Hey. My name is Erlend Mogenstad, and I’m a Norwegian traveler presently in Colombia. Right now I’m doing a work-exchange through Workaway at a spanish school called Spanish Adventure. It is located at a cozy finca right by the town of San Carlos, Antioquia. It’s close to beautiful nature, many waterfalls, and warm people. I get to practise my spanish with talented teachers who make learning a fun experience. 4-5 times a week we go on adventures in the nearby area, mostly in nature, but also cultural/language exchanges in town. They also give me salsa classes.
One of the many waterfalls around San Carlos.
I’m vegan, and I’m passionate about food. In this post I want to share experiences, ideas, and thoughts I’ve gathered while traveling as a vegan, and hopefully it will provide some inspiration.
I find traveling as a vegan to be different than back home, considering the abundance of vegan products in the supermarkets back in Norway. When I compare it to the stores here in Colombia, the difference is noticable. I’ve yet to see many of the same products as back home. This includes vegan cheese, margarine (They have margarin without dairy, but I found that all the commercial brands include vitamin D, which in most cases is not vegan-friendly), pesto, ice cream, yoghurt, and meat alternatives other than rehydrated soy protein. The selection of milk-alternatives are also slim. Most bigger stores carry almond-milk, but I’ve found it to be noticeably more expensive compared to the cost of other food here. The ones I’ve tried also contain sugar. I’ve also found soy milk in powder here.
When it comes to bigger cities in Colombia like Bogota and Medellín, I’ve found it easier to find vegan-friendly services. I got to check out some awesome vegan restaurants and places in both cities. I also heard there are specialized stores here that carry vegan food products, like tofu and soy-milk. I want to mention though, I’ve also heard the price level is higher in these stores than in a regular store. I think it’s worth knowing about anyway. Once I left the bigger cities, I felt more alone being vegan. In many of the small towns and places I’ve been, I’ve found it challenging to find products designed for vegans. I’ve been going to a fair share of restaurants eating mainly french fries, rice, vegetables, and fried plantain, or a combination of the mentioned. In the stores it’s the same thing. I found some products here and there which have turned out to be «accidentally vegan». For example chocolate and bread that happens to be without animal products.To my delight, I found this really good chocolate that turned out to be dairy-free. It’s 65% dark chocolate, something I prefer over regular milk chocolate. Perfect ratio of darkness in my opinion.
This is it. The chocolate that turned out to be both vegan and really good.
However, spending time in smaller towns has inspired me to be more creative while planning healthy and tasty meals. I’m going to share some of my favorite vegan food that can be made using basic stuff. Food to make using ingredients like legumes, nuts, rice, flour, oats, vegetables, and fruit.
I’m going to start with introducing you to my shelf. Here are some staple ingredients that make living as vegan easier for me:
Oats
Whole-grain rice
Legumes, like chickpeas, lentils, and beans
Flour (I prefer whole grain, but it can be challenging to find some places. I have yet to see it in Colombia)
Pasta
Oil. I like having a neural tasting oil like rapeseed and sunflower oil, as well as a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
Nuts. Almonds, peanut, and brazilian nuts (as a supplement)
Bananas, avocados, and a lot of other fruit
Vegetables (garlic, onions, carrots, tomatoes, pepper, and more.)
Some type of spicy chili. I love spicy food, so I always try to keep something spicy nearby. Here in Colombia something called Aji is popular, which is a type of chili sauce.
Cacao powder
Dried coconut
Spices, like salt, pepper, cumin, curry, and oregano, and. I also often have garlic powder, paprika powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and anis. I recommend looking on the list of ingredients while buying spices, as some of the brands mix stuff like rice flour and coloring with the spices.
What I keep in the shelf varies, though. For example, at this moment I like having cacao powder and dried coconut for my morning smoothie, but that’s a routine that might change in the future. This is also the case with the other food, like veggies, fruits, and spices and nuts. I got some ingredients I almost always keep close, like onion and garlic, but what I eat varies from time to time. I’m also trying to implement more greens like spinach and broccoli, but I have been lagging behind lately.
I also want to write about nutrients, as I find this topic especially important as a vegan, as some nutrients can be hard to get from a plant-based diet. This is how I make sure to get the nutrients I need to function properly.
I try to keep up with eating enough of the vitamins and minerals I need. As a vegan I find it even more important to be conscious about it, as some nutrients are mainly found in animal products. For example Vitamin B12, that is mainly found in meat, eggs, and dairy. The mineral Iodine is mainly found in white fish, milk, and eggs. At times I find it hard to get enough calcium and selenium, as well as Vitamin D when I’m not much in the sun. To help me get the right nutrients, I take supplements of different vitamins and minerals. At this moment I’m taking Vitamin B12, iodine, calcium, selenium, and vitamin d. I use brazilian nuts as a way of meeting my daily selenium level. They contain an unusual amount of the mineral, so it’s advised to not eat too many, as it can be dangerous. I eat 1-2 nuts daily. I take Vitamin D because it is part of the calcium-supplement I take, but as I spend a lot of time in the sun I think it would be sufficient anyways. If you’re not a lot in the sun, it may be something to consider. There is also some talk about the importance of omega 3 for vegans, but I do not know a lot about it. I haven’t found algae-based omega 3 here in Colombia, so I have been taking a tablespoon of flaxseed oil in the morning, as it is high in omega 3. I heard that it may not be as sufficient as algae and fish-based omega 3, so I advise you to research and do what you feel is right. I like to be on the safe side regarding these things, so I will keep looking for one that is algae-based. Consulting a doctor for specialized advice is also something that might be useful. This goes for nutrients in general, as there are other nutrients than the ones I mentioned that are important as well. So my advice is to do your own research and make sure your needs are covered. A lot of the nutrients our body needs can be covered by eating healthy and varied food, including a variety of fruit, vegetables, legumes, and grains.
