McVeggies and salads and Fourthmeals — oh my!

Nowadays, pretty much all restaurants and fast-food chains offer salads, which are always an easy out for vegans and vegetarians. However, the leafy filled dish can get to be unsatisfying and boring. So don't settle — try something new.

Being a vegan doesn't mean you should avoid eating out. Just in case you end up around one of these establishments I listed, you know what to order.

 In order to persuade meat-eaters to eat healthier, vegan/vegetarian options must be available in the places where they dine. We must show that we support these places to get what we want in return. Even Burger King offers its BK Veggie; a vegetarian (not vegan) burger. Help by ordering these menu items at restaurants that you've been eating at for years.

Baskin-Robbins offers dairy and gelatin-free ices and sorbets. Enjoy them as you would ice cream, except without the horror of dairy — need I remind you of the hormones?

One of my favorites, at Cheeburger Cheeburger and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, is a large, grilled vegan Boca burger. Enjoy a grilled Portobello mushroom sandwich at Cheeburger Cheeburger as well.

At Chili's, order the veggie quesadillas or fajitas and substitute the cheese and sour cream with extra vegetables and guacamole. In fact, you can create vegan quesadillas and fajitas in most restaurants. Also offered is a vegetarian black bean patty that can take place of any burger or sandwich meat on the menu. Chili's vegetarian menu cautions to avoid all fried food because the same fryer oil is used for animal products.

Chipotle also offers a vegetarian fajita burrito. Ask for black beans instead of the pinto beans, which are cooked with bacon.

If pizza is your go-to fast food,  make Little Caesars and Papa John's your choice. The pizza sauce and dough at both restaurants are vegan. Omit the cheese and choose your favorite vegetable toppings instead. You can easily create a tasteful vegan pizza.

A new find for me is  The Boston Coffee House, in the Waterford Lakes shopping plaza. I went for  the first time recently and ordered the Mango Salsa Salad with mandarin ginger dressing and asked them to stuff it into a pita for me. It was vegan-ly delicious! They allow you to fill any pita with a salad or roll it up into a wrap. Also offered is a roasted vegetable pita — leave out the cheese and substitute the cucumber sauce for a non-cream based dressing. Don't forget to ask for soy milk and hold the whip when ordering a coffee drink.

Vegans can also enjoy Denny's any time of the day. Denny's vegan foods include oatmeal, English muffins, bagels, grits, applesauce, fresh fruit, vegetable plates, seasoned French fries, baked potatoes with several vegetable toppings, garden salads with light Italian or oil-and-vinegar dressing, and sandwiches that can be made with several vegetable options.

Craving a good old fashioned fast food burger? Johnny Rockets features the Streamliner, a vegan Boca burger with grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mustard. And if you're visiting New York City or California, McDonald's is offering a McVeggie burger as a trial run.

Macaroni Grill has several vegan options, including all the pastas with garlic and oil and its Capellini Pomodoro. If you order Tomato Bruschetta and Penne Arrabbiata without cheese, you're golden.

My favorite bagel place of all time is Manhattan Bagel. Guess what? The bagels are vegan. Just use your judgment, obviously the jalapeño cheddar cheese and egg varieties are not vegan. The Manhattan Grille and Vegetable Garden sandwiches can be made on a bagel, a roll, or a tortilla and are vegan if you omit the spreads and cheese.

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill also offers a tremendous amount of vegan and vegetarian options. Order any veggie option on Mondays and receive 20 percent off your meal. Still craving Mexican? All of Moe's Southwest Grill's tacos, fajitas, salads and burritos can be made vegan by substituting tofu for meat and skipping the cheese. Double check and make sure it's being made with a vegan tortilla.

P.F. Chang's is one of the most vegan-friendly restaurant chains around. Its vegetarian menu is terrific, and everything can be made vegan; from appetizers such as Tofu Lettuce Wraps (I order it every time) to entrées like Orange Peel Tofu.

A local favorite is Pollo Tropical. Several vegan options are available such as the Vegetarian TropiChop entrée. Other vegan items include Balsamic Tomatoes and Bananas Tropical. The chain's black beans, French fries, white rice, yellow rice, boiled yucca and corn are vegan too.

An alternative to Subway's Veggie Delite is Quiznos's veggie sub. Order it filled with guacamole, black olives, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and mushrooms.

If you're in the theme parks  and your stomach starts growling after venturing through Animal Kingdom, the Rainforest Cafe offers The Natural Burger without the Safari Sauce and the Morningstar Garden Grill.

Feeling the Fourthmeal? Taco Bell's dishes can be veganized if you omit a few ingredients. The tacos, nachos, and Mexican pizzas are vegan when you order it without the meat, cheese and sour cream. Or stick with the bean burrito without the cheese. Same with Del Taco.

If you pass a Wendy's, go for a plain baked potato, the Deluxe Garden Salad with red Italian dressing and no cheese or French fries.

Do some research. You'll be surprised at what your favorite restaurants offer. Read the menu, use your judgment and ask questions if you need to. This is your chance to broaden your horizons and add more variety to your diet.

For more information on how to go out to eat vegan-style, visit peta.org/living/vegetarian-living.

Check out my column as seen in the Central Florida Future!

