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.
It is definitely possible to order a satisfying and healthy meal while enjoying the company of your friends and family. Planning ahead of time and bringing some sort of snack with you to the restaurant is probably the most important key to doing this!
Most likely you're going to be ordering a salad at the restaurant. Perhaps it will be a chicken salad without the chicken, a shrimp salad without the shrimp, or an order or two of the simple house garden salad. If the restaurant offers an organic or local salad--even better for you!
By looking at the salads and entree side vegetables on the menu, you can actually put together your own salad. Don't be afraid to ask for a "customized" salad for your lunch or dinner. You can always ask for a large salad with spinach or mixed greens as the base, with a couple of different diced raw vegetables or fruits on it. And to step up your salad a notch, you can ask for as many different colored vegetables as possible. To determine if the restaurant has avocados in their kitchen or not, scan the menu for guacamole or avocado as an extra or a side. Now you can request avocado to be added to your salad to make it extra satiating.
Of course, try to be as polite and as discrete as you can and they will most likely do their best to help you. Your customized salad can lead to the most gorgeous and most colorful salad the restaurant has ever seen! Your salad might just have people turning their heads in your direction asking where was that on the menu? That looks amazing! For salad dressing you could choose the restaurants vinaigrette, lemon juice, or oil and vinegar on the side.
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.
More tips for dining out at a regular restaurant on a vegan or raw-food diet:
Candied nuts and seeds often are added to salads and are coated with sugar so beware if you're avoiding sugar or excess oil. Watch for cheese or dairy-based salad dressings that come automatically on the salad if you don't ask for them to be held. A date or some dried fruit and a small piece of chocolate is a great idea to bring with you for your own personal after meal dessert, especially if everyone in your party will be ordering dessert after the meal. Plain steamed vegetables make a great side or entree to your salad if you're not on a 100% raw food diet.
Others in your party may or may not notice what you're doing. If you're comfortable, confident, and nonchalant about what you're doing, they probably wont notice. They're more likely to notice and focus on you if you feel uncomfortable and embarrassed about it yourself. Others may be a bit interested in what you're eating and will even comment on how good your food looks!
Try to have a simple definition planned and rehearsed about your diet that you can give others if and when they ask. The easiest line to give is "I'm just trying something new out right now," or "This is just how I prefer to eat right now and I'm feeling the results already." Whatever you say, try to say it in the most positive and confident way possible.
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.
With all these tips under your belt, you will be able to eat out at any type of restaurant with your friends, family, co-workers, etc. Your diet should never hold you back from your social life. It's just not sustainable or fun! Perhaps you could invite your friends to dinner at one of your favorite restaurants for the next gathering. It could be a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to a healthier way of eating and to show them how delicious and beautiful the food can be! - 15683
It is definitely possible to order a satisfying and healthy meal while enjoying the company of your friends and family. Planning ahead of time and bringing some sort of snack with you to the restaurant is probably the most important key to doing this!
Most likely you're going to be ordering a salad at the restaurant. Perhaps it will be a chicken salad without the chicken, a shrimp salad without the shrimp, or an order or two of the simple house garden salad. If the restaurant offers an organic or local salad--even better for you!
By looking at the salads and entree side vegetables on the menu, you can actually put together your own salad. Don't be afraid to ask for a "customized" salad for your lunch or dinner. You can always ask for a large salad with spinach or mixed greens as the base, with a couple of different diced raw vegetables or fruits on it. And to step up your salad a notch, you can ask for as many different colored vegetables as possible. To determine if the restaurant has avocados in their kitchen or not, scan the menu for guacamole or avocado as an extra or a side. Now you can request avocado to be added to your salad to make it extra satiating.
Of course, try to be as polite and as discrete as you can and they will most likely do their best to help you. Your customized salad can lead to the most gorgeous and most colorful salad the restaurant has ever seen! Your salad might just have people turning their heads in your direction asking where was that on the menu? That looks amazing! For salad dressing you could choose the restaurants vinaigrette, lemon juice, or oil and vinegar on the side.
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.
More tips for dining out at a regular restaurant on a vegan or raw-food diet:
Candied nuts and seeds often are added to salads and are coated with sugar so beware if you're avoiding sugar or excess oil. Watch for cheese or dairy-based salad dressings that come automatically on the salad if you don't ask for them to be held. A date or some dried fruit and a small piece of chocolate is a great idea to bring with you for your own personal after meal dessert, especially if everyone in your party will be ordering dessert after the meal. Plain steamed vegetables make a great side or entree to your salad if you're not on a 100% raw food diet.
Others in your party may or may not notice what you're doing. If you're comfortable, confident, and nonchalant about what you're doing, they probably wont notice. They're more likely to notice and focus on you if you feel uncomfortable and embarrassed about it yourself. Others may be a bit interested in what you're eating and will even comment on how good your food looks!
Try to have a simple definition planned and rehearsed about your diet that you can give others if and when they ask. The easiest line to give is "I'm just trying something new out right now," or "This is just how I prefer to eat right now and I'm feeling the results already." Whatever you say, try to say it in the most positive and confident way possible.
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.
With all these tips under your belt, you will be able to eat out at any type of restaurant with your friends, family, co-workers, etc. Your diet should never hold you back from your social life. It's just not sustainable or fun! Perhaps you could invite your friends to dinner at one of your favorite restaurants for the next gathering. It could be a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to a healthier way of eating and to show them how delicious and beautiful the food can be! - 15683
About the Author:
Lenette Nakauchi is a raw living foodist living in Chicago 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.
