Eating Out

It's tough being a Vegan to eat out at restaurants sometimes.  I had a very cool experience the other day.  I was going to an evening meeting in downtown Los Gatos, and I was a bit hungry.  I didn't want to walk far, because it was chilly outside, and I didn't have a lot of time.  So, I browsed the places nearby, and saw a restaurant across the street, "Grillhouse."  Ugh!  Probably a steak place or something.  I checked the menu, and they had mostly animal proteins, but there really wasn't time to go anywhere else, so I decided to go in.

I sit down, tell the waiter I'm a Vegan, and he says, "I went Vegan for 4 months, and that was hard!  But I felt great.  Have you read 'The China Study?'"  And off we went.  I think we chatted for about 10 minutes about health, dairy, animal proteins, etc.  It was a very nice conversation with a genuinely kind soul.  I ordered up a few things: organic greens, oven roasted vegetables, and roasted and spiced potatoes.  All of them were side orders, but I didn't care.  Man, that was the best meal I've had in a long time.  You sometimes don't appreciate the skill involved in preparing vegetables and salads.  When they're done right, you can taste it, beautifully spiced, very fresh, lightly dressed, etc.  So much fiber and nutrition in those three dishes, I was full and very satisfied afterwards, without feeling sleepy or tired.  That's the beauty of a Vegan diet.  You can eat, and your body easily digests your food, extracts the nutrition it needs, all with the least amount of energy expended.  It's really efficient fueling, if you think about it.

I went to my meeting that night, ready to tackle whatever was thrown at me, all because of a nice gentleman who was kind enough to understand and empathize with my situation, and a lovingly prepared meal.

I encourage you, even if you're not Vegan, to try it for just one meal.  Order a bunch of sides free from dairy or animal proteins, and see how you feel afterwards.  You might feel awful, in which case, I would say try it again at some other place, or maybe add something small (dairy or animal protein) to satisfy that 'need'.  You might feel great and say that wasn't so bad, in which case, I would say try it again at another restaurant and see if you feel the same.  And hey, you know what, if it isn't for you, don't worry about.  It's totally fine.  There are no right answers, remember that.  That you tried, even for just one meal, may be enough for you to know if this is something you'd be willing to try for a more extended period of time, like 6 weeks or even 4 months, like the kind waiter.

I wish you well today.