Dining Out on a Plant-Based Diet

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey there, sunshine Since going whole food, plant-based Jared, and I understand that you may feel like your days of dining out and enjoying it have come to an end, but that's just not true. Today, we're going to share with you some of the things we eat when we dine out and some of the new restaurant finds we found in our area too, just to show you what's possible.

Speaker 1 0:24

So let's, eat area too, just to show you what's possible. So let's eat. Hey sister, welcome to the Power on Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're Jared and Anita Roussel, christ followers, health care professionals, parents of four and big fans of great tasting food. We, too, tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes. Thank you, never feel deprived. If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant based cup of happy pop in those earbuds and let's get started.

Speaker 2 1:36

Brothers and sisters, we are glad to have you back in another episode of Power on Plants, where you get your weekly dose of inspiration for whole food, plant-based living.

Speaker 1 1:45

And today we want you to walk away inspired to find out what is available in your area that you can enjoy when you want to go out and have a meal and actually enjoy it and not feel nasty or weighed down or exhausted afterwards because you've eaten something that just wasn't good for you and I believe you should not feel guilty for wanting to be able to have a dining experience.

Speaker 2 2:09

It is a lot of fun to be able to even if you're not going out with other people, it's just you and your spouse and you want to just go and sit down, have the nice experience of being able to order something delicious, have the food brought to you. You don't have to clean up after it, it's just nice. It's a nice treat every now and then. But if you are going out with others, this opportunity allows you to be able to concentrate on those other individuals, those relationships, the whole reason why you're there anyway. I mean, yes, it's kind of about the food, but really it's about the relationship and that time with others.

Speaker 1 2:43

And maybe you're like us and you live in a small town and you think well, I don't have a lot of opportunities to get amazing food. Trust me, there's not a vegan or whole food plant based restaurant on every corner here. This is like a blink and you'll miss it. Little beach town Now it gets kind of hopping in the summertime, don't get me wrong, but it's still a relatively small area. You're not going to find a large number of restaurants here. It's just not happening, whereas if you lived in a big city, there'd be all kinds of different options, all kinds of different cuisines, but yet we've somehow managed to find, so far, three or four favorite restaurants that we absolutely love to go to, and even the ones that we don't love to visit. Whenever we have friends and family come in and they just want to go to a specific restaurant, we can always find something on the menu that we can enjoy. You don't know how to do that.

Speaker 1 3:36

We have talked about making dining out simple on several of our past episodes, and you can have all of that, along with every other episode we've ever come out with, right at your fingertips to search through as a catalog, your own personal whole food plant based encyclopedia.

Speaker 1 3:55

It really is insanely wonderful. It's something that Jared and I have put together for you, where every one of our podcast episodes become searchable for you Not only the titles, but everything we talked about inside each episode. So if you want to know about dining out or going to a restaurant, all you have to do is come into our free group podcast insiders. Experience at poweronplantscom forward slash P I E. That's poweronplantscom forward slash pie, and there's a little magnifying glass in the lower right hand corner of the community where all you have to do is go in there and press it and type whatever term you're looking for. In this case, I would recommend dining out or restaurant. You are not going to believe how many amazing things pull up for you that are going to help you know how to go into any restaurant and order off any menu and find something that is going to make your taste buds sing, maybe even dance.

Speaker 2 4:52

Or both Sing and dance.

Speaker 1 4:56

Absolutely A hundred percent, because that's what we're all about. This has to be enjoyable, and it has to be enjoyable with real life. But am I telling you that every time you go out and eat whole food plant-based or order a plant-based meal at a restaurant that it's going to be enjoyable and it has to be enjoyable with real life? But am I telling you that every time you go out and eat whole food, plant-based or order a plant-based meal at a restaurant that it's going to be oil-free or sugar-free or free of every single thing that you just would not add to your food at home? No, but you can order the best things that are available, still have a satisfying experience and not feel like you've fallen off the wagon because you've gone out to enjoy one meal. I mean that just should not happen for you. So if you know how to take the tips that we've already given you and then these that we're going to share as well, just by hearing another person's experience of what do they do, how do they find these restaurants and when they go to them, what do they order Just thinking about that and how you could do that at your restaurants that are local for you, it can just open up all sorts of ideas and creativity for you. So today we're going to be sharing with you three of the local restaurants that we absolutely have come to love, and now we look forward to going out to eat with our children on special occasions or when we're out and about on the town and we just get tired and we think you know we're not going to go home right now it's getting later and make a meal even though we can make some of the simplest, quickest meals there are. But we just want to sit down and enjoy something together as a family that someone else actually prepared for us, and we should be able to do that, and you can do that too, when you know how to put into practice these simple steps that we've shared with you in the past, and some of the ideas that you're going to get from just listening, I share with you today. It's kind of like the what I eat in a day things that everybody loves. What I eat in a day Well, this is what we eat when we go out to a restaurant Kind of the same idea, but just at a restaurant.

