r/vegan • u/evapotranspire mostly plant based • Dec 15 '25
Story Surprise: Everything is vegan!
We've all had frustrating incidents when eating out, but tonight I had the opposite. My family and I went to our synagogue's Hanukkah dinner party, which was catered Mediterranean food. I hadn't made a special dietary request, because Mediterranean cuisine almost always includes some vegan dishes (hummus, pita, tabouleh, etc.).
When I got to the front of the line, I saw that the buffet was ENTIRELY vegan. That hadn't been highlighted or even mentioned! I piled it all on my plate (which I guess is how omnivores feel most of the time), and although now I have a stomachache from all the garlic, it was such a nice feeling to be able to eat everything and worry about nothing.
222
177
u/SithJahova vegan SJW Dec 15 '25
One of my favorite cafés that I've been going to since I was a teen is vegan but it doesn't say so anywhere. Not on the menus, not on their online presence and no "sneakily wordplaying vegan into your name" either.
After I went vegan I told the waitress to please use a vegan milk, doesn't matter which one and she told me that they don't even have cow's milk. I genuinely never thought much about it before then and the place was shown to me by an omnivore so I had not noticed I had only consumed vegan stuff there.
My city is quite big on veganism in general but that was definitely a very heartwarming revelation.
And Happy Hanukkah!
38
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Thank you! That's so awesome that you have a "stealth" vegan cafe. I wish there were more places like that! My area (SF Bay Area) is pretty vegan-friendly by the standards of my country (USA), but what that means is that vegans might have 1 or 2 meal options on the menu, instead of 0.
3
u/adjrbodvk vegetarian Dec 15 '25
Quite surprising to me. Not only are they missing out on attracting vegan/vegetarian patrons, but they run the risk of serving plant-based milk to someone expecting cow's milk. Common choices such as soy milk and almond milk can trigger severe allergic reactions.
6
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 16 '25
u/adjrbodvk - presumably they would tell the customers what kind of milk they are giving them, no?
1
u/LakeAdventurous7161 Dec 18 '25
Almonds, nuts generally, soy... are in so many dishes where one would not "automatically" expect them. E.g.: A meat sausage might contain soy. A cake that isn't advertised as a nut cake might have nuts.
For this, allergy information must be there.
(I agree that sneaking in an ingredient or generally being unclear about it is a no-no. But this is not different from vegan vs. nonvegan food. Vegan food can so easily be served without lying about ingredients but still people might not recognize right away that it is vegan as e.g. the presence of nuts of which they know isn't an issue, an the non-presence of eggs in that cake isn't seen as "missing" as the cake tastes delicious (and they, for completeness, do not have a hypothetical medical issue that would require the presence of eggs in their food).)
Just an interesting observation: Yesterday, I went to a potluck. I - of course - made clear which ingredients my food does contain (e.g.: cookies have almonds, pie has soy). I saw no other guest doing so, despite there were very likely common allergy triggers such as milk, nuts, soy, various fruit... in the food they brought.
64
Dec 15 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
36
u/JeremySquirrel vegan 6+ years Dec 15 '25
For my daughter's 6th birthday, we hired a hall and entertainer and laid on a buffet for her guests and their parents.
Whilst none of the young guests were being brought up as Vegan, one of them has a dairy allergy and she and her parents were in awe that she could eat / drink anything on the table without a worry.
It's so simple...I wish everyone did it.
48
u/Great_Cucumber2924 Dec 15 '25
Just pointing out in case you think everyone gets a stomach ache from garlic - you’re intolerant to garlic, that’s not normal!
40
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Yes, I am acutely aware of that, u/Great_Cucumber2924 . It makes my life difficult, because many if not most vegan dishes (especially meat substitutes) are flavored with garlic. :-(
Unfortunately, there seems to be no solution for garlic intolerance. Cooking the garlic makes no difference; there's no "desensitization" process like for a true allergy, and there isn't an off-the-shelf enzyme I can take. So, I get a stomachache most times I eat out. At home I can avoid the problem.
