Eating Out for a vegetarian.

[KateA]

Is eating out a thing of the past?

I am newly diagnosed, adapting to my new lifestyle of low carb diet etc. Was at a designer outlet for some shopping after work last week and needed some food. Popped into Wetherspoons as it was convenient. I would not normally go out my way to eat somewhere that serves 'pinged' food but needs must. There was not one low carb vegetarian option. The carnivores seem to think we veggies must live mainly on pasta. Trolled the other food outlets in the centre and the adjacent shopping mall and everything came with a dollop of carbs. Eventually, a Marks and Spencer endamame and feta salad was purchased and eaten in the car.

I shall be firing off a letter to Wetherspoons today to express my unhappiness but I expect this is very much par for the course.

How do you deal with eating on the move?

 

[Clivethedrive]

Well kateA, how about steak and salad, fish ,chicken curry ,veg'stir fry, kebabs,lamb chops,liver an onions, roasts with cabbage ,veg lasagne,omelettes, stews an casseroles,.................:)

 

[catherinecherub]

Well kateA, how about steak and salad, fish ,chicken curry ,veg'stir fry, kebabs,lamb chops,liver an onions, roasts with cabbage ,veg lasagne,omelettes, stews an casseroles,.................:)

@KateA is a vegetarian.

 

[KateA]

Well kateA, how about steak and salad, fish ,chicken curry ,veg'stir fry, kebabs,lamb chops,liver an onions, roasts with cabbage ,veg lasagne,omelettes, stews an casseroles,.................:)

Most of these aren't allowed on a vegetarian diet! The food outlets available offered vegetarian food only with heavy carbs, even the veggie curry used sweet potato. I am trying to avoid pasta and particularly white flour pasta which is mostly served in these places. I would happily have a veggie stir fry or omelette but not many places have them on their menus.

 

[DeejayR]

Hi. I like to plan if poss. Depending where I'm going and for how long my Plan A is back-up in the form of snacks to keep me going if necessary. Rooting around in a supermarket's takeaway shelves is usually fruitless and I end up with a wrap or some such. :***:
Plan B (restaurant etc) is -- can I check out the menu online first? Or call them? If not, I start by looking for omelettes with as many add-ons as poss.If all else fails, fried egg, tomato & mushrooms from an all-day breakfast. Fourth (but moving up the queue in warmer weather), a good undressed salad
*EDITED* in an attempt to be vegetarian

 

[Clivethedrive]

Most of these aren't allowed on a vegetarian diet! The food outlets available offered vegetarian food only with heavy carbs, even the veggie curry used sweet potato. I am trying to avoid pasta and particularly white flour pasta which is mostly served in these places. I would happily have a veggie stir fry or omelette but not many places have them on their menus.

Oh sorry kateA did not realise your vegetarian

 

[janeliz]

Is eating out a thing of the past?

I am newly diagnosed, adapting to my new lifestyle of low carb diet etc. Was at a designer outlet for some shopping after work last week and needed some food. Popped into Wetherspoons as it was convenient. I would not normally go out my way to eat somewhere that serves 'pinged' food but needs must. There was not one low carb vegetarian option. The carnivores seem to think we veggies must live mainly on pasta. Trolled the other food outlets in the centre and the adjacent shopping mall and everything came with a dollop of carbs. Eventually, a Marks and Spencer endamame and feta salad was purchased and eaten in the car.

I shall be firing off a letter to Wetherspoons today to express my unhappiness but I expect this is very much par for the course.

How do you deal with eating on the move?

I have issues with the Wetherspoons menu so I rarely go there as they are also inflexible as regards changing items on the menu. Marstons chain of eateries are very accommodating and will cook up a meal to suit you request. I have also found a very good independent small bar in Lichfield that cooks whatever I want.(provided they have it) ie delicious omelette and salad,. It is difficult everything as you say is pasta or bread or chips.

 

[KateA]

As you rightly pointed out @DeejayR , planning is the key. I am new to diabetes and that was yet another learning curve.
It felt a bit like being a vegetarian back in the 1970s, sitting down with friends, reading the menu and leaving as there was nothing suitable. Surprised I have any friends left!

