Calculating Vegan/Vegetarian foods....

ValgA

Hi,

I've been on MFP for a little over 6 months and it's been great! I'm not a vegetarian/vegan but I do like to experiment with healthy food. We have two vegan restaurants on GUAM, one of which is called Simply Foods. They don't have nutrition information anywhere, and when I tried emailing the owner, they only offer very vague info about their food (basically that everything is vegan and a healthy alternative) ingredients. To all the vegans out there, how do you guys figure out your calorie counts from your favorite vegan restaurants?

pbxr

Hi there,

Where I live there aren't any vegan restaurants and only a couple of restaurants offering vegan options. Because of this, we don't eat out very often anymore. When I do eat out, I've had to make a habit of ordering food as close to vegan as possible (veggies steamed with no butter, salads with no cheese, etc.). When at a vegan restaurant, you have some advantages. Knowing there's no added dairy, egg, or meat, you can concentrate on what you know IS in the meal - no worrying about hidden animal products. Then you can estimate portions. (I have become better at estimating as I measure things at home. For instance, what does half a cup of green beans/rice/noodles look like? This takes time, but it's worth it to know you're estimating well.)

One thing I have done is ask to speak to the manager on duty to ask nutritional questions. I explain as politely as possible, "I'm new to eating this way and I'm logging my intake to try and get healthy and lose weight. Can you tell me what foods are in this sauce (for example)?" Or something like that. Typically, when they understand what you're trying to do, they will go out of their way to help you.

Unless they provide nutritional information you have no choice but to estimate, but you can do so knowing that you are making solid choices that are good for you. That is a wonderful step ~ kudos to you!