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Health & Fitness

How to Tackle Memorial Day Cookouts, Vegetarian Style

Eating meat-free on major holidays such as Memorial Day is tough, but you can do it. Follow my tips to help you survive the Memorial Day cookout!

Gathering with friends and family for holidays and special occasions can be stressful—especially when you no longer eat the same foods as your loved ones. It becomes even harder when the holiday is synonymous with grilling steaks, hot dogs, burgers and ribs. However, rather than freaking out and eating the meat options, you can stick to your guns by finding ways to fit in. Below are some tips to help you survive the Memorial Day cookout.

Step 1: Find out what’s on the menu. Sometimes your friends and family will remember that you’re a vegetarian and will try to accommodate your eating preferences. Other times, they forget. There may be plenty of vegetables on the grill for you to eat, but before taking the first bite, ask how it was prepared. Was meat used to season it? Was it cooked on top of or in the same dish as the meat? Was it cooked on the grill after meat was prepared? Don’t be concerned with coming off as a food snob. Your friends and family will understand.

Step 2: Bring along a vegetarian alternative. So you may not be ready to break out the tofu steaks for the first time at the Memorial Day party this weekend, but you can still have a vegetarian-friendly main dish. After you complete step one and know what’s on the menu, you can bring along a meat-free alternative. Your local grocery store carries vegetarian burgers, hot dogs, chicken and even ribs. However, I’ve found that if you’re looking for “steak” or “fish,” you may have to do a little more searching. Don’t forget to ask if your vegetarian items can be cooked separately from the meat or on a piece of non-stick aluminum foil.

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Step 3: Make sure you have plenty to share. I’ve found that many of my friends and family are curious about vegetarianism. Many want to try what I’ve brought (and when they discover that it’s good, they want to devour it all). So bring along enough to share with others. Who knows—you may just convert one of your friends.

I’d love to hear from you. Let me know how it goes with your vegetarian-friendly Memorial Day celebrations.

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