I want to share some ideas of healthy and tasty vegan food to cook when one mostly has access to basic ingredients. All of the food I mention is food I’ve made while backpacking here in Colombia. My intention is to inspire rather than to list the full recipe, so I will try to keep it simple. If I find a good recipe though, I will share the link.
At this moment, a normal morning for me consists of waking up around 6.30. I meditate for some time before preparing my breakfast. For the last weeks I’ve really enjoyed drinking smoothies every day for breakfast. I buy ripe bananas, cut them up, and place them in the freezer. Then I mix water, some nuts (I’ve used almonds, but recently I started putting homemade peanut butter in it, which I really like), some dried coconut, oats, frozen bananas, chia seeds, and pure cacao powder in it. I blend it all up, and then I enjoy a really healthy, filling, and delicious smoothie that I think tastes like milkshake. I sometimes add other frozen fruit as well, like pineapple and papaya.
I usually eat a bunch of fresh fruits throughout the day as well, making me feel more satisfied between meals. My favorites here are pineapple, mango, papaya, passionfruit, granadilla (It’s a passion fruit, just sweet instead of sour), oranges, and guavabana. Here at Spanish Adventure we eat a shared lunch during the week, where I am blessed to get my food prepared for me. It usually varies between soups, lentils, beans, whole grain rice, and vegetables. Not rarely a fresh, unsweetened fruit juice to accompany the meal. A healthy, filling lunch that keeps me going for hours before dinner.
As for dinner, I’ve gathered some recipes that I love to make. One of them is called chana masala, and is a vegan version of the indian dish tikka masala. It can be made with basic ingredients like chickpeas, coconut-milk (I make the milk from fresh coconuts), tomatoes, onions, and different spices. Some of the spices have been hard to find, but I made it with what I found, and it turned out really tasty.
This is the link to a recipe that is quite similar to the one I use.
However, it’s hard to come by the spice mix called garam masala here, so I googled what garam masala consists of, and bought what I could find. I also use fresh tomatoes. I was quite surprised how many fresh tomatoes I needed to substitute the canned ones, so I recommend buying a bunch, depending on how much is being made. I usually make a huge batch, with around 15-20 tomatoes. I never made it with tahini either, but I bet it’s tasty. The chickpeas I put in water the night before, and cook them. Last time I cooked a 500 gram bag of chickpeas, and added them when the curry was about done. I added what I felt was an appropriate amount, and used the rest for making hummus (I will write about it further down.)
I made the coconut from a fresh coconut, using a similar method to this one
A colombian girl taught me a method of opening the coconut without a hammer. After I drain the water from the coconut, I put it on the fire of a gas-stovetop. I let it be there until it cracks open.
I made some really simple naan as well, using flour, yeast, oil, water, and salt. I let it rise for some time, flatten them out as much as I can, then bake them in a dry pan. If you have an oven available you can also make regular bread using this dough.
Homemade vegan Chana Masala
We enjoyed chana masala for dinner the other day. I forgot to take a picture before we started eating, and I can assure you the pot was close to full. We also had naan, but they were all gone by this point.
Hummus is another food I love to make. It’s affordable, healthy, and tastes good. I’ve made it using only ingredients like chickpeas, a neutral oil (like sunflower or rapeseed), salt, cumin, water, and lemon/lime-juice. I use the water that I boiled the chickpeas in. I put the chickpeas in water overnight and boil them the next day. I usually boil the chickpeas together with a tablespoon of baking soda so they get really smooth. I like using olive oil for my hummus, and I haven’t had a problem finding it here in Colombia. I haven’t found tahini here, but sesame seeds are not hard to find. I once made my own tahini using sesame seeds, and it turned out well. I also like making chocolate hummus, where I use cacoa powder, banana, maybe another sweetener, oil, water, and salt.
Another thing that I love making is peanut butter from scratch. Here in Colombia I buy a 500 gram pack of raw peanuts for around 5600 cop, which equals around 1,5 usd. They are called mani crudo, which means raw peanuts. Peanut butter is very simple to make, tasty, and full of healthy fat and protein. It’s a healthy, filling snack that does fine without the fridge, so it’s a nice travel companion. When I have it, I usually put a spoon or two in my breakfast-smoothie. The process is simple. Heat them up, then blend them with a little oil and salt, and maybe sugar if you’d like. I recommend making it in a strong blender. I’ve only tried toasting them in a pan, but I’ve heard it’s popular to bake them in the oven as well. I found myself turning them a lot in the pan to avoid burning them too much. After they’re heated I put them in a blender with a little oil and some salt, and scrape it down the walls as it’s blending. It takes some minutes before the dry peanut bites transform into smooth butter as the oil releases.
Roasting the raw peanuts in a pan.
Other honarable mentions:
Taco, using crushed chickpeas, lentils, or both, flavored with a variety of spices.
Pasta bolognese using lentils
Aioli or mayonese using aquafaba (the water one is left with after boiling chickpeas) instead of eggs as an emulsifier as it works excellent. I have made it in a blender but it is difficult as it’s easier for it to separate. I recommend using a hand blender/immersion blender. This is a recipe that looks similar to the one I use. I’ve made it without apple cider vinegar and mustard and it still tasted really good.
So yeah, these are some of my thoughts and ideas on the vegan life as a traveler, and in general. I hope you found some of it useful.
Thanks for reading!
Erlend