Are you a vegan or raw food vegan trying to determine how you're going to maintain and hopefully grow your social life? One of the biggest challenges can be dining out with friends and family. There's no avoiding this--eating out socially is probably the most popular activity in our culture.
You can absolutely eat a delicious, nutritious, vegan, and even raw meal at any restaurant, whether it caters to your particular diet or not. The most important tip for maintaining this type of diet is thinking ahead and bringing type of supplemental snack with you!
Almost all restaurants have salads. You could order the chicken salad without the chicken, the gourmet salad without the cheese, or an order or even two of the simple side salad. And if the restaurant has an organic or local salad on the menu, it's a no-brainer!
Never be afraid to ask your server to customize a salad for you. You can create your own salad by looking at the menus salads and entree side vegetables to know what ingredients the restaurant has on hand. Ask for a big salad with greens, other than iceberg, as the base and a variety of different chopped raw vegetables on it. Ask for as many different colored vegetables as possible. If the restaurant has any guacamole or avocado anywhere on the menu--fantastic! Now you know they have avocados in their kitchen and you can ask for avocado to be put on your salad as well if you'd like.
It's always a good idea to be as kind as you can when asking your server for special requests. They will most likely be more than happy to make sure you're happy with the food. When your salad comes out, you might have your company turning their heads in your directions complimenting you on your choice and wondering where your dish was on the menu. For your salad dressing, healthy vegan options are olive oil and vinegar, the house vinaigrette, or some plain extra slices of lemon squeezed all over it.
Now, you may not get enough protein, fat, carbohydrates, or calories from this salad and this is where a bit of planning comes in handy. In your purse or pocket, you might want to bring along a handful or two of nuts or seeds, dried fruit (can be your dessert!), a raw food bar, or a whole grain bar, in a small plastic baggie. You'll be glad that you did.
Its very important for your vegan or raw food success to do whatever it takes for you to feel full and happy with your dinner so you feel comfortable enough to be in the present moment with your dinner party. The worst thing would be for you to be still hungry and thinking about food--missing out on all the conversation!
Superfoods are another option to add to your customized salads. Of course, you would have to bring these with you from home. Hemp seeds, sea vegetables, and goji berries are easy to pack superfoods. This could raise the nutrition of the food from 10 fold, especially if eating out at a non-organic restaurant, which is usually the case. Just be sure to prepare yourself for some extra attention when putting these foods on your salad. It will definitely depend on how you're with if you do this or not.
Here are some more tips for vegans and raw foodists dining out at a cooked food restaurant:
Nuts and seeds on salads are usually toasted or candied so beware. Make sure to ask to hold the cheese or dairy-based dressings on your salad. Bringing some sort of sweet with you is a great idea if you're going to be tempted to eat a cooked/baked dessert that others will be eating (A date rolled in cacao nibs might satisfy your chocolate cake desires). If you're not entirely raw, don't hesitate to ask for plain steamed vegetables as an entree.
Stay comfortable, confident, and nonchalant about your requests and possible supplemental snacks, and others probably won't even know what you're doing. At the very most, they'll compliment your on how gorgeous your meal looks! But if you become uneasy and embarrassed about your diet and requests, you could get a lot more attention than you bargained for!
If and when people ask about your diet, have a simple definition planned and memorized that you can give them. If you don't want the entire dinner conversation to focus on your new diet, just say its how you prefer to eat right now or you're trying something new out for a while. In a nutshell, choose your line and deliver it in a positive and confident way.
Yet another option asked out to eat with a large group of people is to eat before and simply tell everyone that you had a late lunch or breakfast. Most people understand why you won't be ordering anything if you say this. This comes in handy if you're still not comfortable dining out with others on your new diet. Just be sure to pack some sort of snack with you in case you'll be out for a while and hunger does strike.
In time, you will definitely get used to how to eat out at any type of restaurant--whether or not it caters to vegetarians, vegans, or raw-foodists. Dining at fine restaurants may not be as fun as it used to be, but that's because you know you can eat a much healthier and more satisfying meal at home for pennies on the dollar now. Try proposing a night out for your non-vegan friends at your favorite restaurant. This is a great way to show them how much fun and creative gourmet healthy vegan or raw-vegan food can be.
