​I was visiting some good friends who live a few hours away from me, and we went out to have dinner at a restaurant we love to go to when we get together in their area. I was really looking forward to the house-made vegan bean burger! They season it well and use peanut butter as a binder, and it’s delicious! And it’s served with fresh greens, sliced tomato, and half an avocado on a whole wheat bun. Yum! I haven’t had one in ages and I was set on having one last night!
 
The server came to take our order. I was confident that this was a simple, slam dunk order in terms of getting something vegan in a non-vegan restaurant. But just to double check, I asked the server if there’s any dairy at all in the bean burger, and she told me that they put mayonnaise in the patty. Mayonnaise?!?! What?!?!
 
Ok, so now I’m ordering the quinoa salad instead, which was probably an even better choice, but that’s what I always get. I really wanted that bean burger! So I asked her again, “Are you sure the bean burger is not vegan? I’ve had it before and was told that it’s vegan?”. So she asked another server, who told her that yes, the bean burger is vegan and no, they don’t use mayonnaise. Yay!!! I’m getting the bean burger!
 
My next question: do they put anything on the bun? Yes, they grill it with a little butter. So I ask that the bun is served dry, no butter, nothing on it at all, just a plain bun.
 
And it’s even worth it to me to pay the extra $1.50 to get a side of sweet potato fries. I asked if they sprinkle any cheese over the sweet potato fries and the server told me that no, they don’t. And in fact, that she would make sure they didn’t use any seasoning on the sweet potato fries. Perfect!
 
So to recap, I ordered a vegan bean burger, bun dry, and sweet potato fries with no seasoning. Simple, right?
 
After a short wait, the burger and sweet potato fries came out. Yay! It looks soooo good! But wait, there’s a little cup on the side of plate against the burger and the sweet potato fries with a creamy pink dressing in it. Is that Thousand Island dressing??? What is THAT doing on my plate??? Didn’t I say “vegan” (more than once, in fact)??? Well, ok, they must have been really busy. I can just take it off my plate, no problem, right?
 
Except that in transit the creamy pink dressing spilled onto the plate and soaked into the bottom half of the bun as well as all the sweet potato fries on that side of the plate. And as if that wasn’t enough, I turned over the top half of the bun, and sure enough, it was grilled with butter. Then I tasted an “uncontaminated” sweet potato fry, and it was doused in a super-salty seasoning. So much for no seasoning on the sweet potato fries.
 
I’m sorry, but I couldn’t eat it. I explained the problem to the server and ended up sending it back. I tried to be as clear as possible in the first place (and was really nice about it) to prevent this from happening. So besides my dinner being ruined because it wasn’t prepared as specifically requested, the server was clearly annoyed with me for pointing it out (I was still smiling politely).
 
I wish I could say that this was an isolated incident. But it’s not. In fact, what is an isolated incident is when I order something with no meat, dairy, or eggs, and it actually comes out that way from the kitchen.
 
I’ve been plant-based for nearly five years now, and in those five years I’ve seen a huge shift in demand for vegan/plant-based foods in mainstream restaurants. More and more people are vegan, so these kinds of requests should be getting more familiar to restaurant staff. Especially given that so many restaurants now have vegan or vegan-friendly options on their menus.
 
I think the problem in restaurants could be that restaurant staff who are not vegan themselves do not really understand what vegan means. It’s not only the visible meat, cheese, cream, or eggs on food that counts. Animal foods such as eggs, cheese, and milk are often cooked into parts of the meal such as bread or pasta, and are not visible. The problem could also be that while the server writes down any special requests, the kitchen staff may completely ignore what’s written on the ticket.
 
Either way, it’s frustrating for the patron, the server, and the cooks. And on top of that, the restaurant loses money when food that can’t be consumed by the patron gets sent back and has to be re-made.
 
So if your goal is to order vegan, and you don’t want to go through all this, there is something else you can do (besides staying home). Order a dish that comes with no meat (so you eliminate any special no-meat requests). Then tell the server that you are allergic to dairy and eggs. Because of the potential liability to the restaurant when a food allergy is involved, the server is suddenly able to point out any dairy or eggs that might be lurking in that dish, and also offer alternatives. Now is anything goes wrong, it’s on them, and they don’t take it out on you.
 
Isn’t it funny how differently you are treated with the exact same request depending on whether your request is due to a medical condition or a personal choice. I know that telling a server that I have a dairy and egg allergy is not the truth, and for that reason, I don’t like to do it very often. But in hindsight, that’s what I should’ve done last night. It would have made it easier and more enjoyable for everyone.
 
And yes, I still left the server a decent tip.
 
If you have a story, leave it in the comments. How did you handle it?

If you’ve seen any of my posts on my website, Twitter, or other social media, it’s probably kind of obvious that I have a passion for plant-based nutrition. I’ve been plant-based for over 4 ½ years now and I made that lifestyle choice to enhance my health. Working as a scientist on drug-design teams made me clear on one thing: I don’t ever want to have to be on any kind of medication. Although I was already on one medication and had been for years – albuterol inhalers for my asthma, which I had been using several times a day for most of my life.
 
