We talk to so many people who say they’d love to be vegan. But how?
How do you eat filling, satisfying, healthy vegan meals at home or on the road is their big question.
“How do you do it?” they ask us, shaking their heads. Seems nearly impossible to them. No wonder.
Restaurants, fast food stops, grocery stores, even many farmers’ markets focus on animal-based foods.
Some places don’t even serve salad without grilled chicken or fish on top. Then they glob on dairy-based dressing.
Ask for a plate of veggies at some chain restaurants and you’ll get green beans cooked in bacon, peas and carrots drenched in butter.
Order a simple baked potato and they’ll proudly serve it to you, loaded with butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon bits.
At least that’s common here in west Texas. The hubs and i figure if we can be vegan here, you can do it anywhere.
So how to transition from standard western diet to vegan? Slowly, in most cases.
Find a place to begin. Here’s one… nice and easy.
Rewind to that baked potato…
When you order it, say you want it plain with NO toppings, please. Ask the server to bring you some olive oil and lemon wedges instead. (Italian salad dressing will do in a pinch.) If you’re really brave, ask for chives and parsley sprigs, too.
Surprising how tasty a simple baked potato can be with olive oil and lemon juice generously mooshed in.
Don’t be shy with the olive oil… nothing worse than a dry baked potato. Go slow squeezing on lemon juice. Chives and parsley, pepper and a little salt top it off. YUM!
There you go. Dee-lish, filling, low in fat and calories. (Olive oil lowers your cholesterol count by providing ‘good’ fat to counter ‘bad’ fat. Natural plant-based fat works that way, in moderation.) Nice, huh.
Get started with very simple things like that. Experiment. It gets easier. Way healthier for you and the animals.
Congratulations on taking your first steps, Baby!
Chia (328 comments)
Taking baby steps works!
Suz (6 comments)
you are so right, Chia!!
AndyT (6 comments)
Simply ask for it!
True, many restaurants will only have salads with tuna etc. on the menu, but if you ask them to prepare you one ‘without everything’, no dairy-based dressing, no eggs, most restaurants will be able to do that. When there is a salad bar with oil and vinegar, you can mix most of sauces you might require yourself (I typically go for balsamico and pumpkin sead oil if that is available or olive oil, and a bit of freshly ground pepper and salt – a wonderful basic topping for nearly everything).
When you go for pizza, simply order a vegetarian pizza (vegetable topping) WITHOUT CHEESE – sure, the chef will look at you with a very strange expression, but if you ask for it, you will most likely get it (at least if the restaurant is customer-oriented)
Best regards,
Andy