Celebrity Vegan Chef & Author Sandi Morais

Going on a road trip was always on my bucket list. A few years ago, my daughter, Kamla was competing in the Ms. Olympia championship in Las Vegas, so I thought it was the perfect time to plan my road trip from Orlando to Las Vegas to see her compete.

I asked my partner, Philip Michael Thomas, if he would be interested taking a road trip to Las Vegas. He was enthusiastic. I planned the trip, quickly. But our vegan lifestyle overwhelmed me, thinking about what food items to take along the dusty road. I did not want to prepare a lot of food to take because we wanted to travel light, so we could enjoy the trip through the states. Immediately, I had to put on my chef hat and think of simple kitchen tools to carry.

Two kitchen tools that had to go were my handheld spiralizer and my portable chopper that did not require electrical outlets and would help me prepare simple healthy meals. I needed to buy organic zucchini to make pasta with organic tomatoes, herbs, and spices for the sauce. Also, I needed mixed nuts and organic apples for snacking, and water to keep us hydrated.

I was ready for the road trip. We set out early in the morning and drove through Florida to Mobile, Alabama. We snacked on apples for fiber and nuts for protein. We didn’t get hungry for several hours. At our first rest stop, we were ready for a meal.

In a rest area, I spiralized the zucchini, turning it into a bowl of zucchini noodles. I mixed the tomatoes in the chopper with herbs and spices for the pasta sauce to pour over the zucchini noodles. I was a happy camper. After eating our simple meal, we continued our exciting road trip. We stopped in Texas, where we visited friends and family.

The next morning, we drove through Texas, playing Jimmy Cliff’s Reggae CD. We laughed and talked along the road. The drive through Texas was long. However, the mountain views in Arizona were breathtaking. We stopped in Sedona, a magical place, where we walked around the city. Then, we drove to a rest area Flagstaff, where I made another zucchini pasta meal. We did a little sightseeing at Flagstaff, then drove to Las Vegas. This was a wonderful experience. My handheld spiralizer and portable chopper were great kitchen tools that helped us survive the dusty road.

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