Howdy guys!

I just got back from my friend's college graduation party and it was a lot of fun!

I think what made it so great {besides seeing those I haven't seen in a while and meeting new people} was the fact that my friend actually made me 2 vegan dishes!  I never once asked him to make me anything.  I was prepared to bring my own food but he told me a couple days ago that he was gonna make you food!  For those of you who are curious, here are links to the two dishes he made:
Pesto and Orzo.

Now, granted, if I were to have made these I wouldn't have put oil in {or not as much} and I would've put more veggies in, but they were still really tasty and really vegan.

This experience got me thinking about how I used to think it was so hard to be vegan because of social situations, but it's really not.

Here are some tips I have compiled over the years on how to be vegan and still have a social life:

• Eat beforehand-If you know you are going to some type of event and there wont be food for you there, then you can always make sure you eat beforehand.  Have a good-sized meal with a higher protein and fat content then you may normal have if sticking to a relatively low fat/lower protein diet.  While carbs are optimal, in my experience it is easier to pass the dessert table if you have a full tummy.  But, if you can't eat beforehand or if you are like me and you don't want to feel left out then...

• Find something you can eat-Most places have something, even if it's just a small salad.  Otherwise, look up the resturant online.  Just google "___ResturantName___ Vegan Options" and you will find some website to help you in your search for food.  But, say the place you are going just has a house salad that you could possible eat. Feel like you are burdening your waiter by asking them to forgo the cheese and croutons?  Don't.  It's your food and you are paying for it, so you can eat it however you damn well please.  If you want to be super simple, ask for a lemon slice or two to squeeze on it.  Or, what I like to do sometimes is bring my own dressing/dip.  My favorite is just a small {or half} of an avocado or even just some raisins.  This brings me to my third tip...

• Bring some food-What you bring does depend on what you are doing, though.  Some restaurants frown on people bringing their own food in, but I say who cares?  Most of the time, they won't bother you about it.  Some good things to bring are fruits that don't need to be cut up like bananas, apples, dates, stone fruits; basically anything you can bite in to; granola/protein bars; containers of fruit that are pre-cut; containers of veggies or some sort of carb like grains or potatoes  *.Just remember to bring a bag to put your garbage in. Do not leave a mess at the table! That's just rude.

• Wait to eat after-This is the hardest one for me because it can be a bit awkward sometimes to sit there and try to socialize when others are eating. This is why I prefer to bring my own food and eat with others.

I hope these tips helped!  I am sure there are a few spelling/grammatical errors in this post.  I am so tired.  Last night we had friends over who left around 1:00am and the boyfriend and I were up till around 4:30-5am and I work up at 10:30am.  #gonnasleeplikeababy.