Hi Katie,
“Psychosomatic Guilt” — I’ll have to remember that one, I’ve definitely experienced it before. Yes, we felt badly about the egg, and it tainted our meal a bit. (Because we thought about the chickens involved.) But I’d rather eat the egg than throw it away uneaten.

Hi Kristin,
Thanks. That’s exactly what we’re striving for. There’s no use condemning people for trying and slipping up occasionally.

Hi Sue,
We weren’t concerned about the egg not agreeing with us (after all, we were eating eggs as little as a year ago, and for many years), but the guilt was another story. It’s not like we really really wanted these eggs and decided to step off the path for a meal. We made a mistake and were faced with the choice of eating the eggs, or “wasting” them.

Hi Kate,
Yes, we definitely learned from that one! Hopefully we’ll remember!

Hi Lee,
It’s funny how omni’s perceive veg*ism. “Yes, but do you eat fish?” is one of my all time favorites. Not that my diet should be anyone else’s concern. But if someone is buying /preparing food for me, I’d like to have a sense of confidence that what I’m eating is something I would actually choose to eat.
If we’d had an omni or vegetarian with us, we most certainly would have left those dishes to them and ordered a new entree for ourselves.

Hi Jaime,
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, we all have to decide for ourselves where our lines are drawn.

Hi Lindsey,
Jane’s take exactly. It’s better to eat the “offending” food item than to throw it away. We believe it’s the cumulative impact you make. One meal, one snack, one item isn’t the end of the world. However, it can get you started down a slippery slope….

Hi Shannon,
Interesting… are you transitioning to veganism? Or do you like your diet as is. Jane used to have a raw vegetable day one day/week for a few years (long before I met her). Yes, we had a d’oh moment there!

Hi Kim,
Yes, I forgot to mention that (fish sauce and stocks) It is a huge leap of faith to go to a non-vegan restaurant and assume you’re getting a vegan meal, but we have to take that risk since we’re not cooking every meal here. I’m most comfortable in Akbar, our local Indian restaurant.

Hi Sparrow,
That’s awful (or is it actually a good thing?). We haven’t reached that point yet. Maybe because we’d eaten that way for 40 years. I’ll be curious to see how my body reacts to pizza the next time I have some. I understand a lot of people have trouble eating cheese after they’ve been away from it for awhile.
Yes, it is Russian Roulette. That’s part of why I’m loathe to condemn people for stepping off the path. We may be doing it more often than we know!

Hi Kristin,
Looking for Coopers… Must try Coopers. Seriously though, thanks for the recommendation.

Hi Kate,
When Jane drinks beer, that’s her preference. With a sliver of lime in the bottle. I tend to prefer the lagers.

Hi Jaxin,
We asked, because we’re curious what other’s do! We might have returned the dish up front if we’d noticed the egg, but it wasn’t visible immediately. We only noticed after eating almost half the dish. To return it at that point seemed rude to us. Also, health code here wouldn’t permit the restaurant to reuse any food from a customers table. They’re supposed to throw away untouched rolls, or butter (not the individually wrapped pats) if it’s been served to you. It bothered us to know what we were eating. We justified it to ourselves because we didn’t try to sneak it onto our plates. So rather than throw it away, we figured it was better to eat it.

Hi QuarryGirl,
Uh Oh. Chicken stock in rice? I’ve never thought to ask about that. You’ve illustrated my point perfectly. It’s probably not only the Mexican restaurants…. Jane’s telling me that a lot of cookbooks recommend cooking rice in stock or wine to give it an added flavor. Argh!

I would have just asked politely if it could be taken back and remade. I’ll pay if need be. And if at all possible I try to make sure it doesn’t get tossed.

(Passing no judgement, just stating what I would do. )

My body has changed since going low-fat strict vegetarian and eggs make me sick. Dairy makes me sick. And high fat foods make me sick. My body doesn’t want them anymore and won’t hesitate to let me know by making me miserable.

I tried a veggie burger, no cheese, no dressing at a restaurant with very few food options and it made me sick. I know it wasn’t the fat content because I can handle Boca vegan Originals at home. The next time someone dragged me to the restaurant (this is a small town and everyone wants to go to that restaurant) I asked what brand veggie burger they were using and it turned out to be one with dairy.

I never would have imagined that the tiny amount of dairy that goes in a veggie burger would be enough to make me sick, but I was feeling pretty bad after eating that veggie burger and I don’t think it was psychosomatic because I honestly thought it was a vegan burger when I ate it.

I ended up ordering one of their salads – hold this, hold that, hold this – and paying $8 for some lettuce and dried cranberries with vinegar.

I just really don’t much like eating out any more. It’s like playing Russian Roulette with my gut. And even though I can find something vegan anywhere, it’s usually not something I’m terribly excited to eat.

Sizzler is an exception. I love their salad bar with a passion. But no one ever wants to go there because “it’s too expensive.” (Sure, if you’re getting steak.) It’s the only place in town where I can go to eat and really feel happy about the food and not leave starving.

FYI with Thai, and all Asian cuisine, you need to specify that you want no chicken or beef broth/stock, fish sauce or shrimp paste. They might consider a soup “vegetarian” with chicken stock, for instance. I’ve had that happen…

Since I’m only eating a Vegan diet 1 or 2 days in a week (Vegetarian 3 days a week) I often find myself making these mistakes when I forget that I’m on a Vegan day, and usually turn it into a Veggie day if I can. However, when you’ve made the full lifestyle choice, I can imagine you’re amazed you forgot but dairy & eggs hide in so many foods its amazing.

I thought the comments above were quite interesting — It really bothers me when perfectly good food ends up uneaten. I have this thing where I feel like when you buy something, you’re basically making a promise that you’ll eat it and if you don’t, it’s just a waste. So, I think you totally did the right thing and haven’t sacrificed or compromised your beliefs in any way.

Thanks for linking this on twitter! Great read!

Shannon B.
Community Manager
Zeer.com