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Friday 9 May 2014

Being Vegan

I've been vegan for a while now, being able to pin point an exact date is hard since I had a long transition period and I just kinda slipped into it.  I really recommend this method if you're thinking of going vegan.

This post is a reflection on issues (Eating Out), positives of a vegan lifestyle that I've found so far and some good resources.

Eating Out

I would be lying if I was to say that I've not had the odd slip up since being vegan, it's all part of the learning process, you just got to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start again.

When I have slipped up, it's been when I've been eating out.  This is mainly my own fault, I'm quite a shy person and I'm very worried about how people will react when I tell them I'm vegan.  Therefore in restaurants, I tend to try and go for something that looks vegan and hope for the best. DO NOT DO THIS!

For example, we went for an Indian meal, and to be fair I did enquire whether they cook their curries in butter ghee and was informed they didn't.  So I went for a dish that looked like it didn't contain any cream, however when it came to the table, the chef had drizzled cream all over it- not wanting to cause a fuss I ate it with a heavy heart, this happened again at another Indian restaurant.

LESSON LEARNT: Indian restaurants like to drizzle cream over everything, even if on the menu it doesn't mention that cream is an ingredient!

I had a similar slip up recently at a Teppanyaki place, I'm getting better as I rang up the place beforehand, and told them I was vegan, the waitress on the other end didn't seem to know what it meant and asked me if I ate pork or fish! When I got there, I picked something off the menu that seemed relatively safe- avocado maki sushi and again I attempted to ask the waitress if it was vegan, to which she replied it was vegetarian, and contained no animal products.  When the dish came, it was drizzled in mayonnaise! This time I managed to eat around the mayonnaise, however this meant I could eat the avocado on the top of the sushi, which is the whole point I chose the did in the first place!

LESSON LEARNT: Don't assume they know what vegan means, be prepared to talk through what you can and can't eat.  Don't be fobbed off with vague responses.  

However, don't be depressed, if you tell them your vegan, and they understand what it means, you can get some amazing dishes, like this salad I got whilst working away at a hotel last week.


Positives

Ok, so eating out can be a bit of a mind field at times but there are positives:

  • You discover new foods, take the meat away and you have to find things to eat in it's place. As a meat eater, I had a very boring diet, now it's more varied and I eat fruit and veg I would never have considered before. I love asparagus, broccoli, strawberries, kiwis, melons, pineapples, the list goes on!
  • There is still a lot of stuff you can eat that will surprise people.  People are always surprised Oreos are vegan. Bisto original gravy is also vegan, so much nicer than the watery vegetable gravy!
  • I've lost 7% of my own body weight since January. At the start of the year, I joined a weigh in group with a couple of colleagues, I've not consciously made much of an effort to lose weight, but it's just dropped off.  This is mainly due to not being able to eat desserts in many restaurants (at home is a different story) and having to refuse a lot of the snacks that colleagues bring in.  My other meat eating colleagues have had to make more of an effort to loose the weight. *Disclaimer* being vegan doesn't automatically make you thin, there is still a lot of crap you can eat  if you wish, e.g. Oreos!

Facebook

I've got a lot of information off the following Facebook groups:

Sunday 4 May 2014

Vegan Survival Guide; Trafford Centre

The beauty of this blog post is as well as being a guide to eating out as a vegan at the Trafford Centre, it is also a bit of a guide for eating out in chain restaurants in general.

Last year, me and The Boy had a thing of going out for tea every Wednesday evening at the Trafford Centre. This soon stopped after I worked out how much we were spending a month, and pointed out that this could be going towards a new car, much to The Boy's dismay.

However, as I was making the transition towards veganism at the time I managed to suss out some vegan friendly chain restaurants:

Carluccio's

I haven't been to the one in the Trafford Centre, but I have been to one elsewhere. They do have a vegan menu, but you'll need to ask for it, or if you email beforehand they will send you a copy.  It's not a very extensive menu, but it's better than nothing. I went for bruschetta, tomato and basil pasta and a lemon sorbet.

