What should I have in my apartment for a vegan to snack on?!
Answers: A girl I've been dating long distance is coming to visit me for the first time. She is a vegan, and I have no idea what to have in the house for her to snack on if she gets hungry. I don't want to ask her, because I want her to know I did a little research. We will be eating out mostly, but I would love ideas on something quick and easy to have as a snack.
I know you don't want to ask her, but it would be helpful to know what kinds of things she likes. There are lots of vegan friendly snacks like plain potato chips (and some flavors of some brands,) veggie booty, plain tortilla chips with salsa or guacamole, nuts, that kind of thing. But maybe she doesn't really like junk food? Or isn't into salty snacks? Maybe you could ask her a few general questions about what she likes to snack on, like salty vs. sweet or healthy vs. not-so-healthy, and take it from there.
Here are some ideas, though:
Pita bread and carrot sticks with hummus
Chips with salsa and guacamole
Fruit
Lara bars
Pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
Quality milk-free dark chocolate
Dairy free ice cream (Purely Decadent is sooo good)
Fruit leather
Veggie Booty (or if you want really greasy junk food, Tings)
Seitan jerky (you might have to order online)
Check out a couple of online vegan groceries like Vegan Essentials and Food Fight to see what they have.
Fresh veggies, pitas and hummus. Saute pitas in a small amount of olive oil on both sides until lightly browned, then cut into about 12 triangles (like pizza) and serve all together. It'll look like you put a lot of thought into it.
Go to a wholefood/healthfood shop and ask them for a few vegan snacks like granola bars or cookies. If you want to show her you really care you could even bake her some vegan cookies (message me if you want some advice)... that would be just about the sweetest thing you could do for her and it would take less than an hour.
Alternatively just go to a supermarket and search a bit for some vegan essentials. You can get dairy free spread in place of butter. Check the ingredients of bread and get her a loaf thats vegan (a lot of them are anyway). Get some salads, tinned soup, veggies, hoummus (check ingredients, they should be ok) maybe even some vegan cheese. If she sees that you bought her a few things that she can make a few things like toast, sandwiches and salads then she'd really appreciate it.
The best thing would probably be to go to a shop and just search through things and check the ingredients. If she saw that you actually took the time to get her things then that would probably make her really happy. In fact just asking on here is a great start and I think it's sweet you're being so open and supportive :o)
Oh and get some dairy free milk as well like soya or rice milk.
Fresh organic fruit, nuts, pretzels, hummas for dipping, organic veggies like carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes. Organic granola, and a box of soy or rice milk in the fridge.
i love vegetable thins
Honestly, vegans just want food that doesn't include meat or dairy. Get friendly with your produce department - here's a few non-expensive things to get for her to munch (and things you might not mind, either):
Salad fixins - lettuce, spinch, carrots, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, cauliflour, bean sprouts, etc. You can get some shredded cheese, ranch, and some chopped meat like chicken or ham for yourself, so she doesn't feel like she's making you uncomfortable. It should seem like she simply doesn't like meat or dairy, just like some people don't like spinach or asparagus! :o) Don't make her think you're getting stuff you wouldn't eat yourself. Get her some non-dairy salad dressing, like italian, balsamic vinagrette, etc.
Fruit makes great desserts, not to mention a great centerpiece for your coffee table or dining room table, or even kitchen countertop. Pick up some common fruits like apples, oranges, plums, pears, grapes, bananas, etc. Put it in a nice decorative bowl, spilling over a bit, and have a few pieces hugging the outside of the bowl. Just remember - apples and oranges seem to keep longer than the other stuff, so eat the other stuff faster, lol.
The whole time you're shopping, though - just remember that anything she DOESN'T eat.... YOU will have to, after she leaves. If you don't want to seem too nosey, just ask her what her favorite snack food is. Don't feel bad about eating meat while she's there - she shouldn't be uncomfortable about that, although if you want to shift your eating habits and eat more veggies/fruits than you usually do, well, that does a body good!
Just don't try to eliminate protein from your diet completely. It can really tear your system up, because your body honestly needs it. Vegans have to take supplements to prevent getting weak and sick, I hear. Still, reducing the amount of meat/dairy your body consumes will do you good, considering the amount of meat most people eat anyhow, lol.
apples, oranges, grapes, celery
how about buying different types of fruits.
granola bars. yogurt. vegetables.
stuff like that.
margarine (not butter)
bakery breads (w/o eggs-- no Challah)
all fruits, veggies
hummus for dipping veggies into
PNB & Jelly/Jam (no honey)
potato chips, pretzels, roasted/salted nuts
Bake her some vegan cupcakes! Thatll be sure to impress!
:-)
Btw - I definitley think you can ask her questions, she will expect you to be interested
I would ask her--it's part of doing research, isn't it? Pretzels are good, but check the ingredients (Newman's Own has vegan pretzels), chips and salsa, veggies and hummus, crackers--all are good. Newman O's--they're like Oreos, but with less crap--are vegan. Alternative Baking Company makes big-@$$ vegan cookies that are decent. Clif makes several types of vegan bars--Clif Bars, Luna Bars, Nectar Bars are all vegan. Get fruit--apples and oranges, organic grapes. Ah-Laska makes a vegan chocolate syrup. I agree that Soy Delicious Purely Decadent is an awesome vegan ice cream.
For breakfast, it's pretty simple. You can get packets of instant oatmeal. There are vegan cereals out there (check the ingredients; Nature's Path makes vegan varieties) that you can give her with soy milk.
But do go to one of the vegan websites--Vegan Essentials (www.veganessentials.com), Pangea (www.veganstore.com), Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe (www.cosmosveganshoppe.com), and Different Daisy (www.vegangoods.com) will all have vegan goodies you can get for your girlfriend. I've never shopped from them, but Food Fight Grocery has some pretty neat stuff.
If she has a super sweet tooth, get the Sweet & Sara S'mores. They are to die for.
Hi Marcus,
How wonderful that you are working to accommodate your girlfriend!
Peta has a page called "I Can't Believe It's Vegan" which should help you in the grocery store. They've got a whole list of things vegans can eat... some of which might even surprise your GF. Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/
Good luck!
Nuts are a good bet (as long as she doesn't have a nut allergy!)
Hummus and wheat crackers (Kashi) or pita bread is also a great snack.
Personally, I love just eating fresh fruit and veggies for snacks.
There are plenty of foods that a vegan can eat:
http://www.peta2.com/STUFF/s-accvegan.as...
Just ensure that they are not in any contact with meat, fish, eggs or dairy. It is wounderful that you want to be interested in her lifestyle choice. Here are some links about the vegan lifestyle:
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm
http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czec...
http://www.ivu.org/congress/thai99/texts...
Here are some recepie sites you can use:
http://vegweb.com/
http://www.simpleveganrecipes.co.uk/
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/
If you really want to impress her, you would empty your fridge of any animal cruelty foods and fill it with vegan alternatives, atleast for the first week she is there.
She will enjoy nothing more than the wholesome goodness of some freshly peeled carrots.
some freshly peeled carrots aer good.