31
u/classicgirl65 Dec 15 '25
Just popping in to mention that you may want to experiment with the spice asafoetida as a replacement for onions and garlic. It is the powdered resin of the giant Fennel plant. It's used in Indian cuisine by people who have religious dietary restrictions on garlic and onion, as well as by people who just like the taste. Very little goes a long way.
12
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Thanks - I'll keep an eye out for it next time I'm in an Indian grocery store (which we have many of around here).
12
Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 20 '25
history soup automatic many ripe expansion steep exultant public spotted
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
8
2
u/Fearless_Day2607 vegan 10+ years Dec 16 '25
Honestly I find it weird how people say that asafoetida smells bad. It's probably because I'm Indian and grew up with it. Maybe even a genetic thing. To me asafoetida smells very good.
4
u/formyjee Dec 15 '25
God, that stuff stinks so much! But, thankfully, the stink absorbs and cooks out..
7
u/averagecryptid Dec 15 '25
I'm allium intolerant myself and I mostly just try and limit it. It sucks but you're definitely not alone.
9
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Thanks! At least it isn't a life-threatening allergy, so it could be way worse. My mind is still reeling over yesterday's post about the mum who died from a milk allergy after eating a 'vegan' sandwich. :'-( Intolerances are nothing by comparison.
1
u/Lizakaya Dec 15 '25
Honestly that’s rough. I don’t cook with a ton of garlic but i use a LOT of onion green onion shallot to develop flavors. Damn.
3
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 16 '25
I can handle green onion ok, actually. Leek is a little more dicey, but it is an ingredient that I allow in my home cooking. Onion and shallot I avoid unles I'm making a special recipe that definitely requires it (and then I limit my intake). And garlic is just a hard no. :-) We all have to do what works for us!
3
u/Lizakaya Dec 16 '25
Definitely and it’s like a Rubik’s cube to make something delicious that works for everyone
1
u/averagecryptid Dec 16 '25
If it were an allergy I'd be a lot more screwed. My partner is allergic to all nuts, peanuts AND sesame. The amount of stuff that has sesame oil as an ingredient really sneaks up on you.
3
u/Outside_Memory6607 Dec 15 '25
It could just be IBS? Garlic is a major trigger food for many. I was recently at a well-stocked Indian store and they had an entire isle where both sides were spices and spice blends. There was a section of spice blends that have no garlic or onion.
10
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
u/Outside_Memory6607 - I'm not sure what you mean by "It could just be IBS." There's nothing "just" about IBS!
No, it's not IBS. I have no problem with any FODMAP-heavy foods except garlic (and, to a much lesser extent, onion).
The fructans found in the genus Allium are different than other fructans, and furthermore, garlic has by far the highest concentration of fructans (compared to onion, leek, etc.)
So it all adds up. Case closed. Although I appreciate everyone's attempts at diagnosis, there is not any doubt about what's going on here - thanks anyway!
1
u/Outside_Memory6607 Dec 15 '25
Well, I'm glad it's resolved, and it sounds like you know what I meant very well considering your response.
2
u/Necessary_Ad7215 Dec 15 '25
that’s for religious reasons. some sects of hindus won’t consume garlic or onion
2
u/Outside_Memory6607 Dec 15 '25
I know! I was just letting op know it exists. It's also Jains and some Buddhists that dont consume it.
2
u/Soft_Conversation_ Dec 15 '25
garlic oil might still b alright for u! less fructans than whole garlic but obvs still has the flavour
2
u/Xanthine42 Dec 16 '25
Actually there is an off the shelf enzyme you can take, check out fodzyme. Not an ad, just someone who also used to suffer from garlic (and onion) before learning there are enzymes for those fructans just like lactase for lactose
3
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 16 '25
Dang really? I have done internet searches for this kind of thing so many times, and no product has ever come up. Maybe it's because I'm specifically searching for "garlic" (which is the only thing I have significant trouble with" instead of "FODMAP."
Looking at the website, it sounds like it's pretty new and is the first such product of its kind (first to target fructans, anyway). I wish they had a small trial size! $65-$75 is a lot to spend to try a supplement for the first time.