You can absolutely eat a delicious, nutritious, vegan, and even raw meal at any restaurant, whether it caters to your particular diet or not. The most important tip for maintaining this type of diet is thinking ahead and bringing type of supplemental snack with you!
Almost all restaurants have salads. You could order the chicken salad without the chicken, the gourmet salad without the cheese, or an order or even two of the simple side salad. And if the restaurant has an organic or local salad on the menu, it's a no-brainer!
Never be afraid to ask your server to customize a salad for you. You can create your own salad by looking at the menus salads and entree side vegetables to know what ingredients the restaurant has on hand. Ask for a big salad with greens, other than iceberg, as the base and a variety of different chopped raw vegetables on it. Ask for as many different colored vegetables as possible. If the restaurant has any guacamole or avocado anywhere on the menu--fantastic! Now you know they have avocados in their kitchen and you can ask for avocado to be put on your salad as well if you'd like.
It's always a good idea to be as kind as you can when asking your server for special requests. They will most likely be more than happy to make sure you're happy with the food. When your salad comes out, you might have your company turning their heads in your directions complimenting you on your choice and wondering where your dish was on the menu. For your salad dressing, healthy vegan options are olive oil and vinegar, the house vinaigrette, or some plain extra slices of lemon squeezed all over it.
Now, you may not get enough protein, fat, carbohydrates, or calories from this salad and this is where a bit of planning comes in handy. In your purse or pocket, you might want to bring along a handful or two of nuts or seeds, dried fruit (can be your dessert!), a raw food bar, or a whole grain bar, in a small plastic baggie. You'll be glad that you did.
Its very important for your vegan or raw food success to do whatever it takes for you to feel full and happy with your dinner so you feel comfortable enough to be in the present moment with your dinner party. The worst thing would be for you to be still hungry and thinking about food--missing out on all the conversation!
Superfoods are another option to add to your customized salads. Of course, you would have to bring these with you from home. Hemp seeds, sea vegetables, and goji berries are easy to pack superfoods. This could raise the nutrition of the food from 10 fold, especially if eating out at a non-organic restaurant, which is usually the case. Just be sure to prepare yourself for some extra attention when putting these foods on your salad. It will definitely depend on how you're with if you do this or not.
Here are some more tips for vegans and raw foodists dining out at a cooked food restaurant:
Nuts and seeds on salads are usually toasted or candied so beware. Make sure to ask to hold the cheese or dairy-based dressings on your salad. Bringing some sort of sweet with you is a great idea if you're going to be tempted to eat a cooked/baked dessert that others will be eating (A date rolled in cacao nibs might satisfy your chocolate cake desires). If you're not entirely raw, don't hesitate to ask for plain steamed vegetables as an entree.
Stay comfortable, confident, and nonchalant about your requests and possible supplemental snacks, and others probably won't even know what you're doing. At the very most, they'll compliment your on how gorgeous your meal looks! But if you become uneasy and embarrassed about your diet and requests, you could get a lot more attention than you bargained for!
If and when people ask about your diet, have a simple definition planned and memorized that you can give them. If you don't want the entire dinner conversation to focus on your new diet, just say its how you prefer to eat right now or you're trying something new out for a while. In a nutshell, choose your line and deliver it in a positive and confident way.
Yet another option asked out to eat with a large group of people is to eat before and simply tell everyone that you had a late lunch or breakfast. Most people understand why you won't be ordering anything if you say this. This comes in handy if you're still not comfortable dining out with others on your new diet. Just be sure to pack some sort of snack with you in case you'll be out for a while and hunger does strike.
In time, you will definitely get used to how to eat out at any type of restaurant--whether or not it caters to vegetarians, vegans, or raw-foodists. Dining at fine restaurants may not be as fun as it used to be, but that's because you know you can eat a much healthier and more satisfying meal at home for pennies on the dollar now. Try proposing a night out for your non-vegan friends at your favorite restaurant. This is a great way to show them how much fun and creative gourmet healthy vegan or raw-vegan food can be.
About the Author:
Lenette Nakauchi is a raw living foodist who loves teaching, coaching and demonstrating to others how to go and stay raw in a fun, healthy, sustainable way. Learn more about the raw food lifestyle and about superfoods by visiting her informational websites www.gorawhavefun.com and www.eatsuperfoods.com.
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