After yet another week of speaking with local restaurant owners about how and what we eat, and explaining why preparing dishes based on what they leave out (vegan) is not enough to keep me coming back, I thought it would be easier to write an open letter on behalf of any one else eating a #WFPBNO (whole food plant-based no oil) diet to share with their favorite local restaurants that don’t yet offer healthful options on their menu (big thanks to those that already do). Feel free to post this link on their pages and encourage your friends to like it so the restaurants know what we are talking about and that we are serious. Breaking up is hard to do.
Dear Local Restaurant,
We need to talk.
We’ve been together a long time. You were always there for me when I needed a haven from cooking, or something flavorful and convenient for myself, my family and friends. There were those times when we saw a lot of each other and I will never forget the good times we had. But there is something going on in my life that you should know about because it affects our relationship.
Like so many others, I have been learning a lot about the connection between food and health. I watched and read life-changing documentaries and books, found a plant-based health coach, attended informative nutrition/cooking classes, found some go-to recipes and started cooking differently at home. My health is improving and I am committed to making this lifestyle change stick. I couldn’t be more excited.
But then, there is us.
You see, I now eat a whole food plant-based no oil diet, that is low in added sugars, salt and fats, no exceptions. In the beginning, I thought that I didn’t have to be so careful when I came to see you, but eating out with you and others, even 1-2 times a week, was sabotaging my health. I know that to reverse chronic health conditions, I have to be all in. After making so much progress during the week, why would I continue to tease my palate, injure the endothelial lining of my arteries, hurt the planet and the animals? No thanks. I’ve moved on.
I am tired of reading about how I am the one that is supposed to change.
Try ethnic restaurants they said. Made sense at first. Some of the healthiest plant-based foods to eat out include lots of whole grains and starch like Mexican rice, beans and corn tortillas, or Japanese edamame with miso soup and vegetable sushi, or Indian chickpea dishes. Even a steak house has baked potatoes, vegetables and salad. But they didn’t tell me that you had added Western diet touches to your ethnic recipes. Your chef is adding oil in the beans and rice and covering my fajitas with an extra helping of sizzle oil on the way to the table. When I make Miso soup at home I use water; you use fish broth. And why do I need to remember to tell the waiter that Ghee is clarified butter and therefore also dairy, or not find out until after the meal that high fat coconut milk is the main ingredient in your curry or that the curry paste itself has added oil. And do I really have to be surrounded by steak on every other plate at my table just to get a good baked potato? It’s not me; it’s you.
So where do we go from here? Is it over between us? Well, that’s up to you.
I used to think I wanted to give up, find some new vegan restaurant and that I was done with us. Surely I could find an exciting bistro that offered my food. Alas, even the vegan restaurants, while avoiding meat and dairy, still included lots of fat, sugar and salt. I really don’t want all the fat of cashew cream on top of coconut ice cream, or salty and oily corn tortillas with guacamole, or 3 bean salad soaked in olive oil or all my vegetables in a blender. Even tried an App, Happy Cow, to help me find a match, but ended up swiping left on most of the high fat, sugar and salt options. It’s not my food.
I am ready to try again, this time on my terms.
Here’s a proposal for you. I want to make this relationship work, but for me to be all in, here is what it is going to take.
- Whole plant-based food. That means no meat, fish, eggs, dairy (including casein as an added hidden ingredient), butter, etc., i.e. nothing with a face or a mother, with minimal added fats, sugars and salt and NO oil. It includes lots of starches (potatoes, whole grains, legumes) along with some vegetables (especially leafy greens and cruciferous veggies) and fruit.
- Go light on refined grains or processed ingredients. For example, quinoa or oat or brown rice burgers are better than textured vegetable protein crumbles, spelt spaghetti or lentil penne is better than semolina pasta. How about a small salad with plain balsamic vinegar or carrots with fat free hummus on the table instead of that basket of bread? And if there is some bread involved, make sure the ingredients start with the word “whole”.
- I really mean it about the oil. In fact, I would really appreciate it if you could include a whole food plant-based no oil designation on your restaurant menu so I could find my food with ease. Why? Because you lied to me (or at least omitted the truth) before. Remember the incident with the beans, the curry paste, even the rice? You see, once we give up oil, our palettes change and we don’t like the taste any more. It just tastes like, well, oil. And our digestive system is not happy either. So just steam saute or boil with no oil and then dress the food with simple fresh ingredients. If you only make your famous marinara sauce with extra extra virgin olive oil, then I am going to ask for fresh tomatoes and steamed vegetables on top of the pasta instead anyway, and leave disappointed feeling like you were just phoning it in.
