Adopting a vegan lifestyle is incredibly rewarding. But it’s not without challenges — especially in the beginning. While you’re acclimating to this way of life, here are some tips for dining out that can help. Ordering meals at a non-vegan restaurant Going out to eat can feel intimidating for a new vegan. Non-vegan ingredients aren’t always listed on menus, and servers may not be aware of every ingredient in a particular dish.

There are many hidden animal products in foods. Many animal ingredients are present in very small amounts. Some animal products, such as casein and whey — both derived from dairy products — are acceptable for vegetarians to eat but are not acceptable to vegans. Others, such as rennet (which comes from the stomach lining of calves and other baby animals), is unacceptable to all vegetarians.

Going out to eat can be challenging to a new vegan. Hidden nonvegan ingredients lurk behind every menu item, and servers may not know exactly what the chef is cooking into each dish. You can use this handy list as a friendly guide. Simply print this page and cut out the following list to offer to your server the next time you go to a nonvegan restaurant: Hi!

When you’re first starting out as a vegan, deciding what to eat can be overwhelming. But don’t worry. The following table showing a week’s worth of vegan menus gives you a great place to start when planning your meals. Offering variety, nutrition, and plenty of different tastes, textures, and ethnic spices, these menus can help you fill up your vegan kitchen with new ingredients that you’ll be using for years to come.