[ILUVFOOD]

Hey everyone!
I dont know if I want to consider myself a veggie chick, but Im in a 'I cant eat meat' phase. My question is, what do I order when I eat out. Eating at an Italian/Chinese/Indian restaurant is easy--they offer plenty of veggie dishes. But what should I order at Mexican and American restaurants. I was looking at a lot of menus for your typical chains and they dont have vegetarian options. And, none of my friends are vegs, so I dont want them to go to a specific resturant just for me. Any advice/input?

[Tara D]

I was a vegetarian for 6 months once while eating in a college dorm. I think I probably ate less healthily during that time...everything was covered with cheese, and I wasn't a fan of tofu or loads of cheese. I once went to Chi Chi's Mexican restaurant during that phase...that was a little tough. Knowing what I know now, you could probably be more demanding -- talk to the waiter about making adjustments if there is nothing on the menu that catches your eye. Maybe they could do a vegetarian fajita even if it's not on the menu. You don't always want to be stuck with a salad and fries (even if they taste good)!

[alinnell]

Mexican--bean and cheese burritos, cheese enchilada, salads and ask to leave off any meat.
American--salads or pasta dishes.
I think if you look at the menu, almost any restaurant will have vegetarian dishes or will allow you to omit the meat.

[MariaMaria]

All the Mexican places near me have vegetable burritos. Maybe spinach, maybe greens, maybe beans, but always a choice of more than one. Cheese doesn't need to be part of it.

[Tara D]

I forgot about the burritos. I'm not veggie now, but when I used to buy burritos, I almost always ordered them without meat and cheese (rice, beans, salsa, lettuce, +/- extra veggies). They were good (still high calorie though because they're so large -- maybe eat half instead). If you're not completely veggie, fish is also a great option at American restaurants. You can usually get healthy sides, too.

[eebede]

I aim for vegan foods only so I dont eat at mexican restaurants often these days because they usually cook their beans in butter or their quesadillas(sp) have cheese in them....but since you're only avoiding meat, here are some ideas:
Most Mexican restaurants have a vegetarian section. If they don't, look for:

Bean Burritos
Vegetarian Fajitas
Veggie or plain Quesadillas (sp)

Those are safe bets, but of course ask if animal lard was used in preparing the food.

As for american places.....some places offer veggies burgers, salads are always a safe (and cheap!) bet and look for soups labeled "vegetarian" because some places use chicken broth bases.