Eating out

I went shopping for clothes yesterday and I really got frustrated when I went to buy some lunch. All I wanted was a quick bite and went to a supermarket called Marks & Spencers which sell plenty of sandwiches and salads. There were no vegan options and all the vegetarian options had milk and eggs as ingredients. How can a spinach salad with pasta have milk or eggs in it? It really pissed me off! At the end I had to go to a place called wagamama where I know there's a couple of vegan options but ended up speding more. Really annoying.

What you guys do in similar circumstances? Do you always bring your own or are you flexible and buy a vegetarian product?

What is "flexible" about buying animal based food?

And yes of course I cannot buy lunch as easy as non-vegetarians. But what about fruit and vegetables? Their are vegan for sure...

If I"m at a sandwich shop, I usually just say, "I don't eat meat, dairy, or eggs. What can you make?" They can usually load up a sandwich with beans and veggies, and sometimes they have tofu

If I am out somewhere, I generally don't eat anything, or I take a bag of nuts with me or something, or some other food I made. There's no way I'd eat eggs or milk just because I was hungry. Worst case scenario, I just don't eat anything until I get home, or until I reach a shop which sells nuts / fruit etc.

I went shopping for clothes yesterday and I really got frustrated when I went to buy some lunch. All I wanted was a quick bite and went to a supermarket called Marks & Spencers which sell plenty of sandwiches and salads. There were no vegan options and all the vegetarian options had milk and eggs as ingredients. How can a spinach salad with pasta have milk or eggs in it? It really pissed me off! At the end I had to go to a place called wagamama where I know there's a couple of vegan options but ended up speding more. Really annoying.

What you guys do in similar circumstances? Do you always bring your own or are you flexible and buy a vegetarian product?

You sure Christian? Was it a ''Marks & Spencer Simply Food' store? They usually have a few vegan options - Three Bean Salad, Lentil & Rice Salad, Cous Cous etc. Saying that I can't always find them at all stores.

A lot of general stores have cous-cous, rice and pasta snacks next to the sandwiches suitable for vegans, and in some cases is labelled as such. A lot of shops have falafel and bombay potato pitta rolls. Holland & Barrett has some vegan snacks as well. Local health food shops will have a variety of snack's - have you ever seen any 'Laura's Idea' stuff?

That said, it depends where you were shopping yesterday as obviously some areas are better than others.

Some times I will take food with me if I'm going to be out all day. I wil never compromise and buy a vegetarian option. I would go hungry but usually snack on crisps, peanuts, fruit, dried fruit, flapjacks ( if I'm certain the vegetable margarine is OK ).

I hope you have more joy next time you are shopping mate.

Do you have Sainsbury's in London? They have several very tasty sandwiches that are clearly labeled vegan. Sainsbury's saved me several times when I was in Manchester and during my flight layover in Glasgow.

At other places, soy milk, nuts, fruit, bread, flapjacks etc. There is always something to eat. It may not be what you want, but will do in a pinch. If you are finding yourself in that situation repeatedly, then start taking your lunch with you!

Are flapjacks pancakes? If so wouldn’t they have milk in them?

Anyway, I’m with Will. If I go some where that isn’t a health food place or have items listed as “vegetarian” or “vegan” then I will ask if they have something with out meat, eggs, and milk. I try to stay away from using the term vegan until they give me some suggestions. I think a lot of people get put off by it, or don’t know what it is so they just tell me that they don’t. Although I have heard that as vegans we should approach the people working there by saying “I am a vegan. What do you have that I can eat?” I reason being that if it happens enough then the owners would realize how many vegans customers they have and try to be more accommodating.

As for snaking on fruits and vegetables… its better to eat something then to let you body go without. But at the same time those things will not keep you full for long. I think it would be better to add some nuts or other form of protein to help keep you full and to help keep your blood sugar levels from going up and down.

flap jack is oats + fat + syrup + whatever (for example cherries, raisins, coconut etc) or they can just be syrup. They're cooked and cut into pieces, usually like 1 inch thick, 2 or 3 inches wide and 4 inches long or something. They're chewy and awesome.

http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Britain/Food/Teatime/Flapjack.jpg

non vegan options are simply not an option. how can you expect people to take you seriously if you dont do what you preach?

anyways, i usually eat things like nuts, fruit and fresh rolls (unfilled if nothing else is available). a litre of soya milk is also great for pluggin a hole for a couple of hours.

also, regarding marks and spencers, please dont spend any money there. they are one of the largest buyers of israeli products in the world (£240million in either 2000 or 2001 - so much that the israeli government gave them a pristigious award for services to the country) so spending money there is indirectly supporting terrorism.

plus they are systematically moving all their textile production overseas, leaving many uk businesses (quite a few of whom have M&S as their only customer) bankcrupt. this put my dad out of work a few years back. M&S are scum.

jonathan

Hey guys, thanks for your input.

Tarz: I did check all the products on sale at M&S but couldn't find any vegan; it probably varies from store to store. I've never seen any Laura's idea products; where would you find them?

Michael: yes there are Sainsbury's in London but not in the shopping center I was at yesterday. I do my food shopping there but never checked the sandwiches. I think they are a decent store for vegans, they now have some vegan mock meat products which are hard to find in big stores. They also sell some nice bars ideal for snacking and good tofu.

Jonathan: don't worry I don't compromise my vegan status, I just wanted to know the forum's view on this one.

I usually plan ahead and bring nuts, dried apricots or sandwiches, I didn't have the time to do that yesterday!

Overall I'm really disappointed to see milk or eggs used in vegetarian salads/sandwiches when there's clearly no need and these products could easily be vegan.

Overall I'm really disappointed to see milk or eggs used in vegetarian salads/sandwiches when there's clearly no need and these products could easily be vegan.

Wordlife son! I feel the same. They seem to just stick it in for no reason, and I know that if you just removed the milk it wouldn't make much of a difference, and it could eeeeasily be replaced with summing

I always go to a grocery store and buy food....like some bananas, or bagels or something quick i can munch on that doesnt have to be prepared or cooked.

If I"m at a sandwich shop, I usually just say, "I don't eat meat, dairy, or eggs. What can you make?" They can usually load up a sandwich with beans and veggies, and sometimes they have tofu

Nice call.

Meanwhile I usually go for a bag of chips if I can't find anything. Corn chips cooked up in some kinda veggie oil. 1400 calories in a bag mostly fat and carbs... yum

Cristian - yep, M & S still do vegan snacks. I had cous cous with roast vegetables, spicy Moroccan cous cous and wild rice with aubergine and lentils this weekend. They kept me going on a couple of nightmare train journeys. You may have to hunt for them - they can be seperate from the rest of the snacks they stock.

You will be able to get Laura's Idea products from independant health food shops and also Fresh & Wild and Planet Organic. You ever been to a Fresh & Wild or Planet Organic - bit pricey but they stock loadsa stuff.