Dr. G vs Weekend Food Temptations

Finally, it is the weekend!  Are you planning to order take out and watch a movie Friday night? Or go out to breakfast Sunday morning?  Go ahead, you deserve it!! I bet you are worried about how you are going to find plant based foods while you treat yourself this weekend.  Stop worrying.  Dr. G is here to help.  I battled some of the toughest weekend food temptations taking pictures the whole way and (spoiler alert) came out victorious.

The food temptation gauntlet:

Friday night:  Chinese Takeout

Vegetable chow mein
Broccoli with ginger garlic sauce
Vegetable egg rolls with taro and shiitake mushrooms
1 chicken wing, not pictured (had to try one...what? Stop judging me!)

On the menu there was also vege fried rice, lo mein, dumplings, hot and sour soup, and almost every main dish was offered with a tofu option instead of meat.

When ordering take out take a look at the whole menu.  You don't have to limit yourself to the vegetarian section.  You will be surprised at how many plant based options you will find scattered throughout the whole menu.  Don't fear the takeout menu.

 Dr. G: 3  Animal foods: 1

Saturday:  Food Truck Festival 

There were 18 food trucks at this festival, 2 of which boasted vegan options and 3 more claiming to be vegetarian friendly.  BUT, I found plant based options at most of them...definitely not at the Bacon Truck though.  I found plantains, vegetable curries and stews, grilled vegetable skewers, funky salads, egg rolls, rice and bean burgers, lots of tofu options, and more.  It was not even a challenge to find amazing animal free foods at the food truck festival.

 I ate a:
Soba noodle salad with tofu from Bon Me
Falafel pita pocket with hummus and loaded with veges underneath from Mediterranean Home Cuisine
Vegan ice cream sandwich from Frozen Hoagies

To be clear vegan ice cream does not equal healthy ice cream, but I was excited that this food truck offered 3 vegan ice cream flavors. It was delicious by the way.

Dr. G: 3  Animal foods: 0


Medusa Brewing Company

Beer is made from plants, right?  Please drink responsibly.

Dr. G: 4 Animal foods: 0

Sunday:  Out to Breakfast

We intentionally chose a place that is not known for plant-based options.  I found 2 items that were plant-based on the menu as is; house-made granola and oatmeal with berries.  But I wanted a true Sunday morning breakfast.

Sorry about the reddish hue, the umbrella was red above me, as seen in the reflection in my spoon

I ordered a South of the Border Breakfast Burrito and asked if the eggs could be substituted for hashbrowns and more veges.  The server said, "No problem" and she was right, it came out amazing.  They threw in some extra salsa instead of cheese and sour cream too.   As long as your substitutions are not ridiculous and not increasing the cost of the meal most places are willing to make plant-based substitutions, just ask...nicely :)

Dr. G: 1 Animal foods: 0


This adventure was to demonstrate that you can eat out and order in and still eat plants with little to no sacrifice and minimal effort.  No more excuses!  Go out this weekend and conquer your food weekend food temptations!

Final score:
Dr.G: 11 Animal foods: 1

I won!!! It was easy.  Give me a real challenge next time.


Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G