Getting diagnosed with a condition and having to start taking medications always seemed so random to me. Like it could happen to anyone at any time, regardless of lifestyle. While I always believed that regular exercise and a healthy diet helps, I also believed that getting diabetes, heart disease, or cancer has more to do with genetics and how lucky or unlucky you are. We’ve all heard of someone that is what we think of as the picture of health who suddenly drops dead of a heart attack.
 
My grandmother ate what most would consider a healthy diet and swam several times a week from when she was a child until she was 92 years old. She never had to take a single medication, until she had a “mild” heart attack at the age of 88. After that she was suddenly on a whole host of medications for her blood pressure, cholesterol, blood viscosity, and electrolytes, and she was kept on all those medications for the rest of her life.
 
So I thought that all I could do was exercise, eat “healthy”, and hope that I would be lucky enough to never get diagnosed with any kind of disease. Beyond that, I had absolutely no idea how I could prevent myself from getting sick and having to take any other medications.
 
Until I read “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell, PhD. He presented very compelling evidence that animal-based foods make us sick and whole plant-based foods protect us from diseases and keep us healthy.
 
And here’s why I believed him: T. Colin Campbell has published over 300 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles on his own findings on the link between animal protein and cancer, essentially that animal protein is an on/off switch for cancer, yet there is no correlation between plant protein and cancer. He also received 27 consecutive years of grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, a highly competitive task among top researchers.
 
Why is that important to me? I’ve written and reviewed both peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and grant proposals, so given my background, I knew of the rigorous scrutiny his work underwent in order to get published and funded, and that spoke to me of the scientific integrity of his work. And while that process may not be perfect, it is the best system we have for maintaining scientific integrity.
 
I was a meat- and dairy-eater through and through for my entire life. Yogurt and/or eggs with cheese for breakfast; a deli-meat or tuna sandwich smothered in mayonnaise and cheese for lunch; cheese for snacks, and a steak, cheeseburger, chicken breast, meat & cheese burrito, or piece of fish for dinner, always with a side salad and veggie. I thought I was eating healthy and had no intention of ever giving up any of those foods.
 
Then something very strange happened. While I was reading “The China Study”, I began to make foods that I knew I liked that didn’t have any meat. For example, fusilli pasta with broccoli, garlic, and parmesan cheese, only I left off the cheese. Or a bean and rice burrito with veggies, and again, I left off the cheese. Or a marinara sauce with mushrooms, eggplant, onions, garlic, and lentils over whole-grain pasta, no cheese. Or a marinara sauce with roasted butternut squash over whole grain pasta or rice, again, no cheese.
 
What was so strange about that? The fact that I didn’t fully realize what I was doing until I got to the end of the book and came to the challenge to go 28 days completely plant-based to see how I would feel. I thought “Ha! I could never do that! I eat meat and dairy all the time. That is never going to happen!”.
 
When I started to think about how much meat I eat, it made me think back to the last time I ate any meat, which I thought was maybe a day or two prior. I was shocked when I realized that I hadn’t eaten any meat or dairy for two whole weeks! And I felt FANTASTIC!!! Maybe that explained why I had so much more energy, felt lighter, saw my skin begin to firm up, slept better, and felt some looseness in my clothes.
 
I decided to keep this experiment going, but my only commitment was a meal at a time. I made a game out of coming up with something to eat for my next meal that had no meat, dairy, or eggs in it, and had fun with it. It was only an experiment, so I could just keep doing it until I got bored or wanted something animal-based that I couldn’t resist. For me, that was an In-N-Out Double Double Cheeseburger.
 
The funny thing is, I never got bored with the plant-based foods I was eating, and while the idea of that In-N-Out Double Double Cheeseburger always sounded good to me, anytime I decided to go get one, it stopped sounding good by the time I arrived at the In-N-Out restaurant, so I never stopped to get one. I always ended up eating something at home instead. I did eat some grilled salmon once about three months later. It didn’t taste that great and I didn’t feel that great after eating it.
 
The trade-off from giving up animal-based foods was so worth it to me. I continued to lose weight and feel better and better! I finally lost those last 10 pounds that never seem to want to budge, and I lost fat from places where I was never able to lose fat before such as my hips. 

​And best of all, my asthma completely cleared up about 8 months later!!! I used to keep albuterol inhalers everywhere – in at least four rooms inside my house, in my purse, and in my car – so that I would never be without one. And I inhaled two puffs every two hours throughout every day. Today I don’t even know where or if I even have an inhaler!
 
So now I know how to prevent myself from ever having to take medications, and it’s very likely that I will never need any of the medications I used to help design (or any others). I love this lifestyle so much and find it so easy that I have no doubt that I truly am keeping myself as healthy as possible.
 
You can too! It’s not as hard as you think. Try it for 28 days – what have you got to lose? 

​Selenium is an important micronutrient that our bodies need in very trace amounts. The recommended amount for adults is 45 micrograms (µg) per day*, which is only 45 millionths of a gram!
 
Selenium is essential for forming enzymes with antioxidant properties that protect against oxidative stress and other free radicals that can lead to heart disease and cancer. Selenium also helps protect our immune system and keep our thyroid functioning normally.
 
