Bon jour! We made it to Provence and back in October had a spectacular time. The weather was almost 100% perfect, the crowds were low, and the scenery was magnificent. Provence is full of history, ruins, a diverse countryside from mountains to the seaside Calanques, and of course, food! So, how do you visit Provence and eat mostly plant-based or almost vegan?
Although there are some fully vegan restaurants and quite a few cafes and restaurants that offer vegetarian options, it can be a challenge. Depending on your pace and schedule, you may choose to eat out every meal, eat in and picnic, or a combination of both. We chose to rent vacation cottages, cook our own meals and enjoy some of the best, albeit few, restaurant options in Provence. Enjoy these ideas and tips on how to eat vegan in Provence.
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My Final Grocery Store Purchases for the Week:
Green flageolet beans, canned and excellent!
White Loire beans, canned
French Lentils, canned
Chickpeas, canned
Potatoes
Mixed baby greens
Baby spinach
Green cabbage
Grape tomatoes
Local table grapes
Fresh currants
Local strawberries
Fresh garlic
Salad herb mix
Trader Joe’s seed nuts salad mix (for some reason Trader Joe’s had a presence in Aldi)
Local olive oil
Pepper
Bread/croissants
Nutella – OK, a splurge
Almond milk
Muesli
Hummus, ready-made
Spicy couscous, ready-made
Coffee
Chickpea pasta
Spaghetti pasta
Peanut butter – not easy to find! One jar in the whole of our trip!
One bag of real French potato chips
Maggi Herb de Provence KUB bouillon (wish I had brought back more of this)
Large good quality hazelnut chocolate bar
At the outdoor markets:
Heirloom tomatoes
Artichoke sundried tomato pesto
Camargue black rice
More local olives
Cepes/boletes
If you cannot find Camargue Black Rice, Italian Venere Black Rice is an excellent substitute.
How to Enjoy a Vegan Vacation in Provence
Grocery Shopping. There are a multitude of ways to purchase plant-based groceries. Every town has a small fruit and vegetable market with local or almost local produce. Literally, there are signs that say fruites et legumes. In addition, there are various sizes of chain stores with Aldi seeming to be the most abundant, (one in almost every town), and Carrefour, similar to Costco, in larger towns. Obviously, the larger the store, the more options are available.
Weekly Outdoor Markets
Every reasonably-sized town has an outdoor market that includes produce, meat, cheese, and hand-crafted products. It is super fun to schedule your Provence trip around visiting a market a day. Below is an example:
Sunday – Isle de Sorgue
Monday – Cavaillon
Tuesday – Gordes
Wednesday – Arles
Thursday -Orange
Friday – Lourmarin
Saturday – Uzes
Larger cities such as Nimes, Aix en Provence, and Avignon, have more frequent and/or daily markets. This is a great website for more information.
Pop Up Markets
If you have a car and are driving, you will encounter multiple farmstands with anything from pears and wild mushrooms to cheese and honey. Just follow the signs (and brush up on your French a bit !)
What To Buy
Following the general guidelines of a plant-based lifestyle, I focused on vegetables (fresh or otherwise), fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, and anything to spice things up. We are not oil-free so we enjoyed locally-sourced olive oil (olive groves are everywhere in Provence). And don’t forget – wine. We did buy croissants, Nutella, and some other non-vegan treats. We are in France after all but 90% of our meals were vegan.
Fun Finds
A HUGE can of French flageolet beans super cheap. I used them frequently during the week.
An amazing jar of Nicoise olives.
Super inexpensive Cote du Rhone at Aldi’s to get us started.
Some beautiful Loire white beans.
Boulangeries Boulangeries in Provence are like donut shops in Texas. One on every corner. Hard not to try them all! We particularly enjoyed Marie Blanchere which had a huge variety of baked goods. This was the one food we flexed off in order to try some of their treats.
Vegan Restaurants in Provence
Some of the suggestions below are vegan only, others offer at least one vegan option.
lacantinevege@gmail.com
tel:+330486635799
4 PLACE FELIX REY, 13200 ARLES, France
L’Auberge De Saint-Rémy (summer only) One Star Michelin
12, Boulevard Mirabeau
13210 Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Mail: contact@aubergesaintremy.com
Tel: 0490921533
Vezzo Pizza – has sourdough pizza crust and a vegan option
69 rue Guillaume Puy
84000 Avignon
04 32 76 23 17
vezzo.pizza@gmail.com
Les Table De La Fontaine – Perfect Paella.