Have a Meatless Monday with these restaurants and recipes

If you're reading this week then I have succeeded keeping your little hungry mind interested. Just in case you were worrying, you're not the only one internally debating whether or not to give up the meat and dairy. Believe it or not, local restaurants are actually starting to catch on! Bravo to the food industry.

Also, thanks to what is currently being recognized as a movement. Say hello to "Meatless Monday." Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 The movement promotes environmentally friendly meatless alternatives. The sole purpose of Meatless Monday is to reduce meat consumption by 15 percent. In the end, you will improve your personal health and reduce your carbon footprint.

Additionally, experimenting once a week with plant proteins rather than animal proteins, such as lentils, tofu or beans will significantly reduce risks of cancer, heart disease, fight diabetes and even curb obesity.

People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have lower body weights. A recent study from Imperial College London also found that reducing overall meat consumption can prevent long-term weight gain. I don't know about you but I'm down with that.

If you're into experimenting, you also might want to try a new whole grain such as brown rice or whole-wheat pasta. Once you begin to find alternatives that you enjoy, try to cut animal products. Slowly but surely, you will appreciate these suggestions.

Of course preparing your own food at home is always the best choice, however, we're college students. Who has time to cook with studying, homework, work and all of the other time-consuming stuff we do.

If you need a study break (because of course we‘re being studious on Monday nights, right?) Lime Fresh Mexican Grill off of Sandlake Road offers 20 percent off of all veggie options when purchased on Meatless Mondays. Good thing you can turn anything on the menu into a vegetarian option.

Not only will you receive a great discount, but you will also be consuming fresh vegetables delivered daily as well as daily home made salsas and guacamole. Their refried and black beans are organic and 100 percent vegan, no lard! Nothing gets kept overnight, so it is guaranteed fresh.            

If you don't feel like taking the trip (although it's worth it, trust me.) Then give your taste buds the opportunity to dine at Hummus House on University Boulevard. Their colorful "Go Vegan" stickers are hard to ignore. Their homemade falafel is packed with protein and fiber—substitute it for your usual pita stuffers. Their tabouleh, tahini dressing and several unique varieties of hummus are all made in house as well.

Moe's Southwest Grill also supports Meatless Monday. Six meatless options were finally added to the menu. These new items include grilled marinated organic tofu and a vegetarian burrito. Their meats and veggies are even cooked on separate grills. Finally, someone who gets our vegan lifestyles!

If you don't feel like going out, consider adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet at home. Enjoy them raw in salads. When enjoying your meatless creation, try to cut as much refined white sugar, white flour and white rice from your diet. Keep an eye on ingredient labels for these devilish white monsters.

When sautéing vegetables or baking your favorite treats, try using sunflower oil as a healthier alternative. Remember to avoid pre-packaged and processed foods to eliminate fat from your meals at home. You'll thank me.

Try it out, maybe you'll realize this whole vegetarian thing is for you after all. Maybe you're even considering the vegan lifestyle. Either way, even if you try it once a week, you are one step closer to bettering yourself and the planet. To make it easy for you, I took it upon myself to include a full day's worth of meatless recipes for you to enjoy.

Breakfast: Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup soy or almond milk

A few ice cubes (crushed if possible.)

1 medium banana (try fresh fruits rather than frozen).

Throw in whatever other fruits you like (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, mangos, you catch my drift, anything.)

Directions: Blend. Told you it was easy.

Lunch:  Tofurky Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of Ezekiel bread (found in the frozen food section at Publix and Whole Foods. Place it in your fridge when you get home from the grocery to let it thaw.)

Tofurky (variety of brands found in Publix and Whole Food stores.)

1 small mango

1 small avocado

1 medium tomato

Lettuce (spinach or romaine)

Salad dressing of your choice (Also try ketchup, hummus or Vegenaise to substitute for mayo.)

Directions:

Toast bread. Spread condiment of choice on either one or both slices of bread. Place three slices of Tofurky on one of the slices of bread. Slice fruit. Use a few slices of each and layer on top of the Tofurky. Top with lettuce and cover with other slice of bread. Cut into triangles or rectangles, whatever you prefer and enjoy!

Dinner: Asian Tofu Wraps

Ingredients:

1 package extra firm tofu, cubed (found in produce section of Publix or Wal-Mart.)

Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce

Fresh garlic cloves

Sunflower oil

Edamame (pick up a large bag from the frozen food section so you can store it in your freezer)

Unsalted peanuts

5 ounce can water chestnuts, sliced in half

Scallions (optional)

Carrots (optional)

4 large lettuce leaves (or try whole grain tortillas if lettuce isn't your thing.)

Directions:

Pour some oil in a frying pan and turn up the heat. Toss in cubed tofu (you don't have to use the whole package. Just leave the remains in the package and place in zip-lock bag and store it in your fridge.) Let the tofu cook until it just begins to brown, you may need to mix it around a few times. Dice garlic and add it to the tofu. Then add the edamame, scallions, carrots, water chestnuts and any other veggies you want. Sauté until veggies are cooked and pour on some Soy Vay. Keep sautéing for about a minute. Add peanuts. Stir it around and count to 30 very slowly. Fill up some of those large lettuce leaves and chow down!

Check out www.meatlessmonday.com for more information, along with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack recipes so you can start your weeks healthier.

Check out this column in the Central Florida Future!