Tag: travel tips

How to Eat Vegan at a Hotel Continental Breakfast Buffet | #WhatVegansEat

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Thursday! Today I am excited to share with you how I recently ate vegan while traveling. Many hotels offer a complimentary continental breakfast with your stay, and I definitely want to take advantage of that perk to save money on the go. While at first the breakfast buffet might seem intimidating, there are bound to be at least a few options for those of us with a vegan lifestyle. This post will share with you all of the vegan options I found at the Fairfield Inn & Suites during a recent stay.

I am not affiliated with the Fairfield Inn & Suites. Ebates referral link used. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

The Fairfield Inn & Suites is a business hotel with limited amenities. In fact, the location where I stayed was very simple. There is no restaurant, bar, pool, gift shop, or anything that you might see at a hotel aimed at tourists. I appreciated that the hotel is very clean and simple, and equips the rooms with things like free WiFi and a microwave and mini fridge. If you like efficiency, the Fairfield Inn & Suites is a great place to stay. Of course, I also appreciate that a continental breakfast buffet is included! I was very happy to see a handful of vegan options that allowed me to easily fill up before heading out the door.

Let’s begin with my favorite vegan option available – the oatmeal bar! I double checked with hotel staff that the oatmeal was prepared with water, and not a dairy product like milk. I was also super excited for all of the vegan toppings available. The toppings included are dates, apricots, walnuts, almonds, raisins, and brown sugar. There is even a bottle of agave next to the oatmeal bar (no honey here!). If you stay away from sugar that may have been filtered with bone char (more info on that HERE), avoid the brown sugar. Everything else in the oatmeal bar is vegan, though! I even added some maple syrup from the waffle area to my oatmeal for added flavor.

The buffet also includes a section with fresh fruit. There are bananas and apples available daily. The two domed cases held different fruit depending on the day. This day there was cantaloupe and grapes, but I also saw pineapple and mixed fruit during my stay. Whether I wanted to add some fresh fruit to my breakfast, or grab an apple for later, I was glad that fruit was always available for me.

The Fairfield Inn & Suites also offers a variety of breads and bagels for toasting. Bagels are almost always vegan, especially plain bagels. If you want to double check the bread’s ingredients before eating them, ask the staff at your hotel. During my stay, there was always a staff member available during breakfast who was more than happy to answer any questions I had. I absolutely love bagels, so I did enjoy a couple during my stay. Toppings for toast included peanut butter and fruit spreads.

Last but not least, I wanted to quickly mention the cereal bar. While the cereals can rotate depending on the day, the varieties available during my stay were Frosted Flakes, Kellogg’s Granola, and Raisin Bran. All of these cereal varieties do contain micro-ingredients that are not vegan. That being said, I like to follow PETA’s suggestion and not worry about these micro-ingredients, especially in situations like this one where this cereal might be your only food option. You can learn more about PETA’s stance on the organization’s website HERE. Of course, you have to do what you feel comfortable with, and I decided not to eat these cereals because there were other vegan options available to me at this particular hotel. I would love to see this hotel offer some dairy-free milk options, too!

In the end, I hope this blog post helped you to discover that vegan options can easily be found at a hotel continental breakfast buffet! As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the hotel I stayed at is very basic, so there is a good chance that a larger hotel would have even more vegan options! While I am in no way affiliated with Fairfield Inn & Suites, I do recommend this hotel chain. I’ve had a great experience during each stay, and I love that my breakfast is included. Make sure you book your trip through Ebates HERE to earn cash back on your stay.

What vegan options have you found at a hotel breakfast buffet?

Let me know in the comments!

Follow me on Instagram HERE for daily vegan lifestyle posts.

 

 

Jet Away June | Airport Security 101

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Wednesday! It’s time for another Jet Away June post! If you’re traveling via airplane this summer, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to go through airport security. For those who don’t travel very often, airport security can be a frightening unknown. There are what seems like endless rules to follow, and everyone dreads the long lines. I’m hoping that my post today will help ease your stress. I’ve come up with three simple steps to ensure you airport security success!

1. Know the Rules and Process

As I mentioned in my What’s in My “Liquids” Bag? post, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) is the governmental agency in charge of airport security. Of course, the most important step for anyone to take before flying is to become familiar with the TSA website HERE. That’s where you can find the official rules. If you have any questions that this post leaves unanswered, definitely contact the TSA directly, as this post is just regarding my own personal tips and experiences. The TSA agents at the airport will also help you if you have any last minute questions. Just remember to be polite!

The process at security is simple. First, you show your ID and boarding pass to an agent. Then, you place your items into bins and onto the conveyer belt. This requires you to remove your shoes, take out your liquids bag, and remove your laptop from your carry-on (tablets and cell phones can remain in you bags). Next, an agent will direct you through the body scanner. Then you can retrieve your belongings. That’s it!

2. Plan Ahead

To make your visit at airport security as easy and painless as possible, have a plan. Here is what my plan is when I fly:

  • Have ID and Boarding Pass in Hand – As soon as I get to the airport, I take out my ID and Boarding Pass. The first checkpoint through security will look at both of these documents, so if you have them ready the process will move quickly.
  • Create an Order – Once your ID is checked, you usually only need to wait a few minutes before you start putting your belongings in the bins and on the conveyer belt. I plan the order in which I do things so I don’t scramble at the last minute: backpack/carry-on goes first, then a bin with my laptop and liquids bag, and finally a bin with my purse, shoes, and jacket.

Once your items are on the conveyer belt, a TSA agent will ask you to step through the body scanner. Then, all you need to do is retrieve your belongings and you’re done! Because you planned ahead, you’ll be able to grab your things and make room for the next person.

3. Be Patient 

My last tip is simple – remain calm and be patient! Remember that the TSA agents are there to keep you safe, and will encounter thousands of passengers in a single day. If you have a question, ask politely and they will help you. If something goes wrong, which it shouldn’t, patience is key.

Always anticipate that the lines at airport security may be long. If you give yourself extra time, you’ll have no reason to panic. There are several factors that can affect how early you should arrive at the airport, such as time of day, time of year, and geographic location. I like to be at the airport about 1 hour and 30 minutes before my flight leaves. I would rather spend some extra time at the gate than miss my flight!

That’s it for my three simple tips to airport security! I hope you found them helpful. If you have any extra tips, please share them in the comments!