Random Gabbin'

A lot of people have been asking lately what I do about eating out and just random questions about what I eat....

I eat out hardly ever... it saves money and it is a LOT less fattening.

When I DO eat out, which is slim to none... I usually get like steamed veggies... and I ask them if they can cook them with NOTHING, no butter/oil, and no seasoning... I was in Southport, NC last week and went to a seafood restaurant...

I can't think of the name... but I asked for steamed veggies, and PLAIN... NOTHING on them... well, they didn't listen to my request... because whenever I was served my food, they were SO salty I about hacked right there. I took that first bite, and then sat down my fork and when the waiter came back around, I informed him that they were by no means PLAIN, but it was okay, and he insisted that he have them do it again (ya, you better) okay, so the next time they came back out... they were WHAT I ASKED FOR ;o) haha...

If you are doing just VEGAN and not VEGAN AND GLUTEN FREE there are usually tons of options... even if they don't have a side of veggies on the menu, or a side of baked potato on the menu, look at the menu and see what comes with the other entrees, and ask for them... I assure you that they will say yes.

::LUNCH::

Alot of places have wraps and pitas, which is the best way to go for a VEGAN. Most places also have like at the least ONE option for a vegetarian... If they have like shrimp pitas or chicken pitas, etc you could always ask for them to steam veggies and put it on a pita, and then ask for a salad dressing(make sure you're careful with the dressings, I honestly don't use salad dressings because they are SO full of sodium)...

The thing that I am most particular about in all of my eating is the SODIUM content in all of the food. I have to admit that I honestly rarely ever look at the fat/calories/carbs... if it's vegan and gluten free, you're pretty much in good territory already, but then if you go to the grocery store and for instance, this is what I've been most shocked about... ok, so you go to the grocery store... lets say like... hm, Harris Teeter... well let's see... there are probably 7-8 different brands of black beans... but they're all the same right?! So you go for the cheapest one? Yeah, no... check out the sodium content. UGH... makes you wanna vomit in your mouth. Most have like 200+ mg of sodium per 1/2 cup... yeah, that my friend is NOT acceptable. Even the ones that say "low sodium" are rediculous... NEWSFLASH: THIS IS AMERICA... we salt EVERYTHING... so low sodium isn't always the best option... I don't know if they have a Fresh Market, wherever you live but if they do... that is where I get my black beans. The store brand of black beans is what I get... they are $0.99 a can... and I usually buy like 15 cans when I'm there because I literally eat black beans like crazy. Hellooooooo... PROTEIN! Oh yeah, and did I mention that they are 10mg of sodium per 1/2 cup?! Yeah... that's what I call fabulous. :)

When you tell someone that you are VEGAN, the first thing that pops into their head is, okay well maybe the 2nd because the 1st thing they think it HIPPIE...(by the way, I am by no means a hippie, but go ahead, label me that if you please) but yeah, anyways the 2nd thing that they think about is "Like OMG where do you get like your... like protein?!?!" ugh um, you can get your protein from plenty of places that doesn't involve KILLING and MURDERING an animal... dummies.

To those of you wondering where VEGANS get their PROTEIN...

Okay, so this is like one of my staple meals... and I also use Tofutti sour cream, it tastes funny whenever you just stick your finger in it and lick it (haha) but whenever its consumed WITH something, it's DELISH... :)