Exploring Plant-Based Dining Options

Speaker 1 6:46

So first I want to talk about this little cafe that we found. It's not actually plant-based or whole food plant-based, but we absolutely love it. The only thing that makes me sad is they're only open till about two o'clock in the afternoon, so it's breakfast and lunch at this point. I'm hoping they expand it later. They don't have an extensive menu, but the whole food plant-based things they offer are amazing. They just taste so fresh and so good and we were shocked to find out that they actually are All organic or natural. Very few of them have any kinds of oil added and it just lit us up when we discovered this place and we always feel good when we leave there. They have amazing things like smoothies and juice shots and just incredible things that we didn't even know were available in our area, and it blew our mind and we're going. How long has this place been here that we haven't known? Because sometimes you feel like I don't even want to look.

Speaker 2 7:39

And I would say there has been a portion of time when we have seen it but never just took that moment to venture in to explore. So there may be places around you you haven't seen or some that you've just passed by, just kind of dismissing it. Get adventurous, Go in there, Check it out, Because this particular place it's predominantly, if not completely, organic. They're not completely plant-based, but most of their menu is actually plant-based. Now they may have some salads or some sandwiches where they might add some meat or some egg, but there's an extensive amount on that particular menu that we can eat. It's not just that one or two thing, Honestly with them. It's that one or two things we wouldn't eat versus, oh, the one or two things we can eat.

Speaker 1 8:24

Or we choose to eat. I mean really, we can eat anything we want.

Speaker 2 8:27

Right, we can eat anything we want. We just choose not to.

Speaker 1 8:30

Such great points and so you want to not keep driving by that same place you've gotten curious about a couple of times. You want to actually go in and check it out, or at the very least check out the menu online, because you may be missing out on something that you could have been enjoying all along. So at that place I absolutely love their mint smoothie. They have a chocolate mint smoothie. Now they have some things in it that I don't normally eat Like. I don't eat added oils, even things like MCT oil, so I have them leave that out. They add protein powder. I have them leave that out. So there's some things I just go up and I say I want this, but leave out this and this and that's it. It's just that simple, it's not hard to do. And then Jared likes what was your favorite thing that you get? It's some kind of coffee.

Speaker 2 9:15

It's a coffee smoothie bowl. I forget the exact name, but it's basically a coffee smoothie bowl. But being local and this is another thing if you can find local places and they're very friendly, very outgoing, a lot of times they can make some changes. So I said, hey, when you do this, could you just take a couple of coffee beans, throw it in there and then blend it with the rest of everything to really infuse that coffee flavor, because they would use a little bit of coffee as the liquid. But I've done this before where I've taken coffee beans and smoothies. I don't do it a whole lot, but I do it from time to time if I want to quote, unquote mocha, and then I'll throw in a coffee bean. Well, I had them do that and it was absolutely amazing yeah, you really enjoyed that.

Speaker 1 9:56

All of our kids loved everything they've tried. Their different are different types of smoothie bowls and smoothies and the salad. The last time I went I wanted to get the smoothie bowl because we've had it before, but I thought I'm going to venture out.

Speaker 2 10:07

The salad is amazing and actually she was not disappointed with the salad. She was enjoying every bite of it.

Speaker 1 10:14

No, listen, if you ever come to our area it's Santa Rosa Beach or Destin, florida you guys have got to look for these restaurants that we're telling you about. These are your go-to, so write them down now so that when you come to the area you do not miss out. So this one is called Prima Organic Cafe. It's P-R-E-M-A and I actually have posted let me look inside pie, because I'm pretty sure I know I posted some juices so you can see pictures of me holding the juice that I got and I think I thought I'd actually put a picture of the salad that I had.

Speaker 1 10:52

Just search Prima inside pie, our free group, and you'll see some of the pictures that we've taken while we were there. It's just such a cute little place. They don't even have tables and things on the inside. They've got one little bar area when you can just sit and eat, and I'm not talking like a bar where you serve alcohol, but just a little bar where you can sit with a couple of bar stools, maybe three or four bar stools Not many, it looks out the front window.

Speaker 1 11:22

And then they do have some tables outside like little cafe tables, yeah, yeah, it's really just a fun, neat place when you visit the beach, to go there and enjoy it, and we live here, so we're going whenever we get the opportunity and we're over in that area. It's a great place to go to just enjoy a good salad or a smoothie bowl or a smoothie, to have some sandwiches that look pretty good too. So, all in all, you got a number of different options if you go there though tell them you heard about them on or a smoothie.

