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Eating Out As A Vegetarian: The Where-To & The How-To ♥
in I Want... Life!17 Aug 2010 | 13 Comments
Disclaimer: (As originally featured here.) This is NOT an article promoting vegetarianism and berating the meat eaters of the world! Up until a year and a half ago I happily and regularly ate meat, so I'm certainly not about to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude about vegetarianism, or preach about it as a superior nutritional regime!
Ahem.
Dining out as a vegetarian: it's not as simple as ''you use a knife and a fork, you TWIT!''!
Fact: Upon becoming a vegetarian last year, I unintentionally armed myself with many fanciful ideas about my future on-the-go culinary endeavours. ''Eating out won't be so difficult'', I thought. ''There'll be TRILLIONS of options!'' I thought. ''I wonder what's on television tonight?'' I probably also thought, but I'm sure that's less relevant. (Or is it? *cue suggestively raised eyebrow* Yes, it is!) And then I'd wind up looking for a simple meal to devour while out and about and find myself crying ''for the love of CELERY, I JUST WANT SOMETHING OTHER THAN HOT CHIPS TO EAT!'' (Fact #2: Strangely enough, many vegetarian options available at fast food outlets aren't advertised. Baffling!)
But, no more. I've since discovered a number of delicious retail treats, and in the interest of preventing anyone else from shedding tears over the absence of conveniently packaged broccoli anywhere, I thought I would serve (ooh, bad pun!) them up!
The Fast Food Outlet Choices
The Burger King Veggie Burger
Is it healthy? Absolutely not. Is it so obscenely delectable that you'll pretend it is anyway?! Yes! So much so, in fact, that my meat-eating boyfriend was the very person who introduced it to me. I almost wish he hadn't; I'm not entirely sure what the ingredients of it are but I have a sneaking suspicion that it must contain some illegal drug, because sweet merciful pickles, it is ADDICTIVE! (Psst! In Australia, Oporto's also have a magnificent veggie burger - but you would probably never know this unless you had tried one, because it isn't listed on their in-store menu anywhere!)
Tofu & Vegetable Filled Sushi
After abandoning meat, I was convinced that sushi stores and I had to cease our friendship, which was a shame, because they always gave the BEST advice. But then I learned that they had a number of vegetarian-friendly options, such as rolls containing tofu, avocado and cucumber, and promptly made an arrangement to meet them for a lunch date soon!
The Subway Veggie Pattie Sandwich
This is what I eat when I'm trying to be all healthy because I've eaten too many veggie burgers. And then I learned from watching A Current Affair last week that it actually contains something ridiculous like 14 grams of fat. BOO. Anyway, it is scrumptious, and of course, there are always pre-packaged salads to choose from, instead!
The Restaurant Choices: Suggestions When Dining...
Mexican
EASY. From burritos to enchiladas and those nectarous nachos, almost every Mexican restaurant offers a vegetarian alternative!
Indian
Chickpeas! Lentils! Spinach flavoured saag! With 31% of all Indians reportedly vegetarian, Indian cuisine helpfully offers a plethora of options.
Chinese
Hokkien noodles with vegetables? Mmmm. Salt and pepper or sweet and spicy bean curd? It's merely another name for tofu, and it's heavenly!
Thai
If you don’t tumble over in a heap of your own drool over the vegetarian version of their classic Pad Thai than you’re a much, MUCH stronger woman than I, but if that doesn’t float your boat then you can always request a dish of your choice served with vegetables or tofu!
Middle Eastern
What's delicious and begins with an 'f'? Flaxseeds! Falafel! What's delicious and doesn't begin with an 'f'? Vegetable filled pides and spinach and fetta gozleme, and all three are typical of Middle Eastern cuisine.
Italian
Oh, Italian food - my greatest love. I was so was petrified of having to abandon you, but with your pastas, margherita pizzas and eggplant parmigianas available, I needn’t have worried!
♥
Vegetarians! Have you ever feasted on any of these items before? What's your favourite way to dine when you're on-the-go? (And non-vegetarians, hold your tomatoes! There WILL be non-vegetable related content tomorrow!)
xoxo
Comments (13)
Corrine! You're SO right about the veggie burger. It is delicious, but I can't help but imagine that it has about as many cals as a Chipotle burrito (like um, 1000).
Also, Indian and Thai food is probably my favorite. I LOVE cous cous! I'm actually buying some today--I put this sauce by a brand called Soy Vey on it--& it's so delicious.
Thanks for this. xoxo
24 Aug 2010, Erica Lee, http://ericaleexo.com/blog
Burger King veggie burgers are fantastic, and I'm not a vegetarian.
Lord of the Fries is also really great, but I find a little addictive.
I also find in asian and indian restaurants the vegetarian options are far more interesting than the meat, but that may just be me.
