It all started last weekend in Pittsburgh, on the way back from spring break in Asheville (where there were definitely some good eats). On Saturday night we decided to go out on the town in search of good eats, and when it came time to decide whether to eat at the Greek place or the Mexican place, I figured I’d go Mexican since I usually have pretty good luck finding vegan foods at Mexican places.
When ordering I found a vegetarian section, so I thought, “great, this shouldn’t be too bad.” Here’s how ordering went:
Me: Could I get the vegetarian burrito whatever (I forget exactly what) with no dairy?
Waitress: Sure, are you vegan?
Me: Yep.
Waitress: No problem.
Me: Thanks!
Sounds great so far, right? Well, when the brought out my non-dairy, vegan food I was pretty excited until I noticed it was covered in cheese…Instantly my spirits plummeted. What should I do? From an ethical standpoint, it wouldn’t make sense to send it back and just waste it all, but then again making a point of it might make life better for future vegans? Besides that, would I even be able to take the taste of cheese anymore? Long story short, I ended up thinking “screw it” and deciding to eat it, because I didn’t want to make a fuss. I got sick, had my night ruined, and felt bad in general.
But really, what could I have done? At least there’s no chance of me falling off the vegan wagon, though, ^_^.
Anyway, in Pittsburgh before the races, I realized there was no way I could eat on the road and stick to my no sugar rule. I’m not going to go wild and eat all the things I never could because of sugar, but I’ve allowed myself to eat bagels (and bagels only!). They are easy to get for breakfast, have lots of carbs, and are cheap. There’s really not other substitute, and as long as I’m doing all this I might as well do my best to eat proper and not bonk out in the races.
As far as I’m concerned I’m still a vegan athlete, just on the road I need to make an allowance for practicality. Hate me if you will, but being vegan has to work for life as much as you need to make your life work with veganism (at least sometimes), I feel.
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You should of told me you were going Pittsburgh. There is a good vegetarian/vegan restaurant a few blocks from where I live.
I have been vegan for around eight years, but occasionally break my fast and become vegetarian when I am with family.
In your situation, I probably would have done the very same thing, or maybe scraped the cheese off.
Since the waiter was familiar with what a vegan was, I would have made a point of reminding her that dairy is not vegan.I would have done this as I was leaving and not made a fuss over it.
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