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Why Every Restaurant Should be Offering Vegan Options to the Pittsburgh Vegan Community in 2024

Why Every Restaurant Should be Offering Vegan Options in 2024

Being a vegan nutritionist in Pittsburgh, I’m on a mission to help Pittsburgh become one of the most vegan-friendly cities in America.  After 12 years of being vegan, I have learned that silence doesn’t change a thing. When I started to speak up, and let people know that I would like a vegan option, I am frequently greeted with gratitude for sharing my feedback and a willingness to accommodate. Many people don’t even realize they are not inclusive of vegans, until they meet one who says something. I find that if we simply ask for something vegan, we are much more likely to get a vegan option added to the menu.

My Initiative as a Vegan Nutritionist in Pittsburgh

After years and years of feeling limited in my options when dining out, I finally decided to take action. My mission in 2024 is to speak up on behalf of the vegan community, and ask for more restaurants to offer vegan options. Not only do vegans wish that they could dine at more restaurants, but we all want to feel welcome and understood when we dine out. It is far too common that vegans find animal products in their food at restaurants, and mislabeling menu items as vegan is a constant issue I come across.

If you are a restaurant owner who wants to offer something vegan, it is important to know the basics. Vegans don't eat any animal-based ingredients including beef, pork, fish, fish sauce, chicken, eggs, cow's milk, butter, cheese, cream, yogurt, gelatin, bone broth, chicken broth, nor any other meat or dairy products. Many vegans also avoid byproducts of insects, including shellac, honey, confectioner's glaze, and cochineal extract. If you are uncertain if an ingredient is vegan, just ask me or check out vrg.org/ingredients to find out.

What Do Vegans in Pittsburgh Eat?

It might sound restrictive, but vegans have a much longer list of foods they DO eat vs foods they don't. In general, the food groups that we can eat include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Vegans also can eat foods derived from plant-based ingredients, that can look and taste very similar to non-vegan foods, including burgers, pizzas, tacos, and pastries. For some inspiration, check out what other restaurants are offering and try some vegan recipes!

To be honest, going vegan and transitioning from the standard American diet is not an easy feat, so I understand the confusion. It takes knowledge, trial and error, commitment, time and compassion to fully understand the ins and outs of being vegan. A vegan diet may sound restrictive to someone who is unfamiliar, but grocery stores have everything we need to nourish our bodies.

The biggest struggle for vegans today, is finding restaurants whose staff is knowledgeable about our dietary needs and willing to accommodate us.  It’s a lot of work to have to prep every meal from scratch, and just like everyone else, vegans like to dine out, too! However, most restaurants fail to understand what we eat when creating a menu. There could be many reasons for this, such as a lack of knowledge, a lack of interest, and even a lack of demand.

The Demand for Vegan Menus is On the Rise

When vegans in Pittsburgh are not asking for vegan menus and when they don’t know which restaurants offer vegan options, then the demand appears to be low.  The truth is, creating demand for vegan options will take more effort from the Pittsburgh vegan community and marketing a new vegan menu item will take more effort from Pittsburgh restaurants. Unfortunately, when restaurants offer something vegan but don’t clearly label it on the menu, most vegans don’t buy it.

We really want to support your restaurant, but we also want to dine in with confidence and absolute certainty that what we are getting is, in fact, vegan. Believe it or not, we don’t enjoy asking a million questions, but when the menu isn't labeled properly, we tend to find cheese or meat in our food. That is why we have the obligatory annoying vegan question, of “Is this vegan?” Trust me, it’s equally annoying for us to feel we must ask!

Plus, it can take time for a vegan meal to become popular, so be patient and wait for word to get around. If you’re a Pittsburgh restaurant, you should be talking about your newest vegan option before it becomes available, to increase the hype in our vegan community. In fact, many vegans wait to hear feedback and read reviews from the brave souls who test it out first. I say brave because not every vegan dish is a winner.

Why 2024 is the year to Go Vegan

In today’s day and age, with the increased demand for vegan meats and dairy-free milks, and the rise of flexitarian diets, it’s honestly concerning that so many places still haven’t caught up with the times. I can’t express enough how important it is for Pittsburgh restaurants to offer vegan options in 2024!