Speaker 2 11:42

They have some sandwiches that look pretty good too. So, all in all, you got a number of different options. If you go there, though, tell them you heard about them on the Power on Plants podcast.

Speaker 1 11:47

Absolutely Such a fun idea. All right, now the newest thing. Well, let's talk about Old Faithful. There's an Old Faithful restaurant that we absolutely love in an area called Watercolor Florida that's also in Santa Rosa Beach. It's an old, fateful restaurant that we absolutely love in an area called Watercolor Florida that's also in Santa Rosa Beach. It's called Fish Out of Water. The locals call it FOO, f-o-o-w, so they have vegan tacos that are amazing. They make them with black beans that have corn and arugula, I think, greens, all kinds of different things on there and you can get a side of vegetables. It is so tasty. But one of the great things is, even if you sit inside at that restaurant, you have a great picture of the beach. We're totally giving you the insider scoop here because I don't want more people to know about this restaurant because we won't be able to go the views are so good and it tastes so good.

Speaker 2 12:42

I would say try not to go in the summertime because it is insane. It's pretty packed and you may have a very long wait.

Speaker 1 12:45

If you can get down here, I don't believe they take reservations.

Speaker 2 12:47

It's just first come, first serve.

Speaker 1 12:48

No. If you can get down here and vacation in the off season, when everybody else is in school or working, and take your vacation on the off season, do it. It is so worth it because there's no waits in these places. You'll have a three hour wait in the summer. There's no wait in the fall and winter. Jared and I are pretty much the only people down here. Actually, we might end up having lunch with you. If you come down and eat food, we may run into you there.

Speaker 2 13:12

Yeah, I mean If you're headed this way, let us know.

Speaker 1 13:16

We absolutely love eating there, so it's such a great place, so those are great. They also have a quinoa bowl that I have recreated and make at home. It is absolutely mouthwatering, delicious and we always even at Prima, at Foo no matter where we're going I always pack a purse sauce. Y'all get a power on plant sauce into some kind of bottle, like a pretty bottle that you would drink your water in or something. Pop that puppy in your purse and take it with you because it is so worth it. It takes five minutes before you leave home, but you have a sauce that you can use on something that's going to taste great and you can leave out the oil. Then you don't feel so weighed down.

Speaker 2 13:59

Yes, because a lot of these restaurants they'll have a lot of added oil or salt in some of those dressings. So with this you can make it to your liking flavor-wise, but you can omit the oils and make it the power on plants way.

Speaker 1 14:12

I'm all about purse saucing. Now, if you're not a woman and you have a woman with you, have her pack your sauce in her purse, or you may have to get a fanny pack or something. I don't know what to tell you, but you got to find a way to get that sauce in there because it is so nice. Now, if you don't want to take the sauce, you know we love the balsamic mustard combo, so you can ask for some balsamic vinegar and some brown mustard and mix that. At almost any restaurant, what if they don't have mustard? Then you get balsamic. What if they don't have balsamic? Then get mustard and some lemon juice, or just lemon juice or lime juice.

Speaker 1 14:46

I mean, there are so many things I can teach you about dining out. We're just scratching the surface here. But what we want you to see is there are possibilities for you to eat in a restaurant and actually still enjoy it, not feel guilty afterwards, and eat with other people who aren't vegan, who aren't whole food, plant-based, and everyone will leave the restaurant with a smile on their face. This is the reality of how it should be for you when you're living the power and plant sway.

Speaker 2 15:13

And I think what this restaurant highlights being fish out of water, is that they do have a lot of dishes that have fish in them. Yes, so this is by no means a vegan or whole food plant-based restaurant. This is a fairly standard restaurant, but they do have a couple of plant-based options and for us they're so good it keeps us going back. Plus, we absolutely love the view. They've got an outside area with a straight line of sight on the Gulf and it's just absolutely amazing. So again, if you come down here, we'll use any excuse to go to Phu Absolutely.

Speaker 1 15:46

And then, moving on to Destin, this is a can't miss. It's not a super big restaurant, but it's a neat little place where you can go and have food prepared with love by someone who absolutely is passionate about plant-based living. Her name is Amy. She owns this restaurant called Vibe Vegan Bistro. It is so delicious. Everything she makes is delicious. Everything there is vegan.

Speaker 1 16:19

Now, some of it is healthier than others, so you can look at it and see what would be best for me. I love the Cobb salad and I'm a big salad person, but when I go out I like to get something different. But I get that because it tastes that good. It is amazing what she uses and gets on there and the flavors in that salad. I just love it, Absolutely love it.