Bruschetta
Tomato and basil pasta- I started eating it before remembering to take a picture! 

La Tasca 

I haven't ate here yet, however I'm informed that it does have vegan options.

Las Iguanas

Has a separate vegetarian and vegan menu, which you can ask for.  I've been twice and have had Holy Guacamole (you're given guacamole ingredients with some chips and you make your own- perfect if people aren't keen on some of the ingredients that are usually in guacamole), gringas and the bahia moqueca curry.

Bahia Moqueca Curry- you get a HUGE Pot of the curry, which is not in the picture.

The Mardi Gras (Wetherspoons)

The Trafford Centre Wetherspoons is quite pleasant, as there is a lack of drunken old leary men! Great for cheap grub and I think the whole of the Vegan community knows that on the Curry Night (Thursdays) the veggie curry is vegan if you sub the naan for extra poppadums. You can go large and add on an onion bhaji and samosa, as they are also vegan. If you go on any night apart from Thursday, the new Freedom Salad is vegan and they've stopped glazing their jacket potatoes with egg (weirdos) so you can have a jacket potato with beans, beans are not listed on the menu as a jacket potato filling but if they ask for it they will oblige. Their website allows you to filter for dietary requirements, which is really useful.

Nandos

The veggie pitta can be vegan if you ask for it without mayonnaise, I usually have it with peri peri fries and corn on the cob. You can find more guidance here.

Pizza Express

Not been to the one in the Trafford Centre, but been to ones elsewhere. They have a new starter (Leggera Panzanella) and pizza (Pianta) that are suitable for vegans. In addition, you can ask for any veggie pizza to be veganised, just by removing the cheese as the bases and tomato sauce are vegan. The raspberry sorbet is vegan, and the Caffe Reale can be veganised by removing the mascarpone, however it comes with a coffee and they do not have soya milk.  The allergen menu is probably the best place to start.

Pizza Hut 

Again, bases and tomato sauce are vegan, so you can ask for no cheese to make any veggie pizza vegan. See their allergen menu.

Tampopo

Label their vegan dishes with a 'VE' on the menu, not a massive amount of choice but all very yummy!

Yang Sing Cafe

I love this place! I can't resist their fried salt and pepper tofu and they do mock chicken dishes.  Their pasty contains egg, so dumplings are out unfortunately. They have a dedicated vegetarian section of the menu.

Fried salt and pepper tofu (bean curd)

Vegan Chicken in Kung Po sauce

YO! Sushi (inside Selfridges)

This place is dangerous! We have to set ourselves a strict budget when we go here because it's so easy to get carried away. Their allergen menu is very good, I have it downloaded on my phone and have it open when I'm choosing things off the conveyer belt. I miss their avocado maki as they put mayonnaise in it but at least I can still have the cucumber maki.

Giraffe- a side note!

The chain Giraffe do a Phod Malay Noodles main that is vegan, however this is not available at the Trafford Centre restaurant (boo hiss- we should start a petition!). But it's useful to know if you go to other locations.

Right I've been for noms, but I also want to shop for vegan stuff!

Body Shop

So the body shop do not test on animals, but they are own by a company that does. Make your own mind up, I'm not one to judge. They aren't exclusively vegan (I know some products contain honey) so make sure you check.

Holland and Barrett

For all your fake cheese and meat needs, I like to look out or stuff that is discounted because it's coming up to it's best before date!

Hotel Chocolat

Mark their chocolate that are suitable for vegans.  Mmm posh vegan chocolate *Homer like drooling*

Lush

Of course, the Trafford Centre has a Lush, to fulfil all your bath bomb needs.

Selfridges

Have a 'Free From' section, however you could probably buy stuff cheaper elsewhere.  But if you live in the wilderness you may want to take advantage of it!

Win Naturally

I would usually walk past this shop, as it looks like a sports nutrition shop and I'm not the athletic type. However it isn't really a sports nutrition shop and they do sell vegan products, including Moo Free chocolate bars!

I hope you found this guide useful, and it's nowhere near complete, so comment below if you have suggestions and I'll add them in.