If you’re vegan too, please stand with me and speak up for what you want. Restaurant owners need to know that we are here and that we want their menu to be inclusive of our dietary needs. If you’re a restaurant in Pittsburgh, please consider being more vegan-friendly, so that we can add you to the HappyCow directory to increase your visibility to the vegan community and beyond. Let’s all work together to make Pittsburgh the most vegan-friendly city in the U.S.!

My first Petition for Nationwide Vegan Options

While my main focus is in Pittsburgh, some of the chains that exist here in Pittsburgh are also available nationwide. One of those restaurants, Dave and Busters, is a perfect example of a chain that I'd like to see become vegan-friendly around the U.S. I started a petition on March 3rd 2024 for this to happen. Please sign the petition here and share it on social media to help us bring more attention to this matter.

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Vegan nutritionist in Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Vegan Restaurant Outreach
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4 Ways Plant-Based Foods Can Boost Your Health and Happiness

4 Ways Plant-Based Nutrition Can Boost Your Health and Happiness

Written by Jennifer McGregor

You are what you eat. The more we learn about food and the connection between nutrition and overall health, the more we realize the truth in this old saying. We also start to realize the serious benefits that can be had by putting more plant-based foods into our bodies. Still not convinced that a plant-based diet is right for you? Here are some plant-based diets facts that just may change your mind and eventually change your health for the better.

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Plant-Based Foods Can Keep Your Gut in Check

If you're serious about improving your health from head-to-toe, you should consider starting with your gut. That’s because recent research has found that your gut health influences so much of your physical and emotional health. When the healthy bacteria in your gut are happy, you’re more likely to feel happy too due to an increase in the production of serotonin. Not only that, but a healthy gut also helps your body with digestion, immunity, and a whole host of essential processes. Best of all, some of the gut-healthiest foods you can add to your diet for an added boost of probiotics are also plant-based. While you don’t want to pick dairy options from this list, you can get those probiotics by munching on miso, coconut kefir, and kombucha.

A Plant-Based Diet Can Reduce Your Risk for Disease

Eating more plant-based foods is not only good for your gut; it can be also good for your heart. Research has shown that trading processed and fatty foods for nutritiously dense plant-based options can cut your risk of heart disease by 10 percent or more. To maximize your cardiovascular benefits with these diet changes, you should still try to incorporate heart-healthy grains and plenty of veggies into your diet. Now, you may be thinking that reducing your risk of heart disease by 10 percent isn’t that big of a deal. With more than half of Americans being at risk and heart disease consistently counted as a leading cause of death in this country, even the smallest changes can make a major difference in your health and vitality.

Plant-Based Foods Can Help Fuel Your Fitness Routine

Okay, now you may be wondering how eating a plant-based diet will affect your workouts. It’s true that you need a well-rounded fitness plan to stay healthy and happy. This routine needs to be multifaceted to impact all aspects of your health, which means burning calories with cardio workouts while simultaneously building muscle mass with strength training. Most people tend to think you need to eat traditional sources of protein to attain this healthy exercise and fitness balance, but that’s simply not the case! Some of the most accomplished athletes in the world have used plant-based diets to fuel their success, which means you can definitely thrive and achieve your own health and wellness goals eating plant-based too!

A Plant-Based Diet Can Help Reduce Your Waistline

By now, you can see how easily plant-based eating habits can fit into your daily health habits. You can reduce your risk for heart disease, balance out your mood, and improve your fitness routine, all of which can also help you maintain a healthy weight. Why is a healthy weight important? Aside from looking and feeling better, you can also avoid health risks of obesity by incorporating these healthy habits into your daily life. These risks range from mental health issues, like depression, to debilitating physical health ailments, such as muscle atrophy. If weight loss is a primary goal for your health, you can use plant-based recipes to easily achieve it. Just be sure to read through some beginners tips so you can stay on track without stressing.

Some health and nutrition trends don’t live up to the hype; a plant-based diet, however, definitely is not one of them. You can drastically improve your emotional well-being, physical health and fitness, and overall quality of life by simply making some healthy swaps in your diet and basing those swaps around a plant-based diet. What do you have to lose by trying?

