There are times when I meet-up with girlfriends for a late-night hangout, but again I say…. be prepared. Eat a snack before leaving the house, or if you’re hanging out at someone’s house bring delicious food to share. By the way, good food is a starting point for introducing people to veganism. I think some people has a preconceived notion that vegan food is bland. However, if you bring beautiful and delicious food, they will show an interest. Who can say no to tastey food?!?
Know your alliances! When you’re out and you’re hungry, know which places that you can turn to for a meal. For example, when I’m out, I know that we can always get black bean burritos at Chipotle and noodles at Noodles and Co. How about an App for navigating restaurants? There’s one called, Vegan Express and it breaks down all of the vegan items at common chain restaurants. Granted, not every restaurant is on there, but it’s still handy. Also, don’t be shy asking your waiter for food suggestion. That’s what they’re there for. I’ve had really great experience talking to the staff when eating out. I’ve had employees bring out binders with nutritional information so that I could choose my meal.
Stay educated on the issues. Here is where your ethics come in. Read books, watch videos, and listen to podcasts about the issues of animal exploitation. This will make you a stronger advocate and help you persevere. As I once told my husband, “It’s only one meal.” So, there may be times that you may skip a meal even though you’re hungry, but remember it’s just one meal. If you know what these animals have to go through during their short lives, missing a meal really isn’t a big deal. Feeling hungry is really nothing when you know that you will be eating when you get home.
Another thing I want to point out is that often times these non-veg meals aren’t even that great. So why compromise your diet for sub-par food? As one person who recently went vegetarian told me, eating meat again at a function made her REALLY sick, and she didn’t even make it home before she had to stop the car. So, for this person it wasn’t worth it on two accounts. Not only did she compromise her ethics, but she also got seriously sick to her stomach.
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