A lot of people expect that I must be well versed with the local food cuisine of the different places I have travelled to. I take quite some pleasure in explaining to them that this is not so because I am vegetarian and Jain. I am not a strict jain but I do avoid onion and garlic. So its hardly possible to taste the local cuisine, even if it is vegetarian it is full of onions! I stick to my usual diet of Idlis and Subway sandwiches whenever possible. Even these however are not easily available in smaller cities!

In my last South India road trip I was so surprised to find that the restaurants serve Idli only during breakfast hours which end before 10.00 am and during dinner! So effectively having lunch became a big difficulty! In times like these my good friends are flavored yogurt and soya milk!

These yogurts are available in all malls, supermarkets and small grocery shops. They come in various flavors – mango, strawberry, apricot, mixed fruit etc.. They are quite delicious and I find it is filling. I liked the ‘Go’ brand better than others, but I can’t be fussy about the brand as it is not available everywhere. Add a glass of soya milk along with this bowl of yogurt and it serves as a heavy snack! I prefer soya milk to normal milk tetrapacks cause I have lactose intolerance. Too much milk content makes me sick so the soya counterpart is ideal! In fact soya milk also comes in lots of flavors – kesar, strawberry and most importantly chocolate! Surprisingly it is very easily available even in smaller towns.

I find that yogurt and soya milk are a much more nutritious option for snacks, than other tidbits like biscuits or wafers. They help me manage even when I might have to skip a meal, which happens sometimes in a tour. Additionally these packs are very convenient to carry around with me for days. They say that the yogurt needs to be refrigerated but I have carried some packs for 3-4 days in my backpack and its never gotten spoilt.

So these two products helped me well during my trip! Next time I go travelling I plan to be a little more prepared on the food front! Do suggest any ideas you might have to be better prepared foodwise 🙂