Keeping Vegetarian When Dinning Out

If you live in a large city, finding vegetarian restaurants is easy. However, for people like me, who live in small rural towns, vegetarian restaurants do not exist. What do you do when you want to dine out? Is keeping vegetarian when dinning out possible in a small town? The answer is yes.

Chains with vegetarian options
Fast food chains like Subway, Quiznos, Firehouse and Lenny's Subs have vegetarian options. At Subway you can create your own sub by choosing veggies, bread and dressing. Quiznos and Firehouse subs have similar options. Lenny's offers a vegetarian sub or you can have a grilled bean patty. They dress it up like a burger. I find their bean patty tastier than textured soy products.

Most, but not all major restaurant chains offer salads. Some offer other meat free options. Call and ask before heading out to avoid disappointment.

Chinese food may contain more meat than you think. Fried rice usually has eggs in it. Find out what they fry it in. Some dishes use beef or chicken stock even though they are all vegetable dishes. Fried foods could be fried in lard, so double check when in doubt. The same holds true for Mexican foods. Many Mexican dishes use lard.

Menu options
Choosing from a non-vegetarian menu is difficult. Ask about sauces, especially tomato sauces are prepared. Good options are plain tomato sauce on pasta with a house salad. For pizza, choose veggies or plain pizza. Ask if the sauce is meat based. If it is, opt for a white sauce which is usually made from cheese.

Friends and family
It is inevitable that you will be asked to dinner or other gathering at the home of a friend or family member. Let them know that you do not eat meat so they can prepare vegetarian options for you. During the holidays it might be challenging to find meat-free options at corporate events and other community based parties. When attending an event where you can bring your own food, make sure to pack a vegetarian entree for yourself.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend a Casting for Recovery retreat. Although I did not specify that I needed a vegetarian meal plan, there were plenty of salad and vegetable dishes available, so I did not go hungry.

It is all about thinking creatively if you want to keep vegetarian when dinning out. Ask for a double portion of vegetable side dishes if there are no vegetarian entree options. Pasta is always a good choice. So are house salads and vegetable appetizers. I have almost always been able to find something to eat, no matter which local restaurant I choose.

Hope you find this helpful. The above picture is vegetarian sushi created by my son Adam.

--Lynda