Going Out to Eat

Welcome back Veggie Lovers!

Going out to eat as a vegetarian can be quite tricky sometimes. It involves some planning, research, and calling ahead of time. Luckily, most restaurants nowadays are very accommodating and often have vegetarian or vegan options already available!  

I definitely recommend calling the restaurant ahead of time just to let them know that you are vegetarian and reviewing the menu ahead of time. I have found that reviewing the menu beforehand makes the experience must less stressful and enjoyable since you will already know what your options are before arriving. In addition, if the restaurant knows that someone in the party is vegetarian, often they can make special accommodations as well. 

Just this past Thursday, my boyfriend and I went out to a restaurant called “White Dog Café” in Wayne. We both love going there since they have both a regular menu (for him) and a vegetarian menu! 

While we were there, we were given a special tasting, ordered an appetizer, two entrees, and got a dessert to share!

Special tasting:

This contained sweet potato chips with green apple, balsamic reduction, and crumbled blue cheese underneath. Both of us thought it was good but wish it did not come with the blue cheese crumbles. 

Appetizer: 

For our appetizer, we ordered the Hummus Trio. This contains three different Hummus's (beet, garlic, and roasted red pepper), Grilled Pita, and Toasted Lavash. My personal favorite out of the three Hummus's was definitely the Beet Hummus while my boyfriend would not go near that one. He preferred the Garlic and Roasted Red Pepper better.

My Entree:

For my entree, I got the Granny Smith Apple Salad. This salad contains Brussels Sprouts, Birchrun Blue Cheese, Dried Cranberries, and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. I personally loved this salad and the flavor combinations. I will definitely get it again!

 My Boyfriend's Entree:

Since my boyfriend is not a vegetarian, he got the Green Meadow Double Cheddar Burger. This contains a hamburger on a Brioche Bun with Grilled Red Onion, Tomato, Smoked Bacon Mayo, and comes with Truffle Parmesan Fries. His opinion on his entree was, "It was very cheesy and the flavor was really good, the meat was cooked very well and had a really nice smokey flavor and the smoked bacon mayo complimented it will with the roasted onions!"

For Dessert:

For dessert, we ordered the Chocolate tasting. This came with Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake, Flourless Chocolate Cake, and a Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich. Both my boyfriend and I love chocolate so we had to order this and we were not disappointed at all! This dessert is a must have and we will definitely be getting this again. 

Ramen? Yes Please!

Hello Veggie Lovers!

Ramen definitely a favorite among all college students since it is cheap and generally tastes good. However, trying to find ramen that is vegetarian and still is delicious can be difficult at times because of the amount of meat based ramen flavors on the market!

The YouTuber, “The Edgy Veg,” created a delicious ramen recipe that is Vegan and Vegetarian friendly and can also be easily made in a dorm room! To create this easy vegan dorm ramen, you only need a hot water boiler and a blender for the sauce.

The Recipe:

Vegan Dorm Room Ramen Hack

by The Edgy Veg

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Tbsp almond butter
• 2-4 Tbsp sriracha sauce
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce (optional)
• 2-4 Tbsp water, as needed
• 1 package instant ramen noodles
• Handful of shredded cabbage (optional)
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into sticks (optional)
• Sesame seeds, for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the almond butter, sriracha, lime juice, garlic, soy sauce, and water 2 Tbsp at a time, in blender and mix until combined.
2. Add more water and blend until your desired consistency 
3. Add salt if you omitted tamari or soy sauce
4. Prepare ramen noodles with hot water as directed on the package. 
5. Drain noodles and toss with sauce
6. Top with veggies and sesame seeds and enjoy immediately!

Commonly Asked Questions

“What about bacon?”

This is always my favorite question to be asked since my answer is always so shocking to people. Personally, I have never been that fond of bacon since it is has such a weird texture to me no matter how it is cooked. For me at least, after switching over to a plant based diet, all the meat based foods that I used to love become almost nauseating just thinking about them.
So eliminating bacon out of my diet was never a huge deal.

“How do you get protein?”

Incorporating protein into my diet can get a little tricky from time to time especially while having to eat Sodexo but there is always a way. Peanut butter has become a huge part of my diet just because of the high protein content (not complaining since it is so delicious). For me, it is one of the easiest ways to increase my protein intake since you can eat it with almost anything or just right out the jar.

Most foods that people eat on an everyday basis actually contain more protein then people think too. So even if I did not eat peanut butter, I could still get enough protein on a day to day basis with minor modifications to my diet.

“What can you eat?”

I never understood why people always asked this question since there is so many different foods that do not contain meat. Honestly, being vegetarian taught me about the extensive amount of foods out there that do not contain any meat products.

So anything you can think of that does not contain meat, I can eat.

Other questions that I also get asked include: "You're a vegetarian?", "What food do you miss most?", and my all time favorite "Why would you do that to yourself?!"

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Hello fellow veggie lovers!

My name is Rebekah, and welcome to my blog! In the future throughout my posts, I hope to share a bit about my vegetarian journey, how to manage being vegetarian in college, recipes that can be made in a dorm, and much more.