The best way to get selenium is through our diet, in the foods we eat. Excess selenium through supplements is not recommended because it can be harmful and even result in death.
 
Here are some great plant-based sources of selenium that provide you with at least 10% of the daily recommended amount:

​Soy
Cooked soybeans, along with tofu, which are made from soybeans, are also good sources of selenium. Dried soybeans when cooked can range from 13 µg of selenium (boiled) up to 33 µg of selenium (roasted) per cup. On the other hand, green soybeans (edamame) are not the best source of selenium with less than 3 µg of selenium per cup when cooked. Roasted soybeans make a great snack!
 
Tofu is very versatile and can be used in soups, stir fries, scrambles, sauces, dips, desserts, and even marinated and baked. Tofu is also an excellent source of selenium. A half cup of raw firm tofu prepared with calcium sulfate, commonly found in most grocery stores, has 22 µg of selenium. If you fry that same tofu, the selenium content jumps to 36 µg of selenium per half cup!

The first thing most people think of eating when they need more potassium is a banana. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, single, medium-size banana, about 7 inches long has 422 milligrams (mg) of potassium. Now, I love bananas, and in order to get our recommended daily 4,700 mg of potassium* from bananas only, we would have to consume over 10 bananas every day. That’s a lot of bananas!
 
Before grabbing all those bananas, here are 11 other whole plant-based foods with even more potassium than a banana:
 
1. Potatoes
Baked potatoes (with skin) top this list with over 1,600 mg of potassium in each large (3-4 ¼” diameter) potato! For example, a large russet potato has 1,644 mg, a large red potato has 1,630 mg, and a large white potato has 1,627 mg of potassium!
 
2. Yams and Acorn Squash
Yams and acorn squash are also high on this list. One cup of yam flesh, cut into cubes packs 911 mg of potassium, more than twice the potassium in a single medium-size banana. And coming in a close second, one cup of acorn squash cut into cubes has 896 mg of potassium!
 
3. Sweet potatoes
A medium baked sweet potato that’s about 2” in diameter and 5” in length has 542 mg of potassium. These are great with a meal and also make a delicious and handy snack. Simply prick the skin several times and place them in the oven at 400 °F for 45 minutes, or until tender when pricked with a fork.
 
4. Soybeans
A half cup of shelled, boiled edamame, one of my favorite snacks, has 443 mg of potassium. I find it easy to have more than a half cup of this quick, easy, and nutritious treat! A cup of firm tofu that’s prepared with calcium sulfate, the common source of calcium in tofu, has 598 mg of potassium and a cup of tempeh, or fermented soy beans, has 684 mg of potassium. Try making a quick and simple miso soup by adding about ¼ cup of miso, a package of firm tofu, drained and cut into ½” cubes, and ¼ - ½ cup of dried seaweed into about 6 cups of boiling water. Simmer for 1-2 minutes and serve.
 
5. Sun-Dried Tomatoes
A half cup of sun-dried tomatoes has 463 mg of potassium. Sun-dried tomatoes are delicious and can be added to foods such as soups, salads, sauces, and sandwiches, either as is (dried) or reconstituted by soaking in water. Avoid sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil to protect your arteries.
 
6. Raisins
This tasty snack has 618 mg of potassium in a half cup of seedless raisins. Not only do raisins make a great snack, they are a great addition to salads, soups, cereal (hot and cold), and baked goods.
 
7. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
I’ll bet you never thought about unsweetened cocoa powder having lots of potassium. In fact, half a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder has 656 mg of potassium. Not that you will consume half a cup in one sitting, you can sprinkle a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder over your banana and add another 82 mg of potassium to your banana.
 
8. Greens
Cooked beat greens and Swiss chard come in at the top of the greens. A cup of cooked beet greens has 1,309 mg and the same amount of Swiss chard has 961 mg of potassium. These greens are delicious in salads, in soups, blended in sauces, or just sprinkled with a nice balsamic vinegar.
 
9. Beans
While beans are a great source of potassium in general, a half cup of some beans have even more potassium than a medium banana, and a full cup of pretty much all beans come in at over 422 mg of potassium. Red beans, white beans, and lima beans weigh in at 612, 502, and 485 mg per half cup respectively. And black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, and navy beans, for example, come in at 801, 746, 717, and 708 mg of potassium per cup. Beans are great with a whole grain such as brown rice in a burrito or a bowl, and make a great, hearty addition to soups and salads.
 
10. Avocados
A single avocado has 690 mg of potassium. Try making guacamole by adding fresh roasted chiles, onions, and garlic, adding avocado slices to toast or a sandwich, or adding avocado cubes to a salad.
 
11. Seeds
Sunflower, pumpkin, and squash seeds are a great source of potassium. Each half cup of dry roasted sunflower seeds has 544 mg of potassium while each half cup of dried pumpkin & squash seeds has 522 mg of potassium. Seeds are great sprinkled over cereal, over salads, or to add crunch to other dishes, and also make a great snack.
 
 
*Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Estimated Average Requirements, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies.

Potassium values from the USDA nutrient database.