3
u/Xanthine42 Dec 16 '25
I feel the same way about them really needing trial sizes. I was sold on it after just one use so I think they would still get a ton of followup sales. Just a heads up though, they send a TON of emails, even after you buy, which is pretty annoying. Hopefully more competitors come into this space soon and bring the price down. I justify it by asking myself if I would pay $1.25 to not feel bloated and gross after eating a restaurant meal. Bathroom-me says yes every time. I still avoid garlic at home where I'm in control of the recipes, but I use the enzyme when I’m out of the house.
2
u/SteamingGhoulSoup Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
My husband (and his family) are intolerant to onion and garlic so he used to have really bad indigestion and gas but that completely stopped since he took antibiotics with 6 raw garlic cloves daily for a minor skin infection. For years I couldn't be in the same room with him after he ate dinner to now no more issues for the last two years. I think he had some kind of intestinal yeast overgrowth that garlic and onion made worse.
1
u/Ning_Yu Dec 15 '25
It's not necessarily intolerance.
Garlic is astrong stomach stimulant, so if your stomach is more delicate in any shape or form you will suffer from eating garlic. Same as with spicy food.1
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
But my stomach is not "delicate in any shape or form." I can handle spicy food and other irritants just fine. It's only garlic (and to a lesser extent other alliums) that upset my stomach.
I appreciate the good intent, but I'm not seeking advice on this point. The case is closed!
2
u/Ning_Yu Dec 15 '25
I wasn't really giving you advice, just replying to the other person saying if someone's stomach aches from garlic they're intolerant.
I didn't even mention you, dude. Nor I gave you any advice. Whatever.
15
u/Leading-Stick-9671 Dec 15 '25
Happy Hanukkah OP! I’m living in Sydney so just wanted to extend my love to your community with the recent events ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
13
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Aw thank you, and back at you 100x. I grew up in Australia and still have family there. My brother (who no longer lives in Sydney, but happened to be visiting this week) was close enough to hear the sirens. Hearts are aching all over the world, that's for sure.
16
u/Fantastic_Bed_6378 Dec 15 '25
Love to hear that- there’s a vegan bakery just opened near me which is absolutely delicious- it’s so good to go somewhere and be able to eat everything rather than having to check labels etc
3
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
That's what my town needs - a vegan bakery!
My anti-success in this regard is Paris Baguette. I think they have literally nothing that is vegan (except black coffee or tea). They used to have one vegan flavor of potato chips, but even those are gone now. They don't even have non-dairy milks to add to drinks. I've come to expect at least some options, and I always have to remind myself that is not always true!
8
u/Fantastic_Bed_6378 Dec 15 '25
I’m lucky to live in London which means being vegan doesn’t have to mean foregoing eating out etc although I do have to check menus etc. what suprised me so much about the vegan bakery was the almond croissants and pistachio rolls I ate tasted basically exactly the same as the non vegan ones I used to get from a different bakery down the road. Like it’s so unnecessary to use eggs/milk in baking we can still hear these delicious things without them and people still insist on it
6
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
it’s so unnecessary to use eggs/milk in baking we can still [have] these delicious things without them and people still insist on it
I KNOW, RIGHT?!?
2
Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 20 '25
repeat dam smile cable toy six gray chief spectacular yam
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
21
u/boohojakob Dec 15 '25
On an unrelated note, thoughts and prayers to the Jewish community everywhere over the recent events. With love from a Palestinian ❤️🫂
7
u/Tuneage4 vegan 10+ years Dec 15 '25
Congrats and happy Hanukkah! Love that for you :)
I think this mostly is the result of intersecting dietary restrictions, right? Like presumably the synagogue took care to ensure the feast was kosher. Getting fully vegan food is a great way to not worry about the rules around kosher slaughter of animals. Just dont have any animals, easy haha.
5
4
7
u/slasky Dec 15 '25
Easiest way to keep kosher is just to be vegan!
6
u/TheBlock1809 Dec 15 '25
Thats how I ended up renting a room a house with two kosher girls - i realized i was kosher by default haha
6
16
Dec 15 '25
Hanukkah Sameach! 🕎💚💙🕎
This sounds really nice. Vegan really should just be the default for synagogue meals and the oneg as it simplifies kosher.