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

Nando's have a few low carb vegetarian options. Not been myself, but their menu looks delicious.

Never leave home without a bag of nuts in your handbag - that's my motto

 

[DeejayR]

My sister-in-law has a complicated diet following cancer treatment and always begins a restaurant visit by assuming there is nothing she can eat. She is also very deaf so has to sit where she can see our mouths clearly to lip-read and it mustn't be draughty or near the kitchen door or the loos ... life seems such a trial for her. I feel very lucky to be "only" a T2 diabetic.
I wanted to write this but I'm not sure why I think it's relevant.

 

[al_leister]

My wife and I love the Wetherspoons in Belfast. A great mix of age, class and nationality. We also go to lots of other pubs; some with music, some without. I agree, as a vegetarian wishing to eat a low carb meal it is very difficult to find a menu that caters for both. I know we could go to a restaurant where they may be more accommodating but we both prefare to eat in pubs. There is something about a munch in a pub that no restaurant can pull off and we have eaten in some very "fine" restaurants in our time; a long time ago now. I may contact the Belfast pub and suggest some low carb vegetarian ideas.

 

[KateA]

Nando's have a few low carb vegetarian options. Not been myself, but their menu looks delicious.

Never leave home without a bag of nuts in your handbag - that's my motto

Another thing I didn't know, I thought Nando's was all about chicken! Funnily enough, I had a bag of mixed fruit and nuts in the car, purchased PD (pre diabetes) only to discover they were peanuts. I understand they are the least good nut. Now have a bag of brazil nuts in my handbag.

 

[al_leister]

Never be afraid to ask! I have been in many places where the menu wasn't suitable but a word with the staff usually brings on an omelette and salad. Most places will oblige including my local Weatherspoons

Thanks for that. Next time it's an omelette and salad for me. Oh, a pint of guinness too of course. Just one though then red wine thereafter.

 

[AndBreathe]

Another thing I didn't know, I thought Nando's was all about chicken! Funnily enough, I had a bag of mixed fruit and nuts in the car, purchased PD (pre diabetes) only to discover they were peanuts. I understand they are the least good nut. Now have a bag of brazil nuts in my handbag.

Kate - one of the things we need to learn in life is compromise, and diabetes bring that to another level. Like Avocado, I always, always have a bag of salted peanuts in my handbag (or pretty much all my handbags). It means I always have something to eat; even if it's not exactly what I want at the time.

Similarly, I have asked in various places to swap fries for salad, or additional veg, and I have yet to be refused anywhere. I think if you're asking for rice to be replaced with lobster (ok, an inappropriate choice for you anyway), I could appreciate that would be tricky to justify on a cost basis, but sides are cheap, cheap, cheap. Sometimes the issue is more with automated, computerised ordering, rather than an unwillingness by staff.

Looking at the Wetherspoons menu, if you are not comfortable with the choices on offer, or to ask for a swap, you could have something like the veg curry, and ask for the rice to be served separately, so that you can leave the rice, if you feel you can't have any of it.

I've always viewed it as my place to fit in with society, not expect society to fit around me. We have a great social life, and I've never been short of something to eat, although there have been times when I have been bored, ordering yet another chicken Caesar salad, to fish out the croutons.

Over time, it gets easier.

 

[jay hay-char]

I've seldom been lost for words over Pub Food (because you generally know what to expect ) but I must admit to being taken aback recently at a local pub - not part of a huge chain, one of three in local ownership with a reputation for good, imaginative and freshly prepared food, rather than "chef du ping" cuisine. I went there with some friends a couple of weeks ago and ordered seared scallops on a bed of stir-fried vegetables, which I thought would suit me very well and which sounded very appetising.

The food was delivered with a flourish, but the stir-fried veg turned out to be .......... Noodles! :***: The waitress couldn't see why that was a problem, initially, (I think because it wasn't served on a bed of chips) but once I'd explained the situation, she was absolutely mortified and very helpful about sorting out an alternative (grilled salmon and salad - unexciting, but I was ready to chop off the table leg and eat that by this time). I gather that there had been a last minute mixed veg crisis and the chef had to extemporise, but they really should have given some thought to the fundamental difference between vegetables and rice noodles, and warned their customers about the substitution. I think they've got the message now, mind you, the waitress was not happy to have been put in such an embarrassing situation and I think she was off to have an advisory conversation with the chef .

