![\"How](\"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/howtofindaveganmeal.jpg\")
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A common concern about going vegan is that it will be complicated to find places to eat. In a world littered with fast food restaurants on every corner, there aren\u2019t nearly as many all-vegan restaurants. Does going vegan mean a lifetime of hummus sandwiches from home? Hardly! Even in small towns, you just have to know where to look and what to ask to find compassionate, animal-friendly options.<\/p>\n
Most of the time I don\u2019t ask servers, \u201cHey, do you have anything that\u2019s vegan here?\u201d Not everyone knows what that word means. \u00a0Some people don’t know the difference between vegetarian or vegan. \u00a0Some people mistake it for meaning gluten-free. \u00a0Instead, I peruse the menu and see what is already vegan or what looks like it could be made animal product-free with a few substitutions. When the server comes to the table and it\u2019s my turn to order, I tell them that I don’t eat meat, eggs, or dairy.<\/p>\n
Visit ethnic restaurants & pizza places<\/strong><\/p>\n Typically it\u2019s easier to find and\/or request plant-based meals in restaurants that serve Indian, Thai, Japanese, Ethiopian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, or Mexican food. \u00a0You just have to know how to ask.<\/p>\n Visit\u00a0chain restaurants<\/strong><\/p>\n Some chain restaurants have made it easier by being really upfront about their vegan options. Noodles & Company, California Pizza Kitchen, Sharkey’s, Jason’s Deli, P.F. Chang’s, Baja Fresh, and Chipotle are a few vegan-friendly chains that come to mind. \u00a0If you live in a city with an\u00a0all-vegan chain<\/a>\u00a0like Native Foods, Veggie Grill, or Loving Hut, it’s even simpler! \u00a0(The above photo is of the Greek Gyro Bowl from Native Foods<\/a>. \u00a0Highly recommended!)<\/p>\n Do\u00a0some research<\/strong><\/p>\n A\u00a0great tool for finding vegan restaurants is the Happy Cow<\/a> website and iPhone app. Type in the city of your choice to see if they have any vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants, clothing stores, or grocery stores listed in that area.<\/p>\n Other good resources are Yelp<\/a> (just search under the key word \u201cvegan\u201d in your city) and Google<\/a> to see if any vegan bloggers have reviewed vegan options in your town. (Make sure that you put quotes around “vegan” or else Google will default to showing vegetarian options as well, which isn\u2019t always as useful.)<\/p>\n Have a restaurant in mind? Check out their menu online and see if anything jumps out at you. If it doesn\u2019t look particularly vegan-friendly, give the restaurant a call during a time that\u2019s not busy and ask to speak with the manager or chef. Oftentimes restaurants are willing to help, especially with a bit of warning.<\/p>\n Just ask!<\/strong><\/p>\n Finally, when you get to a restaurant, don\u2019t be afraid to ask for what you want! Look over the menu and read all of the listed ingredients on each entree. Make note of which vegetables they have and create a hodgepodge meal of your own. The steak is served with a baked potato? The chicken tacos are topped with guacamole? The nachos come with black beans and salsa? Ask for a baked potato with black beans, salsa, and guacamole for a Mexican potato that is filling and flavorful.<\/p>\n A smile and friendly attitude goes a long way towards getting what you want. And remember, most restaurants want their customers to be happy. So don\u2019t be shy!<\/p>\n Image Credit: Photo by Cadry Nelson<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A common concern about going vegan is that it will be complicated to find places to eat. In a world littered with fast food restaurants on every corner, there aren\u2019t nearly as many all-vegan restaurants. Does going vegan mean a lifetime of hummus sandwiches from home? Hardly! Even in small towns, you just have to […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":11649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2017-08-18T16:23:48Z","apple_news_api_id":"edfd2174-78e7-447c-82d8-82759a233695","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2017-08-18T16:23:49Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A7f0hdHjnRHyC2IJ1miM2lQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[5176,8033,8034,316,2810],"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/howtofindaveganmeal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n