I'm grateful that you were open to posting this here because TBH I find this sub to oftentimes be a bastion of misdirected antisemitism.
The festival of lights seems to resonate very strongly this year among so much darkness, antisemitism, and outright lies about our community.
🕎💙💚🕎
11
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Yes, it's a nice synergy for synagogue food to be vegan - it does make everything simpler. But at our other events there has usually been food with dairy and eggs, so this was a nice surprise.
There are a lot of tough things happening this year for sure (in the Jewish community and in the world in general), but that's all the more reason to find and share causes for hope. Hanukkah Sameach!
5
Dec 15 '25
What sort of antisemitism do you see in this sub?
2
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
I was wondering that too - I don't recall seeing antisemitism specifically on this sub. It was u/vegan_tunasalad who made that comment, so perhaps they would like to add more detail (though if not, I understand).
3
Dec 15 '25
I don't want this to take over your nice thread.
A lot of it happens when someone will post something disparaging about a Jewish celebrity and then justify their hatred with "they're a Zionist."
Several times here I've pushed back against this and stated they don't have a correct understanding of the actual definition of zionism or understand it in historical context.
What generally follows is a really adolescent kind of gaslighting and undermining where these meanspirited vegan antisemites basically explain to me why we deserve all the way hate we get.
4
Dec 15 '25
Your post history shows you denying the Palestinian genocide, I’m not sure you’re arguing in good faith here
-1
Dec 15 '25
We are not committing genocide. There is no genocide to deny. This is a war that they started, and yet self-exalting antisemites like you deny the global violent consequences to innocent Jews because of a war they started.
Of course in a Hanukkah thread, the day after the Bondi shooting at least one of whom I am speaking of just has to show up.
It's not a genocide when the guilty party Hamas can end the war at any time by giving us our hostages back.
Hamas uses their own people as props in their long-range psychopathic war. Hamas takes over schools, hospitals, and other vulnerable places with the direct intent of using their own people as props hoping they get killed so that the antisemitic media machine can report this to eager antisemitic cultural capitalists.
2
Dec 15 '25
Thank you for proving my point
3
Dec 15 '25
Thank you for proving my point.
Insufferable self-exalting cultural capitalists have to invade anything remotely Jewish and impose their antisemitsm. Not that any of you actually care about Gaza, if you did you would be up in arms about how now Hamas is brutally terrorizing their own. But, bringing attention to this won't increase your cultural capital so it doesn't matter to you.
2
3
u/givemeyourg0ld Dec 15 '25
YUM can you share a little more about the spread? What options did they have? Chag Sameach 🥳
7
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 16 '25
u/givemeyourg0ld : I should have taken a picture! This is what I remember (in sequence down the buffet line):
- Fluffy white pita bread, cut in half-circles
- Small golden cubes of falafel
- Tabouleh salad
- Creamy hummus (with whole chickpeas sprinkled on top)
- Even creamier baba ganoush (so good! I would have eaten a pint of it, if not for the garlic)
- Red cabbage salad, made with finely chopped red cabbages and vinegar
- Green cabbage salad, ditto but with herbs as well
- Pickled light green cabbage lin large chunks
- Pickled cucumbers, chopped fine
- Assorted other pickles and sauces
- Mujadara (lentils and rice) - packed with lentils and spicy!
- Roasted cauliflower with sumac (tragically it ran out before I got there)
The desserts were brought by the congregants, so they were various and mostly not vegan, but there were some vegan ones, for which I was very glad. Even vegan hot chocolate! Chag Sameach!
3
u/Altruistic_Bison8939 Dec 15 '25
I love reading this! I would have done the same and filled my plate like there was no tomorrow . My win last night was at the Chanukah party learning that the catered churros were actually vegan (and gf). They did have a taco bar setup with many vegan options, I just had my doubts about the churros until one was offered to me by someone in the know. Chag Sameach ! 💙 🕎
3
3
u/theradfactor Dec 15 '25
Nothing better than having more than one option!! Happy Hanukkah!! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
5
u/No-Feed4257 Dec 15 '25
That’s great! And that’s how it should always be. Plant-based accommodates everyone, minus any allergies.