22 Aug 2010, Thea, http://lecoinduchat.blogspot.com
I sometimes find it hard eating out as a vegetarian as although I'm not fussy, I don't always want to be faced with the option of only pasta.
Your BK veggie burger is so different to ours - ours has onion rings in it...
20 Aug 2010, jamie-lee, http://pagesixxx.blogspot.com
Great article. I'm a vegetarian and eating out is always the toughest part. I love a veggie delight or veggie patty from subway. Yummy!
20 Aug 2010, Leigh, www.beflossy.com
You covered so much great information! I grew up around a vegetarian my whole life. They really don't eat out much, but this post really shows how it can be easy to.
19 Aug 2010, Shawna , http://poppiesandsunshine.blogspot.com
I had no idea you could get a veggie burger at Burger King!
You know what other cuisine has great vegetarian options?? GREEK! :D
19 Aug 2010, Nicole, http://scrapsofcolor.blogspot.com
Sarah Hannah - Ooh, I'll have to try it! Yum-o. And what would a list be without falafels?! They're there! :) They might be hidden under 'Middle Eastern'.
Kathryn - Scrumptious. I hear Lord Of The Fries in Melbourne also have great vegetarian stuff; I'll have to try some next time I'm there! (All in the name of research, of course! ;D )
Michelle - Thank-you :)
18 Aug 2010, x Corrine/Frock & Roll x, www.frockandrollonline.com
I didn't know you were a vegetarian! Yay! Although definitely no need for the disclaimer; nothing about this sounds preachy!
I think the only times I've really had a problem eating out were when I'm at steak house-type places. My parents like to go a lot. They'll always let you order something like the chicken salad without the chicken, but it's not usually very satisfying - and they still charge you as if the chicken was in it! Oh well. At least we have pad Thai :)
18 Aug 2010, Michelle, http://whollyafool.wordpress.com
Years ago, there was a late night takeaway near where we used to go drinking and they did nut burgers... omg, delish. Bettter than any of the meat options (and safer for a 2 am snack!)
17 Aug 2010, kathryn, http://www.project-kathryn.com
i dont really eat fast food but ive never had a problem with getting vegetarian options- everything has something!!
you forgot falafel's thou! yum.
godivas in darlinghurst is amazeballs
17 Aug 2010, sarah hannah, deathwearsdiamondjewellery.wordpress.com
Rachael - Aw, thanks Rachael! And that's SO true. I am always falling back on pasta! And I'm excited to try Quinoa :D I keep hearing about it, but am yet to throw it into my shopping basket! And that seems to be such a key component to successful, diverse vegetarianism - making your own dishes! I am appalling at that, but trying to improve.
Raquel - Burger Fuel! They DO have the best burgers, I had one while I was in Auckland earlier this year and was so unbelievably happy about coming across a place that had not one, but at least THREE vegetarian burger options (and cooked separately from the other burgers! Hooray!), that I actually ran out of the store screaming about it to my mother and sister! I wish I was joking. And oh, your grandmother's take on chicken resonates with me so much ;D (And made me laugh!) I also hear that often, as well as ''but this meat is organic, so you can eat it.'' ''Uh.. no.. I.. can't.. really.. 'cause, you know.. it's still kind of.. well.. meat.'' ''But it's organic, that's vegetarian right?!''
17 Aug 2010, x Corrine/Frock & Roll x, www.frockandrollonline.com
Bah Subway in NZ doesn't have any sort of veggie pattie thing. My picks are Burger Fuel's awesome vege burgers, and Nando's has a great one too. falafel kebabs and burgers (especially Abrakababra on Manners St if you're in Wellington) are great too. There's also some good Hare Krishna restaurants around. Epic.
Because I'm a poor student, eating out is VERY VERY rare - usually only if someone in the family is shouting me dinner haha. I love cheap and cheerful asian places, which are very easy to find in NZ, as well as Indian (paneer curry! YUM!).
Being a vegetarian in Wellington is definitely much easier than in Auckland - there's a much more arty community here which lends itself to vegetarianism haha. I find it very easy to be a vegetarian. In fact, in the 9 years I've been a vegetarian, the only problems I've had have been with my Grandmother, who insists that chicken is vegetarian, and that my not eating meat is stupid. Gurh.
17 Aug 2010, Raquel, http://misschiaroscuro.blogspot.com
I tried to be a vegetarian but after I learned I had to avoid soy (which isn't so great for us anyway) I had to back off - and then rice was added to the "no no" list so definitely ruled out vegetarianism.
When I did though it was tough to not fallback on cheese & pasta, a pitfall for many veggie newbs.
I like Quinoa based food and Quron faux meat products though. Nom!
If I had the energy, I'd make elaborate, all veggie dishes twice a week. My favorite restaurant in Ireland is vegetarian, too :)
Great post!
17 Aug 2010, Rachael, http://www.glassofwin.com
