https://youtu.be/KFJGc98xHis
Video content summary: Vegan Eating Out at an Indian Restaurant (High-Protein Choices, Episode 1)
Eating out as a vegan is one thing. Eating out as a vegan who’s trying to build muscle or lean out is a whole other problem.
You can know how to get a meal without animal products and still leave the restaurant thinking, “Was that the best choice for my goals?” This post walks through a real menu at a regular Indian restaurant and shows how to pick macro-friendly vegan options when the obvious protein choices (tofu, tempeh, seitan) are nowhere to be found.
Why this series matters when you have fitness goals
Most people eat out sometimes. Family dinners, date nights, social plans, work meals, it adds up.
The tricky part is that there are two layers to solve:
- First, ordering vegan when a restaurant isn’t built for vegans.
- Second, choosing the option that best matches your goal (fat loss, maintenance, muscle gain).
Even long-time vegans can get stuck staring at a menu, trying to figure out what’s going to be satisfying, not blow up calories, and still include enough protein to feel like a real meal.
Who’s behind this approach
Danny Taylor (co-owner of Vegan Proteins Online Coaching) put together this “Vegan Eating Out” series to show the decision-making process in real time.
He’s been vegan for years and doesn’t live in a vegan-heavy area. No vegan restaurants nearby means most meals out happen at regular spots like Italian, Mexican, Indian, or Chinese restaurants. That’s also where a lot of people end up eating with family and friends, so it’s a practical place to start.
Picking a real-world Indian restaurant (not a vegan one)
Indian food has a reputation for being vegetarian-friendly, but that doesn’t always mean it’s easy to eat vegan for specific goals.
This episode focuses on a normal, run-of-the-mill Indian restaurant, not a vegetarian Indian spot and not a place with vegan proteins clearly listed. The goal is to show what to do when you have to “make do” with what’s there.
One quick reminder that helps in any Indian restaurant: India has many regional cuisines, and ingredients can vary a lot. Even if a dish sounds familiar, it’s still smart to confirm how it’s made.
Step 1: Check the menu online before you go
Before stepping foot in the restaurant, pull up the menu online.
That one habit makes everything easier because you can:
- Spot likely vegan options ahead of time
- Notice where hidden dairy might show up
- Decide what fits your calories and protein needs
In this case, the restaurant had even updated their online menu since the last visit. They added a legend showing vegan-friendly options available, which is a big help, even if it still requires questions.
When there’s no tofu or tempeh, lean on beans (even if they aren’t perfect)
Here’s the main limitation at this restaurant: there was no obvious vegan protein option. No tofu, no tempeh, no seitan.
So what’s left?
Beans and lentils.
Danny mentioned he doesn’t usually count beans as a main “protein source” because they’re often 60 to 70% carbohydrates, but when the menu doesn’t offer anything else, beans become the best available move.
At that point, the goal shifts from “find the perfect macro meal” to “make the best choice on this menu.”
Soups and salads: a quick scan, then a skip
The menu had soups and salads, but none looked like a strong fit for higher protein.
A few examples from the scan:
- Coconut soup sounded like it would be higher fat (coconut often means more fat).
- Mulligatawny soup (listed as vegan) typically includes vegetables, apples, and rice, which doesn’t scream high-protein.
A salad could work if you wanted something light, but it wasn’t the top pick for a filling, goal-friendly dinner.
Appetizers: what looks vegan, but doesn’t fit your macros
Indian appetizers can be delicious and also turn into a lot of oil and calories fast.
Vegetable pakora (tasty, but fried)
Vegetable pakora is battered and fried vegetables. The batter is often made from chickpeas, which means it can include a little protein, but it’s still fried. If you’re working with limited calories, it’s usually not the best use of them.
Danny also mentioned a practical issue: fried foods don’t always agree with his stomach, so that’s another reason he tends to avoid them.
Aloo tikki (a “middle” option)
Aloo tikki are small potato patties, almost like potato pancakes. They’re usually pan-fried, not deep-fried, so they land in the “medium” category.
The key detail here is portion size. In this restaurant, it’s just two pieces. That makes it easier to split and enjoy without turning it into your whole dinner.
Samosas (the classic “not macro-friendly” choice)
Samosas are those triangle pouches filled with mashed potatoes and peas, then deep-fried.
They’re great if you’re out for a treat. They’re not macro-friendly if you’re trying to stay within a calorie target.
Indian bread: tasty, but easy to overdo
Bread is where a lot of people accidentally overshoot calories at Indian restaurants.
A few guidelines from Danny’s approach:
- If the menu says “crispy,” it often means fried.
- Ask how it’s prepared, especially when butter is commonly used.
- Remember that breads can hide dairy.
