When you’re considering going out to dinner with a group and/or taking a trip, do you: 1) not even think about the food or 2) immediately launch into research mode so you know what you’re going to eat before you even arrive?

Me? I do #2.

There are several memes about plant-based eaters themed around how we memorize entire restaurant menus before we arrive.

Two of the most common questions I get are about eating at restaurants and eating while traveling.

I had a 100% travel job for 6 years after becoming a vegan (and 14 years as a vegetarian). So for breakfast, lunch and dinner I was always on the road and eating in restaurants, mostly not selected by me.

Luckily, since I adopted this lifestyle, the U.S. has become much more vegan-knowledgeable and hardly anyone tries to offer me fish or fettuccine alfredo anymore when I say I’m vegan.

The memes are true, when I’m going to a restaurant, I always look at the menu in advance so I have a plan.

If I’m going to a place that doesn’t have a plant-based main course available, here is my trick: I look at the menu as if everything on that menu is available for me to use to create an entree.

They serve broccoli with the steak, then there’s broccoli in the kitchen.

They have pasta with zucchini, peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes among the meat and dairy ingredients. Lots of veggies to choose from.

There are salads too!

I look at every single food item on the menu as if it can be used to create a dish I want to eat, and then I ask for it to be made.

And I ask very nicely, with humbleness and a smile. I also express great appreciation when my request is accommodated and leave a large tip.

I hold myself singularly responsible for not perpetuating the myth that vegans are a pain in the rear by both being grateful for the help of the restaurant staff and compensating them extra for their efforts.

I’ve also been known to have a container of tofu in my handbag that I add to my plate.

That method of planning ahead and ordering what I want at restaurants works in your hometown and on the road.

When I’m traveling, I almost never stay at a place that doesn’t have a kitchen. When I can prepare my own food and take it with me, life is easy!

As Berk was planning this trip that we’re on right now, where we’re moving from place to place quite a bit, he made sure that we’re always sleeping in a place with a kitchen so we can go to the grocery store and each get what we want to eat.

Every single morning I’ve had oatmeal with strawberries, blueberries, banana and nut butter which is very close to what I eat for breakfast at home and it’s been perfect!

I also travel with food so if I land someplace in the evening, I have what I need for the next day already.

If you haven’t heard of it, there’s an amazing app called Happy Cow. I use it all the time around Colorado, North America and Europe.

Happy Cow is like Yelp for vegan, vegetarian and omnivore restaurants that provide a selection of vegan and vegetarian options.

It has ratings and reviews and links to websites and a map and all the features you want to help you find a veggie-friendly restaurant.

To me, it’s indispensable!

Lastly, (and this could be my most important tip) sometimes it’s just impossible to eat as healthy as you want to. That’s ok! Don’t lose sleep over it. The damage you do when you beat yourself up over something you ate is worse than whatever happens to your body from the food.

One of the biggest components of a thriving life is letting things go.

Move on with your day, there’s always another meal!