails. Though I didn’t make it to all of these in the short time I was there, I did manage to scout out the Sacramento Co-op to buy veggie deliciousness for dinner :) I aimed to try local, new-to-me items that would keep it fun and indulgent but still clean and detox-friendly. As it turns out, Sacramento has the most amazing local salsa that I poured into a bag of chopped kale salad with chunks of Mt. Sterling Raw Goat Cheddar (which I’ve had before but can’t find in Seattle). It was also the first time I’d seen this Dark Cacao Love Cup, which was actually made in Sedona and probably the best raw chocolate I’ve ever had (I’m usually not crazy about the raw brands.)!

As the day was ending I considered hopping on a plane to another destination (I almost had to after I got lost and thought I’d miss the last flight back to Seattle!) but ultimately decided I’d rather spend the rest of the night at home with my lady. I flew home and we spent the evening catching up on Glee. Britney also enjoyed a Peanut Butter Creamie from Sacramento’s Sugar Plum Vegan Bakery. I hear it was delicious ;)

Traveling as much as I do, I can pretty easily integrate my daily healthy-living habits no matter what my schedule looks like or where I’m at in the world. I never compromise daily vegetable juicing (I honestly can’t recall the last day I went without one). It’s incredibly important to stay alkaline and hydrated when you travel, especially by plane. If you juice until lunch or dinner- it’s pretty much impossible to go without it and there are so many ways to make it happen:

1. Juice at home ahead of time and store your juices in the freezer until it’s go-time. They store well in a cooler or a hotel fridge. No, they aren’t as fresh (juice should really be drunk immediately after being prepared) but it’s infinitely better than just forgoing it entirely. I’ve been known to have 4-5 frozen juices in my suitcase at a time!

2. Google the area and see if there are any juice bars near where you’ll be. Even Jamba Juice has fresh carrot and wheatgrass juice and they are all over the place these days.

3. Bring your juicer with you. A hassle? Yes. Obsessive? It might appear to be but it feels incredibly normal to me at this point. I’ve spent weeks at a time in a hotel room, mini-fridge stuffed to the gills with produce, cleaning my juicer out in the bathroom sink and flushing the pulp down the toilet ;)

If juicing is a part of your lifestyle, do you bother with it when you’re traveling? What do you find to be easiest way to make it a part of your day?

In uniform and exhausted at the Sacramento airport. Adventure complete.

P.S. Sarah, the amazing blogger over at Queer Vegan Food invited me to do a guest post this week, you can see it (along with my recipe for vegan “Bacon” wrapped Sweet Potatoes) here!

P.S.S. You may have noticed the header above- I’m considering changing blog names! For the Love of Veggies is at the top of my list at the moment and I’m feeling it out. Other ideas welcome :)

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October 8, 2011 · 7:20 am

A Brief, Not-So-Off-Topic-as-it-May-Seem Book Review: The Artists Way

I was lying in bed this morning, unfortunately early, when it occurred to me just how different things would be if I had never picked up The Artists Way. I started it this past January and although I’d seen it in the past it took me awhile to really dive in. I didn’t realize, when I started, that it was a three month commitment, requiring daily work. Had I realized this I may never have started but by the time I did I was too far in to stop ;) I won’t give a lengthy review on all the details, you can definitely find that if you’re looking for it, I’m more interested in sharing the experiences I got to have as a result of accepting the challenges this book offered. Had I decided against accepting everything that I was reading and learning about myself, I never would have:

Taken Improv Classes (at the time, I couldn’t think of anything scarier)
Started Journaling (now a tool for sanity)
Taken a Spontaneous Trip to Hawaii (I can now say I’ve been to all 50 states!)
Gone Skydivng (during the above mentioned trip :) )
Started a Tumblr blog (amazingly, this was a big deal for my extremely introverted self)
Ended and Renewed my Relationship (which is now ten times as solid and fulfilling as it had been prior to the brief but agonizing split)
Went Bungee Jumping (who knew you could learn amazing life lessons from jumping off a bridge??)
Started Singing at Open Mic Nights
(this was a long time coming)
Spent a Month Working in Florida
(ok, truthfully I was on the beach more often than the airplane)
Began The Vegetable Centric Kitchen (which continues to be a much needed outlet for creativity and happens to be the tidbit that keeps this post somewhat on-topic ;) )

I had no idea what I was getting in to when I opened those first pages and maybe that was best, I’d encourage anyone to give it a try, who knows what could come of it!

This is what bedhead looks like...


On an actual food note, in case you were wondering if Banana Butter would be absolutely delicious in a big bowl of greens I have your answer. It is like dessert salad heaven.

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