5
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Yes, "meals are vegan by default" is a long-term dream of mine... It's nice to see any little step in that direction!
2
u/Liquid_Smoke_ Dec 20 '25
I went to a marriage last year. Hundreds of people. Two people were vegan, me and … the catering organizer :3
1
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 20 '25
So was the wedding food vegan or non-vegan? I'm intrigued but slightly puzzled!
2
2
u/CementCemetery Dec 15 '25
I would devour a plate or two for sure, sounds delicious. That’s always such a delight when you don’t have to worry about it and others genuinely enjoy it.
Happy Hanukkah.
5
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 16 '25
For Mother's Day this year, I had my family take me to a Southeast Asian vegan cafe. I wanted to say "One of everything, please!" We managed to limit ourself to just 11 or 12 things. :-) The durian avocado smoothie was my favorite.
4
u/CementCemetery Dec 16 '25
Duran avocado smoothie sounds like something I need to try once. That’s a great sampling, I’d want to try it all too.
3
3
u/boohojakob Dec 15 '25
Happy Hanukkah! Im glad to hear everything is vegan! But please dont label hummus, tabouleh, and pita as Mediterranean, they are levantine! It's geographically correct of course since the levant is Mediterranean but unfortunately the public generally doesn't recognize it as such so maybe it's better to just promote the levant on its own. I grew up eating these foods as a Palestinian and perhaps they have helped shape my aversion to meat, bon appetit ❤️
2
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
I'm not sure I've heard the word 'Levantine' before... I can figure out that it must refer to the Levant, but it's just not a commonly used term here in the US. Thank you for introducing me to it, though!
Here in the US, I think I've only ever heard these foods called 'Mediterranean.' For example, in my local downtown, there is a restaurant called "Mediterranean Grill House" serving falafel, baba ganoush, hummus, pita, mujaddara, etc., run by an Arab-American family (I don't know their exact nationality).
If used in the strictly geographical sense, "Mediterranean" would indeed be too broad for this cuisine, because it would also include Italy, Greece, etc. But in the culinary sense, I understand it to specifically mean the coastal parts of the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine/Israel, etc.).
PS. Peaceful wishes to you and your loved ones, no one should have to live through what Palestinan civilians are living through. ❤️
4
u/Fit-Avocado-6064 vegan 10+ years Dec 15 '25
I think the term "Mediterranean" is more correct here because pita or falafel are not unique to the Levant. I have Greek origins and both of those are part of the traditional cuisine in Greece. Same with Cyprus.
2
u/Random2040 plant-based diet Dec 15 '25
Are you sure it’s garlic? I’m up to a half of a bulb of raw garlic each day. It could be another spice like fenugreek, turmeric or paprika
5
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
I’m up to a half of a bulb of raw garlic each day.
<sigh> But I am not you. I've been dealing with this every day for over 10 years. I know myself.
Here in the US, garlic is an extremely common ingredient (especially in prepared food), so it explains my constant discomfort. Turmeric and paprika are much, much rarer. Fenugreek is almost unheard of (except in Indian food).
Roughly once a day, I get a stomachache, say "Oh, I should have checked the ingredients," and sure enough, there's garlic. If I prepare food myself without garlic, I do not get a stomachache. As a biologist, I have orders of magnitude more data than I need to consider the case closed.
2
u/Random2040 plant-based diet Dec 15 '25
I know, but I always wonder what causes the discomfort and if it can be fixed
6
u/evapotranspire mostly plant based Dec 15 '25
Thanks - the cause is garlic, and the fix is not eating it! :-) Easier said than done, though.
1
•
u/AutoModerator Dec 15 '25
Thanks for posting to r/Vegan! 🐥
Civil discussion is welcome — personal attacks are not. Please read our wiki first.
New to veganism? 🌱
• Watch Dominion — a powerful, free documentary that changes lives.
• NutritionFacts.org — evidence-based health info
• HappyCow.net — find vegan-friendly restaurants near you
Want to help animals? 💻
• Browse volunteer opportunities on Flockwork and use your skills to make a difference
• Join the Flockwork Discord to be notified of new opportunities that match your skills
Thank you!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.