Vegan Food Options For Various Cuisines
Posted on: 26 July 2021
When your friends want to go out to eat, and you follow a vegan diet, enjoying a meal at a restaurant can feel like a challenge. However, if you know what to look for and what to ask for, you can generally enjoy a vegan meal at most restaurants, even if they don't specifically cater to vegan cuisine.
American Options
When you head to an American-style restaurant, there will usually be a few vegan food options. You may be able to find some vegan-friendly dips accompanied with cracks or vegetables, such as hummus, white bean dip, guacamole, or salsa. There are always the salad options – if the dish has cheese, it can easily be omitted. Look for a rice or legumes dish for the main appetizer and ask for it without the meat. Or see if they offer a veggie burger. If they don't have a vegan main dish option or something that can easily be turned into a vegan option, get one or two appetizers and a vegetable side.
Italian Options
With Italian food, it depends on how they prepare the pasta. If the pasta is dry, then it is vegan. If the pasta is fresh, it will contain eggs and thus isn't vegan. Ask the server which dishes use dry pasta. From there, most marinara is also vegan-friendly. Some risottos and pestos can also be vegan, but make sure you ask. There are also great antipasti offerings that fall into the vegan category as well.
Mexican Option
It can be straightforward to make a vegan dish with Mexican food because many Mexican dishes include rice and beans. You will just have to ask them to omit things such as sour cream and cheese from the dish.
For example, you can order vegetable fajitas, a vegetable burrito, black bean soup, or get a nice Mexican salad with guacamole as a topping.
Indian Options
Indian food tends to have many vegetarian options, as a vegetarian lifestyle is common in India. The use of dairy depends on India's region, so you are going to want to ask if the restaurant uses ghee or milk. You can generally enjoy dishes such as dosas, basmati rice, chana masala, kitchari, and dal chawal. You should be able to find multiple vegan options on the menu easily.
Ethiopian Options
If you want to ensure you have a vegan option, you will want to consider an Ethiopian restaurant. They often offer a vegetarian platter on their menu that is full of various grains, legumes, and vegetables. Also, Ethiopian flatbread, injera, is generally vegan as well.
The next time a friend invites you out to dinner, review the menu beforehand to discover what vegan food options are on the menu or what vegan dishes you can create by making a few substitutes. Or you can suggest a vegan restaurant to your friends instead so that you will have a plethora of choices to consider.
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