Veganism is rising in popularity all of the time with more of us exploring ways to help the environment, care for animals, and improve our health and wellbeing. We’re more aware of the effects of eating meat and keen to adapt to an alternative diet. Eating a plant-based diet at home is relatively easy nowadays, with so many different options, replacements, and recipes available. But eating out can still be tricky.
The good news is it’s nowhere near as hard as it used to be. In 2022 there are plant-based restaurants and eateries offering only vegan dishes, and even more old-fashioned chains, which were stuck in their ways for a long time, are starting to offer a wide range of options for vegans and vegetarians. If you are starting to eat out as a vegan for the first time, it can be daunting, but you’ll soon be an expert. Here are some tips to help you in the early days.
Find Your Nearest Plant-Based Restaurant
Plant-based restaurants are starting to grow in popularity and the best vegan restaurants offer a huge choice of vegan dishes to cater to all tastes. Native Foods vegan restaurants Palm Springs are perfect whether you are eating with other vegans or meat-eaters who are happy to try something new.
Look at Menus Online
If you aren’t going to a vegan restaurant, take a look online before you go, so that you feel more confident ordering when you get there.
Make Sure You are Looking for the Right Symbols
Different restaurants use different menu symbols to indicate vegan, vegetarian, and other specialist diets. Make sure you know what you are looking for.
Ask About Vegan Menus
Some restaurants have a specific vegan, or at least vegetarian menu that they don’t necessarily post online or offer to customers. When you arrive, double-check to see if there’s a vegan menu available.
Ask Servers for Help
If you aren’t sure what you can and can’t order, it’s always worth asking your server for help. They’ll tell you whether meals are vegan, and they might even offer some advice on what things taste like.
Get Creative
If you can’t find a main meal that you fancy, consider ordering extra sides or a range of vegan starters.
Don’t Be Scared to Ask for Swaps
Sometimes it’s fairly easy to make a meal vegan just by skipping the meat, swapping butter for oil, or removing a certain ingredient. If there’s not a huge range for vegans, ask your server if any swaps could be made to the meals that you like the look of.
Eat at Home if You Are Worried
If you’ve looked online and you are worried that there’s not much you can order, eat at home so you can just have a starter or some sides without feeling hungry.
Once you get to know where you can eat comfortably, eating out as a vegan can be great fun. You’ll try new things, enjoy eating out, and even encourage your friends and family to sample some vegan options via the power of food envy.