Get started with a holistic nutrition lesson to help with your weight loss and wellness goals today!

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Veg Out: Budget-Friendly Ways to Adopt a Plant-Based Diet

Veg Out: Budget-Friendly Ways to Adopt a Plant-Based Diet

written by Jason Lewis at Strongwell.org

Studies have shown the numerous health benefits of reducing meat consumption and eating more greens. Eating more plants, such as fruits and veggies, can reduce the risk of developing chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer. Because meat production contributes to the harmful effects of climate change, switching to a low-meat or meat-free diet is better for our environment, too.

That’s where a plant-based diet comes in. Plant-based diets, although sometimes confused with veganism and vegetarianism, are more flexible. Because there’s no ethical rules for what you must eat on a plant-based diet, many people like to think of it as more of a lifestyle than a diet. Plant-based diets let you can customize your lifestyle by handpicking what to eat based on your preferences and budget. Here are some tips for getting started without breaking the bank.

Less Meat, More Plants

Typically, a plant-based lifestyle involves mindfully eating more greens, like fruits and vegetables, and trying to limit your consumption of meat, eggs, dairy, gelatin, and other animal-based products. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to cut out everything at the same time. Instead, you might have better luck slowly avoiding one type of food at a time. For instance, start by eliminating foods you eat less frequently and add more from there.

Although you still do have the flexibility to eat many of your favorite foods, you might occasionally need to eliminate one of your faves, whether for health reasons or environmental reasons. For instance, milk, eggs, fish, and shellfish make up four of the eight leading food allergies. Luckily, there are plant-based alternatives for each of these products, including almond milk, egg and dairy substitutes, and even fishless seafood products.

Grocery Shopping

You might be surprised at the variety of plant-based products you can find in your local area, once you know where to look. Many stores have entire aisles devoted to plant-based or veg-friendly food choices. If you’re having trouble finding what you’re looking for, try a major retailer like Walmart or Target. These companies offer plenty of organic, healthful options. Start with the whole foods or organic aisle and ask an employee if you need help finding anything.

If you’re on a budget, you may not always be able to afford to purchase products from the organic, vegan, or whole foods aisles at the grocery store. Fortunately, the major retailers are also typically able to offer lower prices than smaller stores. That’s great news for your bank account! To save even more money, start by searching the web for Walmart promos and Target coupon codes before you shop.

Get Creative

A meat-free meal doesn’t have to be bland. Get creative with spices, seasonings, ingredients, and recipes. Dr. Michael Gregor, M.D., one of the leading plant-based nutrition authorities, says his daily meals include:

  • Green smoothies: parsley, mint, mango, strawberry, white tea, lemon, ginger, and flax
  • Breakfast: 8-grain cereal, toasted walnuts, seeds, dried fruit, barberries, and cinnamon
  • Lunch: eating leftovers from the day before saves time, effort, and money
  • Dinner: beans, green veggies, hot sauce, salad, and seasonings
  • Snack #1: bake purple sweet potato fries, then encrust with fresh rosemary, garlic, and chickpea flour
  • Snack #2: combine refried beans, salsa, hot sauce, sautéed onions, and mushrooms, then wrap with steamed collard greens.

The world is certainly seeing a shift toward eating plant-based foods. For the past several years, food manufacturers have been scrambling to meet the increased demand for low-meat, plant-based, and vegan or vegetarian dietary choices. If you think a plant-based diet might be in your future, it’s possible to make the switch without breaking the bank. Completely changing your lifestyle doesn’t have to be daunting or expensive. Take small steps, eliminating one food at a time, and look for coupons and sales when shopping. Over time, you might be surprised at how delicious plant-based foods are and how much better you feel when eating them.

Veg Out: Budget-Friendly Ways to Adopt a Plant-Based Diet was written by Jason Lewis, Personal Trainer at Strongwell.org.

If you are ready to adopt a plant-based diet, try a 14-day vegan challenge plan or get started with a Nutrition Evaluation!