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OK picture the scene....
You're in a generic city centre.
You need to grab some lunch.
You don't have time to sit down and eat.
You're vegan.
What are your snack options?
I know there's a vegan sandwich thread, but this thread is more about finding something quick when you don't know much about the city you're in.
Do you try to locate the nearest Holland & Barratt?
Do you look for homous sammiches in Boots/Sainsburys?
How would you deal with this situation?
Not the healthiest option, but I'd buy a grab bag of Walkers ready salted crisps from a newsagent if I was really short on time!
Also, if you boycott the meat products rather than the company, you could get a bag of fruit from McDonalds.
I try to have some Lara Bars in the house so that I can chuck one in my bag/pocket and eat it on the go if I know I'm going to have difficulty finding lunch food. I think they're much nicer than Nak'd bars even though they're a bit more expensive - and they're very filling (and delicious flavours). Funky Raw is doing them for £1.09 per bar at the moment: http://www.funkyraw.com/shop/index.p...0edbe7374fe86c
I'd be interested to hear everyone else's ideas for fast lunches on the go though cos I'm not always that organised!
Holland and Barretts is usually our choice but only because the OH loves their porkless pies! Also in Hull we are lucky as most chip shop chips are cooked separate in vegetable oil: terribly unhealthy tho :o I do have a habit of grabbing a samosa or a bag of mixed veg (broccolli, sugar snap peas and carrots nommy) from Marks and Spencers as evil as they are. This has made me think though...I think next time I will locate a market stall or small greengrocers and buy something there. (What...wash fruit..me? :o )
Bags of dried fruit and nuts are available in most shops although you do have to check ingredients lists for honey etc. If you buy (or have with you) an apple you can just give it a quick wipe.
Pringles are good ..
Some shops have rolls/baguettes etc ..
Chippies ..
Question; are vegetarian samosa's always vegan - or is there ingredients like cream or butter etc added to them? ..
Lots of snack food is vegan .. just have to look out for it :)
Some people aren't keen on Pringles because of who makes them and because of their use of palm oil.
http://vegannewsandreviews.blogspot....-pringles.html
I'm partial to crisps etc myself but I think (unsalted) nuts are a better option if you're replacing a meal because they have more nutritional value and will keep you going longer.
this never really happens to me, but if it did i would probably look for a health food shop and try and get a pasty or sos roll & a soya milkshake, but if i was in a rush i'd perhaps dive in the nearest supermarket and grab a bread roll, some houmous and bag of crisps - or check out the chiller section for some "ready to go" type stuff like couscous or pasta.
Unless a bakery/deli can guarantee their ingredients it's best not to risk it. M&S do one that is in a wrapper which has no animal ingredients listed and was, the last time I munched upon it's spicy goodness perfectly vegan.Quote:
Fungus
For those that miss pringles M&S make a fab alternative, which I saw at christmas , they look just like Pringles and I'm 99% sure they are vegan.
I would locate a health food shop or a boots.
I wouldnt buy pringles on principle.
Or I would label read on bags of crisps/crispbreads/rice cakes.
Alot of convinience food shops and delis seem happy to make up a pasta/couscous salad with no animal ingredients, if they do not have one anyway.
I had some of those recently. They taste just like Pringles too.Quote:
Kyi-po
I usually look for a health food store or Boots if I'm lunching on the run.
I usually just go to a supermarket and buy stuff. I do this several times a week at work.
London Zone 1-2 is piss easy, theres so much choice everywhere. Lots of mini supermarkets/large news agents have fresh vegan marked sandwiches/meals/salads. There's a really good selecton at the one opposite our South London office.
I've not eaten a pringle in almost 10 years and wouldn't touch a vegetable samosa that I didn't know the ingredients of/how it'd been cooked. ;)
I normally put off shopping which means I am hungry by the time I get to the shops and want something straight away.
Stuff I regularly eat straight from the packet as soon as I get outside the shop;
Main course;
Onion bhajis
Vegetable samosas
Smoked or marinated tofu
Humus and bread
Tinned sweetcorn (if you carry a tin opener)
Tesco Italian Pasta salad (if you carry cutlery or are prepared to improvise)
Dessert;
Ritter sport
Soya custard
Many towns have a baked potato stall. They should do one with beans and no butter if you ask.
I know this would be different for me in the US, but I'll usually stop at a grocery store if I can see one from the road. Otherwise, I'll hit a gas station for dried fruit and nuts, luna bars, or plain pretzels. That's assuming I'm on foot and know the language. If I don't know the language, I stick with dried fruit and nuts or hummus. Different regions of the US have different sets of gas stations and convenience stores, so I tend to look for the bigger ones that have more options. Theres a huge difference in quality and variety of these stores throughout the US.
I'd try and find a Boots. If I couldn't spot one I'd probs just go grab an apple and some trail mix or if I had a bit more time I'd go and buy some bread, houmous and salad and make a sandwich.
If it's only a big supermarket that is available then i'd grab something from the salad bar. Or like loads of others have said: bread + hummus = rustic lunch.
I'd look for Holland and Barrett, Boots or small sandwich shops as they will sometimes have houmous and roasted vegetables on the menu. Otherwise I'd look for a supermarket, have a look for a salad bar or vegan salad pots in the chillers or get houmous, bread rolls and maybe a bag of salad. If I couldn't be bothered faffing about with houmous I'd get any of: marinated tofu pieces, bananas or other fruit, crisps, nuts, nice bread rolls to eat on their own, olives or cereal bars and some fruit juice or smoothie. Or get a portion of chips. :D If there's only little shops around you can usually find crisps, nuts, bananas, fruit juice or the occasional Fry's chocolate cream if you're lucky.
subway. eat fresh.