- Don’t go nuts. Yes, I know that nuts and seeds make some awesome sauces and fillings. And they are vegan and plant-based. And your chef is creative at making amazing sauces and desserts that taste like the ‘real thing’. But many can be between 70-100% fat. Did I mention that this is a naturally low fat way of eating (about 10% of calories with no/little saturated fat)? For higher fat plant-based foods like nuts, think of condiments. A little bit of cashew-based dressing for an oversized salad. 2-3 walnuts in a large bowl of oatmeal. A few pumpkin seeds, or Pepitas as they appear on your menu, instead of a full-on nut loaf. And even though it is not a nut, when it comes to avocados, the little bit with other veggies inside a brown rice sushi roll is ok; the avocado toast or guacamole at the table, not interested. A chia pudding is a great dessert option. Macadamia nut ice cream? I’ll pass.
- Learn how to substitute plant-based ingredients. Instead of gelatin, please thicken with arrowroot, agar agar, or Chia seeds. Add saltiness using miso, low salt Tamari or Braggs Liquid Aminos. Sweeten with dates, date sugar or a splash of maple syrup. Take advantage of all the vinegar and mustard options that are out there and explore how great some taste together (Brussels sprouts are one of the many dishes that benefit from such a combination). Instead of cheese, even vegan cheeses, a little nutritional yeast mixed with white beans, cauliflower, or butternut squash goes a long way towards a cheesy sauce alternative. Try citrus as a base for an oil-free salad dressing. Become familiar with the different plant-based milks, how naturally sweet and creamy oat milk is vs. the nuttiness of almond milk vs. the simplicity of soy milk. Learn how easy it is to make unsweetened soy yogurt and sour cream with just soy beans (organic please) and water. Leverage free no-salt added chickpea water (Aquafaba) to use instead of eggs in baking. Try oats or brown rice to hold together your veggie burgers, or Jackfruit as a meat alternative with no additives or unfamiliar ingredients. Herbs and spices still make the meal, so use your favorites to flavor root vegetables or tofu or soups, minus the salt which you can use sparingly or not at all. You already have put a lot into creating your standard and specials menu. With a few ingredient or preparation changes, you could offer many more hungry restaurant-goers the chance to sample your existing delicious food, or use this as an opportunity to be inspired to make something new. Honestly, isn’t this why you hired or became a chef?
- And if you really want to make me happy, charge me for what I order. When you leave out the chicken or salmon or cheese, charge me less. Honestly, I would prefer you offer meals with added options for those ingredients and keeps thing simple for the rest of us instead of the other way around. Just like how someone who doesn’t drink usually avoids open bar events, if I am always paying extra for food I am not eating, I am more likely to eat at home where my food bill is half of what it used to be when I bought all that other stuff. If instead, you make me a dish on the fly (thank you by the way) and charge me for an entree, I expect a filling starch-based meal. Please include a good sized portion of potatoes, grains and/or beans with salad, soup and/or veggies. Please don’t bring me a single baby potato with a few steamed vegetables and call that dinner. Satisfaction is important in any relationship, especially ours. If you are afraid that cutting your prices will cost you money, let me assure you, you will instead win back my heart, my loyalty and I will return more often, with my friends. I promise.
The rest is up to you.
If you can meet me where I am, we can keep this eating out relationship going. Change is healthy, in this case, literally.
If you are serious about us, I need your restaurant menu to change online and in print so that I don’t have to call ahead, whisper to the waiter, bring my own salad dressing and not know the cost of what you are creating before it arrives on the table. I want to come to your restaurant in part to reduce my stress, not to add to it.
And in exchange, I am all in. This is not a one-sided relationship. I eat this way because I care about my health, and the health of the planet and other living beings. That includes you, your staff and our community. The more healthy food options you offer on your menu, the better we will all be. If you want to know more about why and how to eat a whole food plant-based diet, let’s talk. We’re a team and want this relationship to work for both of us. And if you need more info to improve your own health from a Certified Plant-Based Nutrition coach, I know someone who can help.
Thanks for listening. I really look forward to seeing where this relationship may go from here.
In good health,
Your loyal customer
