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Burrito joints, burger palaces and pizza plazas. From afar each of these places wouldn’t appear to have anything on the menu that fits a vegan diet. But when you get down into the details of the menu you can see that it’s easy to be vegan and enjoy great food at any one of them.

The following vegan menus were updated in September of 2012. If nothing has changed since the last updates, some menus may still list the same items. When provided, the e-mail from each location has also been updated to help you make better decisions when dining out.

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Restaurants and fast food chains are always adapting their menus to meet consumer demand and cut costs. One example of this is the Noah Restaurant group, who recently removed l-cysteine from the majority of their bagel products. In this world of revolving menu items Vegan Eating Out keeps you up to date with the changes.

The following vegan menus were updated in August of 2012. If nothing has changed since the last updates, some menus may still list the same items. When provided, the e-mail from each location has also been updated to help you make better decisions when dining out.

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Finally a chance to relax. You happily sit down and open the menu to choose your meal. As you look over the options available your smile slowly sinks down into a frown. There’s nothing that you want here. But your friends are all excited about what they’re ordering. What are you going to eat?

Your biggest obstacle when in a situation like this is your emotions. It’s hard not to feel singled out and uncomfortable when you don’t see something you can eat on the menu. But don’t panic! More times than not there is a solution if you dig a little deeper and gain control over your thoughts.

First thing’s first. If there were no menu in front of you, what would you order? Knowing what you’re in the mood for is the foundation for getting what you want. If you aren’t in touch with your cravings then it will be hard to satisfy you no matter what choices are available.

Next, you have to stop imagining what is going to happen when you order. You can’t predict how the wait staff, chef or your friends will react to your requests. Don’t assume that everyone will look at you like you’re crazy and hate you for being difficult. Remember, for the majority of businesses the customer is always right. That’s because in order to get your money that have to please you. If you’re not having a pleasant experience then they’re doing something wrong.

Get over notions that you are being selfish or that the restaurant should have already provided something on the menu for you. Both of these thoughts come from your ego trying to protect itself. But what are you protecting yourself from? If your thoughts are keeping you from getting what you want then you’re only hurting yourself.

You can’t blame your insecurity on other people for criticizing your lifestyle. That’s their problem. If you find yourself surrounded by judgmental people you may have to look for more supportive friends and acquaintances. If you’ve had negative experiences in the past, just remind yourself that today is a different day. Focus on changing those negative experiences into positive ones by exercising your control over the situation.

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Okay, now take a deep breath. Before your server comes take a good look over the menu. Look for ingredients that you like to eat. Maybe you love broccoli. You could be in the mood for rice. Whatever you want, begin making a mental picture of it so that you’re prepared.

Here’s the part you probably think is hard. It’s not. Tell your server that you would like something custom made. If you want to be cautious you can mention your diet. Then calmly tell them about the picture you in your head. If they can’t do something that you want, ask them what they can do. Ask for substitutes or suggestions but don’t get demanding. Remember, they are here to please you. There’s no need for the communication to be a struggle. If they don’t understand then break it down for them calmly.

And here’s the part that you probably never imagined. The server will walk away with everyone’s orders and bring back what you asked for. Your friends may make a comment or two. But those comments may not be what you’d think. They might say, “Oh, that sounds delicious. Maybe I’ll order that next time.” Or they may say nothing at all. That’s because most people aren’t really that concerned about what everyone else is having. They’re just waiting to get what they want.

And now, you can too.

For more ways to think differently about yourself and your diet check out How to Eat Out, Lose Weight and Stay Healthy. Keep reading the Vegan Eating Out blog for more tips on eating out on a healthy diet.

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You’ve been working out for weeks now but your body isn’t showing any signs of progress. Why bother working out at all? It’s frustrating. It just makes you want to give up. But there’s something you can do about it.

Have you been checking your heart rate? You may be surprised to learn that how fast your heart is pumping can have a dramatic bearing on the effectiveness of your workouts. That’s because the heart rate zone you’re exercising in determines the results of your workouts.

Your heart rate is measured in beats per minute. To measure your own you can buy a heart rate monitor or do it the old fashioned way. Place a finger with a small amount of pressure across your wrist or the side of your neck under the chin until you can feel the beat. Time yourself for 15 seconds and count how many times it beats. Multiply that number by four to get your BPM or Beats Per Minute (15 seconds x 4 = 60 seconds or 1 minute).

Your heart rate zones determine the effectiveness of your workout. To understand your heart rate zones you must know your maximum heart rate. A quick, but generalized way to do this is to subtract your age from 220. For example, if you are 20 years old your maximum heart rate would be 200 BPM (220 – 20 = 200). The heart rate zones are determined by percentages of your maximum heart rate.

