7 Tips for Eating Out on a Plant-Based Diet
Sometimes eating away from home happens. But depending on where you’re going it can be hard. The main thing is to have a plan for when this happens. Your friends and family will want to accommodate you and if they don’t, you can always bring your own food.
Bring Your Own Food – Sometimes if it’s convenient and you’re not too far from home you can simply bring your own food with you in a lunch box or bag. This is often the easiest way to deal with food issues. Even in a restaurant or party, you can tell them you have a lot of allergies and no one will say one word about it.
Eat Before You Go – You can also eat before going to social events. If a lot of people are there, it’s likely no one will even notice it if you don’t eat. Order a side and spend your time conversing with your friends and family instead.
Read the Menu – Once you get to a restaurant you can read the menu and descriptions of each entre carefully. Typically, they do list ingredients that anyone might have an issue with and if you’re not sure you can always ask.
Ask Questions – At a lot of places you can ask them to leave certain ingredients out of food that you don’t want in it. Especially if it’s a from scratch kitchen. Often chefs will actually prepare something just for you to accommodate your needs.
Call in Advance – One way to not be in the spotlight as you order your food is to call ahead. Talk to someone who knows you’re coming so that they can help you create or pick something that fits your dietary needs.
Order Sides – One way to avoid problems is to order one ingredient sides of veggies. Always ask about the beans though because they often add bacon or other pork ingredients to green beans and other types of beans.
Go Where There is a Salad Bar – Many places have salad bars today. This is an excellent place for you to find plenty of food to eat. If you eat a giant salad at dinner, not one person is going to say a word to you about your food choices and you won’t draw attention to yourself.
When people do accommodate you, thank them. So many people won’t accommodate someone’s dietary preferences and even will take offense. Be sure to be open with people about your diet so that they have a choice to invite you or not or let you pick the restaurant so that it has choices for you.