Speaker 1 16:40

Now the food can be a little bit saltier because Jared and I don't eat hardly any added salt anymore. It's a very minimal. We might add salt through a little miso or something like that, but we just don't sprinkle salt on food like we used to. So when we dine out, foods taste saltier than they used to taste to us. So we'll have things on the side. If there's a dressing on something, have it on the side. Say, please don't put any of the dressing. I also say don't add extra oil. So if there's a dish you're having, you can say on this dish if there's any point in making it where they pour oil onto it, please just ask them to hold the oil. I don't need it, my body doesn't tolerate it very well. You can say that I just can't eat oil. Whatever you want to say are large amounts of oil.

Speaker 2 17:30

And at these types of restaurants, they understand the health implications of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle, which many of us are doing it for that reason. So if you ask, hey, hold on this, they absolutely are going to want to do it because they believe in this way of eating, they believe in this way of living. Plus, they want to make you happy. So don't be afraid to ask Do it. We have yet to have a restaurant say no, we're not doing it. The only time that really ever happens is if maybe a dish is prepared ahead of time with a certain ingredient that they obviously then cannot extract.

Speaker 1 18:02

It makes so much sense. So we have had so many dishes there. Never have we had one single thing that was not good, and we've taken friends there that were not vegan, that were very skeptical, and they left with a huge smile on their face, going literally how did she do that? That's how good of a chef Amy is. So you've got to meet her. You've got to go in there. She always wants to meet you if she's not too busy or doesn't have a meeting or something, because I'm telling you she runs the full kitchen, I think, pretty much on her own in that restaurant, and it will blow your mind what she is going to put on the table in front of you. We absolutely love the taste of the food there Steak burritos what did you get?

Speaker 2 18:50

I had the buffalo chicken wrap, which there was no chicken in it, but it tasted just like buffalo chicken.

Speaker 1 18:53

A little hot sauce, a little blue cheese dressing, a little bit of the chicken with the buffalo sauce on it. I don't know what else. It had some greens in it. It was in this wrap.

Speaker 2 19:04

But I haven't had anything like that in the longest time, really honestly, since we've gone plant-based over five years ago. So I thought, well, I was assured, because when I saw all this stuff on the menu, I was questioning if it was like some of these other restaurants where maybe it's mostly plant-based with a little bit of animal-based product, but I was assured doing everything in the restaurant's completely vegan, completely plant-based. So I thought, okay, I'll give it a go. It was amazing, it was absolutely amazing, and it was the same flavors and all the stuff that I've enjoyed in the past, but now in a way that loves me back.

Speaker 1 19:38

I'm seriously envisioning our next date night. I'm on the verge of drooling over here. Seriously, the restaurant is that good. If you're in the Destin area, do not miss Vibe Vegan Bistro and I want you to think about some of the things we've talked about today the different meals that we've had, and start looking at the menus. Get inside our free group at powerandplantscom forward slash P-I-E that's forward slash pie and start searching dining out restaurant.

Speaker 1 20:09

You will not believe what all is going to come up and just spark even more ideas than you already gotten on this episode. But what Jared and I want for you today is to walk away with the hope that your life doesn't have to be different than it was before, except for the fact that it's going to be better when you start eating whole food, plant based, because things are going to taste as good or even better. You're going to feel better, your labs are going to be better, you're going to be spending less money and less time at the doctor's office and more money and more time doing the things you love, being able to live your God-given purpose, and you're going to find freedom and enjoyment in eating this way when you learn how to do it in the way that is simple, enjoyable and delicious, so that, therefore, it is sustainable. It will last. There's no more falling off the wagon or feeling bad because I didn't do it right. You're going to learn how to do this in the way that lights you up.

Discovering New Favorite Dining Spots

Speaker 2 21:04

One other point I want to make with the last example with Vibe. They're actually fairly new Now. She has been here before with other restaurants, but Vibe Vegan Bistro has just opened up recently. So if it's been a little while, don't assume that whatever was there is still there now or that's all that's there. Look, get on the internet and do a quick search, just see is there something new? Because you may have a new favorite that's just opened up and you don't want to discover it two years from now. You don't want to go in and they say, oh yeah, we've been here for two years and you could have been enjoying it that whole time periodically. Look see just explore.

Speaker 1 21:41

We have loved hanging out with you again on this episode of power and plants podcast. Remember to meet us inside of pie and get your search on to find your new favorite dining out tips so that you can go out and start exploring and enjoying any restaurant in your area, find your new favorites and learn how to get back out there and have those relationships, those business meetings and all those things, while you don't have to sit there and count calories and keep up with portions and count grams and macros and all those crazy things that you were never born to have to do. We want you to enjoy life, and enjoy it abundantly. Have a great week, sunshine, and we'll see you again soon. Thank you.