Subway's a bit of a rip-off for vegans imo. all you can basically get is some limp salad in a plain sub. can you get better fillings in the US?
its pretty cheap as far as vegan meals go imo.
I usually get lettuce, spinach, extra tomato, pickle, olive, onion, carrots and always add avocado. then either sweet onion or vinegar salt and pepper. and usually add chips (crisps) to my sandwich. :D
i'm the annoying customer in line that keeps telling the sandwich artist to "add more, comon its just veggies in the sandwich!"
footlong sandwich with chips and soda for like $6 isn't bad.
eta: i couldnt eat it if the veggies were limp. ewww.
Subway don't have carrot, spinach or avocado in their salad here. they don't let you put chips/crisps in them either, you'd have to buy a packet separately and put them in yourself. i think just a footlong on its own in the UK costs £3.99 which is like $7.98 :eek:
oh yeah, i put the chips in myself. :)
u guys get ripped off there!
oh right, i thought you were getting them to put the chips/crisps in there for you. still a packet of crisps costs like £1/$2 in Subway, plus another £1.50/$3 for a drink - you're damn right we get ripped off! :mad:
Starbucks' falafel wrap. Even says vegan on it.
There's a "Bugsy" sandwich available in various places, such as some Boots stores (again actually labelled as vegan).
EAT. hummus wrap (and, yes, that's labelled as vegan too :)).
There's some make of flapjack that I see in a lot of newsagents too, and they label the vegan ones.
(I haven't seen the sandwich thread so apologies if any of those were duplicates.)
So what can we eat in a Subway? I've always given them a wide berth as I doubted they'd be able to cope...
not much, lol. there's a thread about Subway hereQuote:
robb
i think i've only ever seen this once. it may be easy to get hold of in London but it isn't in most of their outlets.Quote:
robb
Pret A Manger used to do a houmous sandwich which was labelled vegan, but i heard it was being withdrawn, don't know if that was a permanent move?
i got put off subway when i noticed that when someone in front of me asked for a vegetarian sandwich, the girl behind the counter didn't change her gloves despite having just handling meat. and they treat you like you're something on a production line; they don't have time to listen to specific requirements. one time i was trying to tell the woman that i didn't want any dairy, but she barely spoke english and kept asking 'grilled with cheese?'. in the end i gave up and left the queue :rolleyes:Quote:
RubyDuby
personally, i would look for;
- any health food shop
- m & s or any other supermarket
- a local smoothie shop (they often sell bags of nuts and seeds and raw food bars too)
- starbucks
failing those options (if that's even possible!) i'd just wait till i got home.
Looks like I won't be going to Subway!
But, yes, I had heard that Pret do something. Just haven't been there since McDonalds bought a share. (I understand they've sold this now, I just haven't had ocaasion to go back since...)
same here. i always add tons of veggies at subway.
they do have a veggie patty. once i asked what kind it was and they didn't know (:rolleyes:) so i didn't risk it.
ETA: oops missed a whole page.
i don't eat out very often, but usually when i go to subway and ask for a veggie sandwich, they offer to change their gloves. :D
they will change their gloves, but if u think about it they've already touched the veg after they touched meat for every single customer before you. I assume this kind of thing goes for anywhere... I dont like it but I try not to think about it. After all, I'm not allergic and its better to support the vegan options at not-veg places than to boycott them. Subway aint goin nowhea.
the other day there was a crunchy in with my fries from a nice restaurant. (the ex works next to the place and the owners of the 2 businesses swap services...) anyhoo, I absentmindedly popped the crunchy into my mouth and it was FISH. ewwww. apparently they dont have separate friers.
i'm learning to accept these things to stay sane.
I have only had good experiences at Subway - but I agree they are quite expensive for what is basically salad. I wish UK Subway did carrot, spinach and avocado! (And it wouldn't kill them to make a pot of houmous available either!)
I called into Pret a Manger this morning to pick up something for lunch - I haven't been in for a while and noticed that the veggie sushi that used to be vegan now contains 'egg omelette'?? Very disappointing. I think I might have to drop them a line to let them know they have lost a customer as a result. :(
Damn! They've already abolished their vegan sandwiches haven't they? No point in going in there now :mad:Quote:
Holly78
I didn't see any vegan sandwiches but I was in early so maybe they hadn't made them? I know they used to do a houmous salad one. I ended up getting the falafel and chickpea wrap from Starbucks.
Not sure if the hummus sandwiches ever reappeared after their "seasonal" abandonment of them
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17587
but I'm not certain as I don't very often go in Pret.
they've got (or had, a few months ago) a new houmous sarnie on rye bread in pret which is marked vegan. it was ok...
amanda
Someone at work just told me today that ASDA are doing vegan sandwiches, in green packets. They must be labelled as vegan too cos the woman who told me will eat anything and i doubt she bothered going through the ingredients. I'll check it out on my way home.
that's probably the Fresh Organics sandwiches that Boots also sell, as discussed here
I had a quick look in a Pret the other day (Camden Town) and they had some sort of salad involving hummus that looked as if it was probably vegan, though I didn't have time to investigate properly. I couldn't see any vegan sandwiches but I think they always varied from branch to branch didn't they?
I used to get starbucks falafel wrap before I stopped going there - it wasnt bad taste wise, but kinda pricey. I go to boots sometimes if I really cant find anything, but try to avoid doing that now, generally I'll grab an sos roll from holland and barrett, or maybe something from m &s (also kinda pricey - their samosas are over £1 just for one! - i feel its a rip off when I can get a box of 20 for £2) - theres another health food shop too where I might go and get something.
Can't go wrong with a couple of bananas! Should find them anywhere!
Packet of peanuts, fruit, bread roll with seeds and nuts in it. I've gone off the vegan sandwiches, I find the hummus ones don't have enough filling and taste very bland.