Let’s continue with the example of the 20 year old with a maximum heart rate of 200 BPM. To reach the “Fat Burning” Zone they would have to be working out at over 60% of their max heart rate. If they wanted to make sure they were in this zone they would check their heart rate to make sure it was above 120 BPM (200 x .6 (60%) = 120 BPM). To reach the “Endurance” Zone their heart rate would have to be above 140 BPM (200 x .7 = 140). To get to the Anaerobic Zone it would have to be 160 BPM (200 x .8 = 160).

So what are the benefits for each zone? The “Fat Burning” Zone is a bit deceptive. Working out at this low-to-moderate intensity will burn more fat than the others, but it will burn less calories. This means it will take a longer time exercising to lose weight. If you are someone who a physician has ordered to work out at a low intensity this is the zone you will use to lose weight.

In the “Endurance” Zone you begin burning carbohydrates for fuel along with fat. You will burn more calories than you would in the “Fat Burning” Zone. As an added bonus, your circulatory system will improve in this zone. That’s because your heart and lungs become more efficient the more that you exercise in the “Endurance” Zone.

The Anaerobic Zone is the pick of the litter. It’s named this way because when you are in it your body is no longer able to use oxygen to help it create energy. This makes it difficult to reach and more difficult to keep performing within it. In fact, your body can only exercise in this zone for about two minutes before it jumps back down to the “Endurance” Zone.

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It’s worth climbing back into the Anaerobic Zone as much as you can when you work out. To begin with, it burns the most calories out of the three zones in the least amount of time. But the magic unlocks at this level. That’s because in the Anaerobic Zone you will build lean muscle mass. Lean muscle will increase your metabolism, making your body burn more calories when you aren’t working out. Enough anaerobic exercise will turn your body into a calorie burning machine! Exercising in the Anaerobic Zone can also improve your joints, increase your energy, lower your blood sugar, make you stronger and decrease the soreness you feel after exercising. Awesome!

You may be wondering about what lies beyond 90% of your max heart rate. This is called your VO2Max Zone. It increases your body’s ability to use oxygen. But only professional athletes will need to worry about it. For the rest of us the Anaerobic Zone will show great improvements.

Your workouts no longer have to be in vain! Calculate your maximum heart rate and make a chart of your zones. While you’re working out check to see which zone you fall into. Pick a target zone that matches your goals and try to stay in it as much as you can. Keep it up for a few weeks and you’ll see results. You’ll never have to be frustrated again!

To learn more about how to reach your target zone and get the body of your dreams check out How to Eat Out, Lose Weight and Stay Healthy. For more tips on exercise and healthy eating keep reading the Vegan Eating Out blog.

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You’ve seen them on nutrition labels. You probably learned about them in school at one point or another. Health nuts talk about them. They’re like celebrities of the diet world. Only, they’d be the stars you find in the tabloids every week. That’s because they’ve got a bad reptuation. But what’s bad about carbohydrates and sugar?

Sugar is one hot mama when it comes to your taste buds. Just mentioning it may have gotten you dreaming of something you know isn’t far from reach in your kitchen (maybe cherries?). Resist your urges! I’ll tell you why.

Sugar, like all food, is a form of energy. It’s actually a carbohydrate. But it’s a special one called a monosaccharide, the simplest form of a carbohydrate. As a monosaccharide it will pass through your intestine and enter your bloodstream quickly. In the bloodstream your body will convert it into energy. The problem here is how fast sugar is transformed. If your body isn’t using the energy from sugar (as in exercise) your body will hold onto whatever is leftover. Where does it wind up? Typically, as fat. This isn’t always an issue, but it can become one when your body has too much fat.

So if sugars are carbohydrates, what are we talking about when we usually think of carbs? Carbs are found in almost all foods. Foods made with grains like wheat, rice and barley have the most carbs. These foods contain carbohydrates known as polysaccharides or starches. Polysaccharides take longer to break down than monosaccharides. This allows your body to create energy from them over a longer period of time. By spreading the energy out this way your body has more time to use it up. This means it’s less likely to be turned into fat.

But not all carbs are made equal. Although they are better for your body than sugar, they can still make a significant contribution to gaining weight. The worst are refined carbohydrates. These are found in white grains, white flour and white rice. These foods are made by removing the outer husk or hull from the plants they are made from.

When that outer portion is kept in your food you get whole grains, whole-wheat flour and brown rice. They all have a significant advantage over refined carbs. The husk or hull contains a large amount of fiber. Fiber can’t be broken down into energy in your body. Because it can’t, the rest of the food eaten with it takes longer to convert into energy. This gives your body plenty of time to use up the energy your food provides.

