Many people laugh and joke when they find out what I can eat, sometimes they continue this throughout the time they know me and whenever they see me eat. Or even when food is brought up, they joke about me only being able to eat grass, "better get the grass out for Becki" and so on. Now I am not one of those people who will not laugh along with you, I am not saying that you can't have a joke because well laughter is the light of life. However, when you repeat the jokes over and over again, notice I'm no longer laughing, after all my diet isn't really all that funny and I believe that I speak for Vegans everywhere, quite frankly it's boring after you've heard it the first 50 times.
Before I begin I apologise to all my fellow vegans, I may add a little fuel to the fire that vegans only eat lettuce, but for me a simple or complex salad is still one of my favourite things to have for lunch. I find when I haven't had one for a while that I really crave the freshness that you can only gain from a salad, so yes, I do eat my fair share of salads.
Now, if you want salad, I'll give you salad. Every delightful bit of salad I have ever had, alas sometimes it is the only item on the menu I can have so if I didn't like it I'd pretty much be screwed!
From the crazy size of American Salads when I was away in 2016 on a road trip from Key West up the West coast of Florida up to Orlando, of course this was always going to mean a salad of some sort for more dinners than usual.
My three US favourites pictured above, first a Tofu Salad from The Cafe in Key West, with an entire block of Tofu on a salad the size of two of my heads. The second from one of my favourite buffet places, Sweet Tomatoes, they have a huge salad bar and then hot bar with other foods such as Baked Sweet Potatoes, for one price you can eat as much as you like. The third was from The Cheesecake Factory, well known for their cheesecakes of course, but also a great place to go for a meal, they certainly give you enough food and a great combination of ingredients too!
Back to the UK restaurants and high street cafes, where some places I must have salad and in others I just like their salad option better than anything else on the menu.
My three UK favourites pictured above, the first is more of an exotic salad from Las Iguanas, packed full of flavour and one of my favourite Vegetables/Fruit, Avocado. The second is from Nando's, not somewhere you would usually see a Vegan going as it is first and foremost a restaurant dedicated to Chicken, however I have friends who aren't Vegan and well who doesn't like Nando's these days? Their salad is pretty impressive and I rarely get bored of it due to the Sweet Potato and Avocado, however I do say no on occasion, after all there is so much more to eat for me than just salad! The last is a salad, pasta or pizza bar in Reading called Wolf. They do a great low price, made to order salad that is great to takeaway or for on the go, 100 times better than a boring salad from the ready made fridge in a supermarket or cafe.
Finally to the simple homemade salad, which I have had so many over time though some of my favourites have also been with some great accompaniments rather than just standalone.
It was hard to choose which have been my favourite, however I came to these as my fondest memory salads made in the last year where I have become more of a connoisseur! The first uses the IKEA Veggieballs that I find so great an accompaniment in fresh cold salad, they simply need heating in the microwave for 2 mins or the oven for 10 for them to be a perfect quick lunch. The second, Gosh sausages topped with Violife Cheese on a base of my favourite combination of salad. Mixed salad leaves, sweetcorn, cucumber, plum tomatoes and avocado is by far my favourite easy base that combines many wonderful flavours and nutrients! The third and most recent creation is using Great Food Vegetable Bites with Asda Sweet and Crunchy Salad and Edamame Beans pot topped with Vegan Mayo. I love Edamame Beans more than anything else, I can't explain why but anytime I can have them, I do and they are so good for you as well!
I hope that those reading who think salad is just a boring side and not a main meal, you will see actually it can be the star of the show. And yes I am Vegan and yes I do eat salads quite a lot, well that is because I am a normal person and I eat salads like you eat sandwiches. Simply I cannot eat sandwiches, my easy lunch is a salad and they help me get all the nutrients, vitamins and energy I need.
There is a famous Simpson's scene that my friends love to sing, "You don't win friends with Salad" well you may not, but us Vegans band together and I love a salad.