I love to create my own salads is when dining out for friend's birthday lunches, dinners or dining out on special occasions. The moments I share with friends, family and loved ones in the beautiful ambience of a restaurant setting creates memories that can last for a life time. When I am at a restaurant it is not always about the food.
I have had such a great response to the Roar Restaurant page on the Roar website that I thought it might helpful to show you in more detail how you can easily order a yummy raw vegan meal anytime you eat out at a restaurant.
I usually am lucky enough to simply show most restaurants the Roar Restaurants site and they can easily create a salad based off of what other restaurant have created in the past for me. If not you I use the approaches below when ordering from any restaurant or cafe.
Step by step ordering Raw vegan from a restaurant
There are always 2 ways to approach eating out:
First approach… This is great if you know your dinning out in advance
Go to the restaurant's website and find the restaurant's menu.
Find the 'Salad' section on their menu
Look at what salads they have and see what fresh ingredients come in 1 or 2 of their salads and decide on a salad or 2 you would like.
Next scan the menu for any other fresh ingredients such as fresh herbs, chilli, onions, avocado, fruits they have used in other dish's on their menu. When looking think about if you would like these any of these fresh ingredients added to the salads they have on their menu.
Then call the restaurant ahead of dining and say to them: “ I am raw vegan and have a HIGH ALLERGY. I have gone through your menu and found a salad I can have on the day of our reservation. I want this salad to have with no dressing , cooked food and it must be vegan. I have also found other ingredients on your menu which if are fresh I would like to add to my salad on the day “. PLEASE NOTE: The reason I always say “ HIGH ALLERGY “ is that before I started to tell restaurants this many places would carelessly put nuts, oils, vinegars, dressings and more on my salad. Since saying “ HIGH ALLERGY “ very rarely has a mistake made.
Always ask if they have avocado even if you can no see it listed on their menu ( even in other dish's). If they can not supply avocado on the day simply ask if you can bring your own from home? I will also ask if they can serve lemon or lime with the salad as a dressing. PLEASE NOTE: Many places can pre order things like avocado's if they know in advance.
Ask if they have a fruit platter or could make one on the day for you. Fruit platters 7 plates are great for an entree or dessert.PLEASE NOTE: Once again this is usually not a problem if I call ahead as they can pre order produce for the day.
I will also tell the restaurant about the Roar Restaurants website. As this is really great as they can see how easily they can accomodate your request like other restaurants have.
Sometimes a restaurant might ask you to email your request and I will simple do this as well.
I will also state to them that " on the day I may order 2 of these salads depending on the serving size". This is important if they are ordering in any fresh produce for you.
When you arrive on the day always make yourself known to the waiter. Tell the staff you called ahead and told the restaurant that you are "Raw vegan with HIGH ALLERGY “. Next tell them again what you had pre arranged as your meal and let them know if you bought any of your own foods.
Sometimes since you have called ahead the chef may be kind enough to make you a “Raw Vegan” meal on the day. PLEASE NOTE: I am very cautious with this as many chef's will add nuts, seeds, salt, vinegar, sugar, dressings, fermented foods, salts, pepper and more to one of these meals. If all this is okay with you then this can be a great opportunity to get some restaurants making raw vegan foods.
Second option… This is great if your having an impromptu meal at a restaurant
When I first arrive at the restaurant look over their menu and scan for the salads.
Look if there is other fresh ingredients on their menu eg fresh herbs, chilli, onions, fruits in other dish's on the menu that you can easily to add and flavour your salad with.
Always inform the waiter that you are ".Raw vegan and have a HIGH ALLERGY and will be having a salad minus the cooked foods, dressing & nuts. If possible could they add the any other fresh ingredients I have found off of their menu and serve with fresh lemon or lime?"
I will also ask them if they have avocado and if so could they add the avocado to the salad.
Always show them the Roar Restaurants website as this demonstrates many easy salads can be made and how other restaurants have made them from their menus and produce they have on hand.
If your hungry order two salads or look to see if they have a fruit plate. Always remember to ask if there is fruit plate if you can not see one on the menu. Once again many places will provide you with fruits if they have it in stock.
Tips
Really emphasise that you have a “ HIGH ALLERGY ” to the restaurant staff, especially if you will react badly to many ingredients served in the restaurants
I will give you an example of how I order from a local restaurant called Watergrill. This restaurant was one of the very first restaurants I visited since becoming a raw vegan.
I did not have a booking for this restaurant on my first visit so when I arrived I went through their menu and saw they had a 'Seasonal Salad' ($6) . I then scanned through the rest of their menu looking for fresh ingredients in their other dishes that I could add to this salad. I was able to find pomegranate, spanish onion and fresh chilli on their menu (pictured below). I also asked the staff if they had avocado and 'if they could add half of one to my salad?' They were happy to oblige and added these ingredients to my salad. Finally I asked for some lemon wedges as dressing
The salad (pictured above) with the extras and avocado added was super yummy, really filling and costs $8. I have been back to Watergrill many times and depending on my hunger I sometimes add up to 1 1/2 avocados (this makes the salad $12) or if hungry I order 2 salads.
I use the above ordering methods almost every time I go out and order raw vegan from a restaurant. Sometimes when I go out for lunch I will even bring my own salad. When I do bring a salad it is usually to a work lunch or a quick lunch in a cafe.
It may seem like a lot of effort to go to each time I eat out and eat a meal to order something not on a menu. I think here it is important to remember that I can only now go out to restaurants now because of the health raw foods (salads) has given me. I want you to think about what your health is worth and if it is worth pre calling a restaurant to order fresh living foods?
And finally like all habits if you keep at them they become part of your everyday routine. I really only know the above ways to order from restaurants now, it is like second nature to me.
Remember no matter what you do in life let every moment be an experience to remember and create a salad you will never forget!
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