62 place des corps saint, Avignon, France
+33 9 72 82 81 88
Tapas bar with vegan and vegetarian options
Book your table on 04 42 22 51 85
Or by email at augoutdumonde@hotmail.fr
Vegan café made fresh daily
6 rue Paul Bert, Aix-en Provence, France, 13090
Open Tuesday to Saturday 11 am-5 pm (11 am-6 pm Saturdays)
Serves traditional French tartines including vegan and vegetarian options
14, rue des Tanneurs
13100 Aix-en-Provence
Telephone
04.42.95.25.76
How We Created Vegan (or Almost) Meals:
Most breakfasts were a rotation of toast and honey or Nutella and peanut butter, Muesli with fruit and almond milk, and tasting various breads and croissants. Below is a schedule of our lunch and dinner.
We love steamed potatoes for snacks and happy hour so I prepped potatoes to use and take on the road while touring. Some of the leftovers paired very well for lunch – such as the hummus and couscous sandwiches and the Camargue rice salad.
First Touring Day
After a day in Aix en Provence, and suffering from jet lag, we opted for an easy evening on the patio overlooking a garden.
Happy Hour: Potatoes, bread, EVOO and wine
Dinner: spaghetti with Provencal sauce, olives, salad, salad with garlic, EVOO, grains/nuts, salad mixings, bread, wine, and fruit. A bit of chocolate bar.
Second Touring Day
Lunch: Crunchy French bread with hummus and spicy couscous mix, baby salad greens, grape tomatoes, currants and grapes. Picnicked at a cute picnic “hut” at Commune D’Aurel Collette de Puy before ascending Mt Ventoux.
Dinner: Potatoes mashed with EVOO and an herb spice blend topped with flageolet beans simmered in some Herb de Provence bouillon, greens, local EVOO gifted to us by our hostess, bread (of course) and wine (of course). De. Vine.
Dessert: Bread, honey and wine.
Third Touring Day
Lunch: We were touring the Lourmarin so paused to picnic between Gordes and Rousillon enjoying crusty French bread sandwiches with hummus, couscous, and leftovers.
Dinner: chickpea pasta with artichoke tomato pesto and olives. This was Mike’s favorite meal of the trip.
Fourth Touring Day
A Day in Arles, Les Baux and points in between. As it was a bit dreary and raining fairly hard, we opted for a country drive. The weather lightened up enough to picnic in Les Alpilles enough to admire the wild bulbless fennel and enormous snails.
Lunch: PB sandwiches with local lavender honey, potato chips, with fruit.
Best dinner: Garlic sauteed cabbage, Loire beans, and potatoes pan-seared and steamed in the Maggi Herb de Provence bouillon. Chanterelles sauteed in olive oil and finished with Herb de Provence bouillon.
Fifth Touring Day
Avignon and beyond.
Lunch: A nice square offered café seating with multiple restaurants so we opted for vegetable paella with my favorite – fava beans and other vegetables with crusty French Bread.
Dinner: L-Auberge – a one-star Michelin Restaurant in St. Remy with a spectacular six-course vegan dinner. Information is below.
Sixth Touring Day
Uzes and Pont du Garde.
Lunch: This was a super busy touring day to visit Uzes and Pont du Gard.
Find of the day: A pop-up mushroom market with cepes to add to dinner later in the week.
Dinner: Chickpea pasta with chanterelles sauced with the last of the Loire beans, olives, spinach, and Herb de Provence bouillon. Outstanding.
Seventh Touring Day
Orange and Chateauneuf de Pape.
Lunch: A car picnic of peanut butter, bread, and lavender honey.
Dinner: Pan-seared cepes with pasta and Provencal sauce, salad, and a 2006 Chateauneuf de Pape. Not a bad ending to a great day and the end of our time in St. Remy.
Eighth Touring Day
Off to La Ciotat!
Lunch: A seaside picnic at L’Estaque of leftovers and a great view of the Mediterranean.
Dinner: Carmargue black rice with cabbage and lentils and chickpeas, a touch of olives, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and of course, some wine.
Ninth Touring Day
A day of Calanque-ing. Is that a word?
Lunch: A mixed grain and bean salad made with the remaining Carmargue black rice, chickpeas, lentils, olive oil, and garlic.
Dinner: Back to La Ciotat. After packing we walked to the Calanque du Figuerole for an amazing freshly, caught sea bass dinner for me and a beautifully plated, vegan option for my husband, Mike. The view was spectacular. The best part of the evening was a rather large, five-sail yacht cruising by at dusk. The guests and staff ran out to the deck to get pictures. It was charming and humorous at the same time!
I will imprint that evening in my mind forever. Bon Voyage and Bon Appetit!
http://www.calanques-parcnational.fr/fr/calanque-de-callelongue
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