Dining out on a plant-based diet can be a challenge, even for seasoned vegans, and the thought of eating out on the road can seem especially daunting.
But don’t despair – with a little flexibility, creativity, and research, you’re bound to find decent options no matter where you are. It’s getting easier and easier to make these choices when away from home as plant-based diets become increasingly popular.
Many restaurants or fast food places now offer plant-based burgers such as the Impossible Burger or the Beyond Meat Burger. While these can come in handy in a pinch, they, unfortunately, also contain more calories salt, and fat than I would recommend. Homemade is always best.
Plant-Based Dining in Beef Country
We recently returned from a short trip to gather family memorabilia from a relative and were pleasantly surprised to find great plant-based choices for food on the road.
It seemed especially ironic when we ate at a restaurant in the middle of beef country. But we had one of the best-grilled veggie dishes I have ever had at Harris Ranch in the middle of California on Fwy 5.
| There was just not much else around these parts. The dish was served with mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, and one-half of a lightly grilled head of romaine lettuce. It was delicious and we were very happy. |
If it turns out that you’re not able to find a vegan or vegetarian-friendly restaurant, here are some tips for improvising. You’ll find that most restaurants today have something that can work.
Get Help from an Internet Search
When it comes to plant-based dining, the internet can be a great help. Use your laptop or phone to search for “vegan” or “vegetarian” on Yelp.com. Another good online resource for traveling in the U.S. is Happycow.net. Simply enter your location and you should be able to find some suitable restaurants in the area.
Make Better Choices with these 10 Tips
1. Ask for suggestions, do your homework
If you know people where you’re going or who have been to that area before, ask them for recommendations for vegan-friendly eateries. If you’re in a strange city or town, ask the locals for advice, people are often surprisingly happy to help.
2. Asian restaurants
Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants typically offer vegetable-based dishes with rice or noodles that can be served with tofu as protein instead of meat. (When we have Vietnamese, I always ask for steamed tofu instead of fried.)
3. Italian restaurants
Opt for vegetable-rich pizza without cheese, or pasta with tomato sauce, making sure that the sauce doesn’t contain cream or cheese.
4. Indian restaurants
Indian restaurants typically have vegetarian options, but they also rely heavily on dairy, so you’ll need to ask your server for options without cream, Indian cheese (paneer), yogurt, or milk,
5. Be sure to look at the available sides on any menu.
You’ll often find a nice selection of veggies, rice, potatoes, or beans, and you may be able to create a custom meal with only sides.
6. Soup and salad are typically available in most restaurants and diners.
Salads and soups frequently come garnished with bacon or cheese, so you may need for these to be omitted, but usually, this is not a problem for the restaurant. Also, make sure that soups are made from a vegetable base, not chicken broth or beef stock.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask for meat or dairy to be left out of your meal.
Sometimes a dish, especially when freshly prepared, can be made without meat or dairy, such as the cheeseless pizza mentioned above. Often restaurants will happily prepare a vegan dish for you from scratch, as well.
8. In a pinch, remember that almost all fast-food restaurants offer salads or salad bars these days.
You may have to ask them to hold the chicken, bacon bits, or cheese, so give the ingredients a once-over or ask the server for details before ordering.
9. Look at the menu carefully before you sit down.
Many eateries have their menus displayed in their windows or will gladly share their menu with you before sitting down. Make sure that you see some good options before you choose a place.
10. Don’t be afraid to leave if you need to.
If you happened to land somewhere where there really are no suitable options, politely explain that to the server and go someplace else.
Good luck with dining out! Please let me know any other tips you have on eating out while avoiding meat and dairy. Your feedback is always appreciated!
Want more of Plant-Based Cooking?
Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.
Hi there my name is Cruz Almanza. I am new to the plant based world, I wanted to get your intake on products like Gardein, beyond meat and vegan cheese products. Do you recommend buying these products to eat? I am a H.S. coach that is always on the go so I need something quick
Thank you,
Hi, and thanks for your question. These products would not typically be recommended for a plant-based diet, but if it helps you during the transition, I think it’s OK. They have more fat and additives than whole foods choices. If you are recovering from illness, or have heart disease or diabetes, I wouldn’t recommend them. I know quick and easy is something we all appreciate, and there are a few tips I can share. One is to use the salad bar whenever you can. You can gather up the toppings or include lettuce the night before from the salad bar. Add some beans at home or from the salad bar and a container of dressing and you’re ready for lunch. Grains are great on lettuce salads, too, and will help keep you full. Also, take advantage of the pre-cut veggies available at most markets. It’s the prep that takes time for most pb meals. Also, pre-made foods, like lentils from Trader Joe’s, and pre-made pasta sauce. Batch cooking of grains and beans on the weekend can set you up for the week. Then a quick tofu stir-fry or chili fixens’ and dinner is served. You might check out my response to someone’s question about easy take to work or on the go foods here (it’s the 4th one). Make overnight oats for breakfast. Basically 1/2 cup of oatmeal with your liquid set in the fridge overnight. Add your toppings in the a.m. Leftovers from last night’s dinner is always a quick lunch. And, there’s more I’ve probably forgotten. I’ll be thinking about this more, as it’s an excellent topic for a blog post. Good luck on your journey!
Is it true that the longer you stay on a plant base diet your diabetes A1C number and blood pressure numbers will decrease
I’ve heard that people are able to reverse diabetes and lower blood pressure on a plant-based, vegan diet, but I don’t know the specifics about the numbers. Certainly, if you lose weight both of these should move in a healthier direction, but I’m not a health practitioner and couldn’t make specific recommendations. You may be able to find a doctor in your area that is more nutrition-focused and search on Dr. Greger’s site, nutritionfacts.org for more information. For example, here’s what you’ll find on blood pressure. Best of luck.
I really love your blog.. Excellent colors & theme.
Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m hoping to create my own blog and would love to know where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Cheers!
Hi, I do work on my website, although I have help from a web developer for things that are too difficult for me or need complicated code. I used the Foodie Pro theme but it has been altered quite a bit with the help of my web developer.