Like AndBreathe, when I was diagnosed with T2, I vowed to fit in with Society rather than vice versa but this was a salutary reminder that it's wise to double check when ordering food.

 

[KateA]

Kate - one of the things we need to learn in life is compromise, and diabetes bring that to another level. Like Avocado, I always, always have a bag of salted peanuts in my handbag (or pretty much all my handbags). It means I always have something to eat; even if it's not exactly what I want at the time.

Similarly, I have asked in various places to swap fries for salad, or additional veg, and I have yet to be refused anywhere. I think if you're asking for rice to be replaced with lobster (ok, an inappropriate choice for you anyway), I could appreciate that would be tricky to justify on a cost basis, but sides are cheap, cheap, cheap. Sometimes the issue is more with automated, computerised ordering, rather than an unwillingness by staff.

Looking at the Wetherspoons menu, if you are not comfortable with the choices on offer, or to ask for a swap, you could have something like the veg curry, and ask for the rice to be served separately, so that you can leave the rice, if you feel you can't have any of it.

I've always viewed it as my place to fit in with society, not expect society to fit around me. We have a great social life, and I've never been short of something to eat, although there have been times when I have been bored, ordering yet another chicken Caesar salad, to fish out the croutons.

Over time, it gets easier.

I have had 36 years of compromise being a vegetarian in a meat eating society and have often eaten things I don't particularly like so as not to inconvenience my friends. I would rather have a plate of boiled cabbage than some vegetarian meals and the easy option pre diabetes was always a baked potato. I know the answer is to choose my restaurants carefully, places where they actually cook from scratch rather than being bought in and pinged. I will not eat something that is bad for me because they do not have something suitable.

 

[AndBreathe]

It'll be the peanuts in the handbag then,......

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

It'll be the peanuts in the handbag then,......

I shouldn't laugh!

Seriously though, the way I see it - it is my disease, my way of eating, my health. It is niche so I don't expect other people to cater for me. I own a lot of tupperware. I don't have high expectations so am not disappointed.

Re the Nandos menu, I have managed to replicate at home their avocado and green bean salad with seeds, grilled haloumi and tamarind dressing. Absolutely amazing. If their restaurant version is as good, I recommend it!

 

[DeejayR]

Another thing I didn't know, I thought Nando's was all about chicken! Funnily enough, I had a bag of mixed fruit and nuts in the car, purchased PD (pre diabetes) only to discover they were peanuts. I understand they are the least good nut. Now have a bag of brazil nuts in my handbag.

Don't give up on peanuts. I eat them with hazelnuts, almonds and seeds. Cashews are the sugary ones I avoid. Brazils are ok but remember if you eat 100g in one go you're getting 3,485% of your RDA of selenium, whatever that is

 

[Robinredbreast]

I don't eat out much tbh, prefer home cooked food really. But my son is taking me and his sister out on Sunday, I eat reduced carbs, bit not vegetarian, but have Coeliac disease, my son is on a strict low fat diet, because of extremely high cholesterol last year and he is Vegetarian, my teen, his sister, is a non meat eater but has decided to eat fish. It's all fun and games as It can be a mine field out there at times
Two years ago, whilst in an out of town Ikea ( friend wanted to go there ) my teen, friend and I were really hungry so decided to eat in the restaurant. I got a table and they went up first to get food, both had spaghetti with meatballs and a pudding, I couldn't find anything substantial to eat. at all. even though I asked about the ingredients in the food, couldn't even have the stuffed pepper I ended up with a small salad, no meat or cheese ( they had none left) and a small babies gluten free yogurt I was not amused,
because it was going to be a day out with a meal, but hey ho and needless to say I haven't been back, but can smile about it now
Good luck and all the best to you on you food outlet journey

Best wishes RRB