If carbohydrates and sugar were famous people then sugar would be all over the front page of trashy magazines. It’s always getting into trouble and if you hang around with it you will too. Now and then you might see a cover story on the love affair between white bread and white rice. But one carbohydrate that will always be cool to be seen with is a whole grain. Always classy and never one to ruin your day, a whole grain has your best interests at heart.

For a more in depth look at how carbohydrates and sugar interact with your body check out How to Eat Out, Lose Weight and Stay Healthy. Keep reading the Vegan Eating Out blog for more healthy nutritional tips.

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As a supplement to my new ebook, How to Eat Out, Lose Weight and Stay Healthy, I will be posting entries related to food, fitness and health. I hope the visitors to Vegan Eating Out will find that this information helps them make better choices about what to eat.

Fat is something we all joke about because it’s a common insecurity. Whether your butt won’t fit into those killer jeans you saw at the store or your belly is beginning to poke out of the bottom of your shirt, it’s easier for our self esteem if we just laugh it off. But fat can be a serious health issue. Too much of it and you may find yourself struggling with an assortment of complications. Arthritis, asthma, sleep apena, high blood pressure and diabetes are just a handful of the many ailments that having too much fat can bring. This is no laughing matter.

Even though we typically think of it as a nuisance, fat does have a purpose in our body. Fat acts as a reserve of energy for those times that we don’t have access to food. It also keeps the internal organs protected and warm. Fat actually plays many important roles from producing hormones to helping your immune system function.

So when does fat become a problem? To know the answer we first have to fix our misconceptions about what fat is. Fat in your body is not the same as the fat on a nutritional label. The fat in your body can be made from anything containing calories. That means dietary fat can become body fat, of course. But body fat is also created after eating carbohydrates, protein and sugar. Simply put, eating just about anything can lead to you gaining fat.

It’s when you overeat that your body fat becomes the cause of malaise. Your body uses up a certain amount of energy each day so that you can function. You know this burning of energy as your metabolism. When you eat food your body changes the calories in it into energy. If the food you’re consuming produces more energy than your metabolism will burn, you’re overeating. The United States FDA recommends that the average person should eat 2,000 calories per day.

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So you’re aware that you might indulge yourself now and then and gain some weight. But how do you know if you’ll be stuck with a health issue because of it? A simple way to check is to look up your Body Mass Index (BMI). Taking into consideration your height and weight, a BMI chart will give you a general idea of how healthy your level of fat is. The U.S. Department of Health Services has a handy BMI calculator that gives you your results instantly. If your BMI indicates that you are overweight or obese it’s possible that you will have health problems unless you lose some weight.

Having a little jiggle to your body might make you and your loved ones giggle. It may not be something you’ll ever need to worry about. But until you know your BMI and understand the health risks associated with being overweight you shouldn’t take it lightly. Having too much fat causes too many serious health conditions to ignore.

Want more information on how works and how to get rid? Check out How to Eat Out, Lose Weight and Stay Healthy. For more diet, health and fitness tips keep reading the Vegan Eating Out blog.

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In the restaurant business menus are always changing to meet consumer demands. The more you go out to eat and choose vegan meals the more vegan dishes will be served. In order to give you the most up-to-date information Vegan Eating Out posts these monthly updates.

The following vegan menus were updated in July of 2012. If nothing has changed since the last updates, some menus may still list the same items. When provided, the e-mail from each location has also been updated to help you make better decisions when dining out.

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This month in addition to the usual updates, Vegan Eating Out got a new look! With a cleaner design, it’s now easier than ever to find the vegan choices you want at the places you love to eat.

The following vegan menus were updated in June of 2012. If nothing has changed since the last updates, some menus may still list the same items. When provided, the e-mail from each location has also been updated to help you make better decisions when dining out.

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As more and more restaurants and fast food chains open up do the idea of a vegan consumer group, their menus and customer service reflect that change. Vegan Eating Out helps bring you new ideas for your next meal.

The following vegan menus were updated in May of 2012. If nothing has changed since the last updates, some menus may still list the same items. When provided, the e-mail from each location has also been updated to help you make better decisions when dining out.

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In the world of fast food chains and restaurants, menus are always changing. The menus at Vegan Eating Out are continually updated so that you can be sure you are getting current menu information.

The following vegan menus were updated in April of 2012. If nothing has changed since the last updates, some menus may still list the same items. When provided, the e-mail from each location has also been updated to help you make better decisions when dining out.

identifies an eating establishment that serves 100% vegan food.