Vegan on Vacation - Epic Fail!

So... picture Mama and 17 month old baby strapped up with the mai tai carrier and a huge dufflebag slung around the back.  Mama thought about deeply timing the trip to perfection.... morning nap, 1 hour to check in and get through security, 40 minutes before take-off at the gate... all was in order...then it happened.  4 hour delay.  Keeping baby entertained meant a constant stream of snacks and many laps around the chairs at the gate.  Our 2 pm departure turned into a 6:30 pm departure.  And it wasn't as simple as, "oh we'll be taking off at 6:30", no no.  It was we'll know a new time in an hour, we'll board the plane, wait on the tarmac for an hour, deboard the plane, have 3 minutes to grab dinner before we reboard and wait for de-icing.  Across from our gate was a coffee stand, a burger king and a Chinese fast food place.  What can a vegan mama and baby eat?  As soon as I took a bite of the lomein, I knew there had been chicken broth in it.  arg.

Once we finally made it, we were at the mercy of our hosts, (thank you auntie for buying bananas and oatmeal!) who fortunately are sympathetic to the cause.  But out and about at different restaurants is another story.  Vegetarian, is easy.  Many options exist with a little cheese on them.  Vegan is a whole different story.  Especially when you're a vegan who needs a lot of protein to balance the carbs.  There were times when I had to settle for cheese as the only protein source.  Going to parties was even harder.  Cake, at a birthday party is required.  :-)  so I broke the white sugar rule.  I did eat around the shrimp, sausage and chicken int he Jambalaya, but it's interesting how those meat flavors made rice taste heavy and oily to me now.

So I think I need to figure out how to eat-out as a vegan, and be better prepared for trips with vegan-mama snacks.  Any ideas???