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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
Is it difficult to eat out as a vegetarian?
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My daughter has recently decided to change to a vegetarian diet and we do tend to eat out at least once a week with the family at a nice restaurant. Do restaurants and cafes offer good food options for vegetarians? What sort of questions should we be asking waiters in terms of the ingredients they use to prepare their dishes? -
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The Australian Vegetarian Society's aim is to increase the number of vegetarians in Australia in order to stop cruelty to animals, benefit human health, protect … View Profile
It is not as hard as you might think. Growing consumer demand has prompted many restaurants and airlines to offer vegetarian meals. Ethnic restaurants often offer meatless options. When in doubt, ask the restaurant staff. Most will adjust the ingredients or cook something that is not listed on the menu.
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Kate Marsh
Credentialled Diabetes Educator (CDE), Diabetes Educator, Dietitian
Kate works with clients with type 1 and gestational diabetes, PCOS, and those following a plant-based (vegetarian or vegan) diet. As a diabetes educator, she … View Profile
There are plenty of vegetarian options for eating out these days and most restaurants will be happy to modify meals if needed. Different ethnic cuisines have plenty of traditional vegetarian options - for example lentil dahl (Indian), bean tacos or tortillas (Mexican), tofu stir-fry or vegetarian pad thai (Thai), spinach & ricotta cannelloni or pesto pasta (Italian), felafel, hummus and rice-filled dolmades (Lebanese), vegetarian sushi and edamame (Japanese) and Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Depending on where you live there are also a number of vegetarian restaurants serving a wide range of vegetarian and vegan meals.
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Ellen Moran
Dietitian, Nutritionist
Ellen Moran is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who promotes credible nutrition information, tailored to your personal health goals and needs. She has a special interest … View Profile
Not at all! These days, you can search for restaurants not only by postcode or dining type, but also by diet specifications. Great foodie websites such as www.urbanspoon.com or www.eatability.com.au allow you to search for restaurants and cafes based on dietary requirements (such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free etc), and then you can further refine your generated options by choosing your nominated postcode, cost and cuisine type, along with checking out others' reviews of the meals. It's as easy as (vegetarian) pie!
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Arlene Normand
Dietitian
Arlene is a registered practising dietitian, with a private practice in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, and has built a strong business over the last … View Profile
Answer
I have had several people tell me that one of the challenges to consistently being a vegetarian, is that it is hard to find vegetarian meals at a restaurant. So the question is, “Do I have to go to a special restaurant every time I want to eat out?”, or “Do I have to sit by and watch every one eat, while I munch on celery sticks?” Well, there is a resounding “NO” to that. With the internet it is easy to look at most restaurant’s menus to ascertain if there is a vegetarian option that appeals to you. Most restaurants today are extremely flexible and cater for the many different tastes, allergies and food intolerances people have.
Here are a few suggestions:
1)Find the vegetarian meals on the menu
2) Either phone the restaurant prior to going or ask the waiter if there are any vegetarian options
3) Take ANY dish on the menu and substitute the meat portion. You can always get a meal without meat, but usually you're still going to be charged the same, so I always substitute, even if it is to get an extra side. TIP:- substitute the meat for mushrooms or other veges
4) I like to glance at the menu, especially the sides, to get an idea of what ingredients the kitchen will have, and then I come up with my own meal and ask them to make it. I've found that they are more than accommodating, since many times they are regretful that the restaurant does not have more vegetarian-friendly meals.
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Ultimately, it really helps if you know what you want, because many times they want to help you get a great meal at their restaurant, but are unsure of what to make. Respectfulness, Politeness, Friendliness, Warmth all go a LONG way.
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John Toomey
Exercise Physiologist
I have a fairly unique set of skills in Wellness, Preventative Health, Longevity and Life Education, having authored Australia's first Wellness Leadership Course in 2001. … View Profile
Eating out as a Vegetarian or Vegan is very easy, right across Australia. Websites like Happy Cow, http://www.happycow.net/australia/victoria/melbourne/, make it really easy. Plus, most restaurants serve at least one vegetarian dish. Vegetarian and Vegan have become quite mainstream.
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