He shared a real-life reminder about being an imperfect vegan: he once loved a bread with cashews and raisins, then later found out it had milk. The first time he asked, he didn’t get the right answer, but he appreciated being told so he could avoid it after that.
If bread fits your macros, a paratha may be possible if they can make it without butter. There may also be a bread option that comes vegan as-is, depending on the menu and kitchen.
Danny’s personal pattern is simple: he rarely orders bread anyway, so he often skips it.
The best section on the menu: vegetarian delights
This is where the real options showed up.
Instead of getting lost in every dish, Danny’s strategy was to scan for meals based on lentils and chickpeas, since those are the best bet for protein in a restaurant like this.
Some options on the menu leaned heavier on potatoes and vegetables, like cauliflower and potatoes, or peas and potatoes. Peas can help a little, but potato-based dishes are still going to skew more starchy.
Lentils, but read the description carefully
One dish appeared to be lentil-based and was marked vegan, but the description included “cream,” which is a red flag.
When you see something like that, the right move is simple: confirm with the staff. It could be a menu mistake, or it might be something they can modify.
Lentils are usually a higher-protein choice than chickpeas, so if it can truly be made vegan, it can be a strong option.
Chickpeas for the win: kabuli chana
When in doubt, chickpeas are a safe and filling pick.
Danny’s go-to at this restaurant is kabuli chana (similar to chana masala). It’s a chickpea dish, and it typically comes with rice, which matters for planning your carbs. If your main already includes rice, you usually don’t need to order extra carbs on the side.
Rice upgrades: small changes that add up
The menu also included specialty rice options.
If you want to swap from plain rice and you’re okay with the upcharge, a rice dish that includes peas can slightly bump protein without adding a lot of extra carbs. Peas are lower carb than rice, and specialty rice may also include more oil, so it’s something to keep in mind.
What Danny planned to order, before arriving
Based on the online menu, the plan was:
- Possibly aloo tikki (because it’s only two pieces and easy to share)
- Ask about the lentil dish (and confirm the “cream” issue)
- Default to kabuli chana with rice
Then it was time to test the plan in real life.
The pre-restaurant habit that prevents surprises: log the day first
Before leaving for dinner, Danny logs what he has already eaten that day in MyFitnessPal.
He’s not trying to “save up” calories by restricting earlier. The goal is to stay mindful so dinner doesn’t turn into an unplanned blowout.
On the way to the restaurant, he also pre-logs what he thinks he’ll order. It might change, but the big benefit is no post-meal shock when you see the numbers.
What they actually ordered at the restaurant
Once they arrived, the plan had to change.
The restaurant didn’t have the lentil dish available, so Danny ordered:
- Kabuli chana, hot, no cilantro
His partner, Jo, tried to order something hot too, but Danny stepped in because Jo wouldn’t be able to handle that spice level.
They also ordered:
- A side of mixed pickles (a favorite)
- Water to drink
They skipped a separate appetizer because the restaurant served papadum with tamarind and onion chutney at the table, which worked as their starter.
Portioning the meal (and why leftovers are your friend)
When the food arrived, Danny estimated:
- Kabuli chana: about 1.5 to 2 cups total
- Rice: about 2 cups total
For his plate, he served roughly:
- 1 cup of kabuli chana
- 1/2 cup of rice
- About 2 tablespoons of pickle
That ended up being plenty for dinner. He still had leftovers to wrap up, and Jo had quite a bit left as well.
Updating MyFitnessPal after the meal
After eating, Danny updated MyFitnessPal from the estimate to what he actually ate.
The biggest change was the pickles. The mango pickles were oilier than expected, so he added oil to the log.
He also pointed out something that matters for anyone tracking: restaurant logging is always an estimate. He couldn’t find the exact dish in MyFitnessPal, so he used a similar packaged chana masala entry he was familiar with, based on texture and thickness. He also tends to slightly overestimate to stay conservative.
The macro outcome: solid for a restaurant meal
With the meal included, Danny still stayed under 2,000 calories for the day.
The dinner itself came out to about 27 grams of protein.
For an Indian restaurant meal without tofu, tempeh, or seitan on the menu, that’s a realistic, workable result.
If you want more help beyond restaurant ordering
If you want support matching vegan food choices to your goals, Vegan Proteins has a few options mentioned in the episode:
- one-on-one coaching application with Vegan Proteins
- A free trial of the Muscles by Brussels Membership for vegan training and nutrition
- The 28 Day Overhaul program
Conclusion
Eating vegan at a regular Indian restaurant can be simple, but eating vegan with fitness goals takes a little planning. Checking the menu ahead, prioritizing lentils or chickpeas, and pre-logging your best guess can keep the meal on track without turning dinner into a math problem. The result here was filling, delicious, and still landed at a reasonable calorie total with 27 grams of protein. If there’s a restaurant menu you want to see next, think about the places you go with family and friends, and start there.
