Can I still be a vegan in Italy?

[vegathlete]

I'm going to be spending a month in Rome this summer, and I'm really curious as to what it's going to be like eating vegan there. Does anyone know of any health food stores? What kind of options do you think I'll have at restaurants? Also, does anyone know how to say vegan in Italian? This should be interesting...

Any input would be great!

[runner]

vegan in roma is not dificult.

there are many vegans there just contact some off the people http://www.myspace.com/doomsdaymetal

http://www.vegansport.org/

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[Tarz]

This translation will help:

SONO VEGETARIANO.

NON MANGIO PRODOTTI ANIMALI O INGREDIENTI DERIVATI DA ANIMALI

NON MANGIO CARNE,PESCE,FORMAGGIO ,UOVA,BURRO,MIELE O QUALSIASI CIBO CHE CONTENGA QUESTI INGREDIENTI.

NON MANGIO PASTA ALL'UOVO.

MANGIO FRUTTA, VERDURA , INSALATE..ECC.

[XkillerX]

Does anyone know of any health food stores? What kind of options do you think I'll have at restaurants?

dude it's only a month... worst comes to worst you can survive by eating carboards although that's not the brightest idea. who needs healthstores? peanuts are peanyts everywhere, same goes for chickpeas, walnuts and just about any kind of nuts out there... and fruit. and veggies.

if you ask me i'd do what i always do, skip on visiting (usually, quite expensive) restaurants and use the saved up money to travel around the country and see as much as i can. food is food any way you make it and eat it, but i've yet to see two same countries!

[Gelert]

Soniczip can give the lowdown on this as regards Italy, but xkillerx is right, it is only a month. With a little preparation one can be vegan anywhere - this means a bit of research, and taking some stuff with you - high protein concentrated food that doesn't go off is highly reccomended.

Or, you can rough it. Last year I spent a month on a mix of bread and baked beans for protein while expending 5-6 thousand cal per day doing fieldwork, while my colleagues tucked into whalemeat and reindeer. This year I'm taking the prepared approach instead

[xrodolfox]

Italy has got to be the easiest place on earth to be vegan.

My wife and I spent 2 weeks there on our honeymoon in 2001, both of us as vegans, with no info, very little Italian, and we mostly stayed in small towns.

It was SO easy. The bread and pasta is vegan since they don't add eggs or milk to it. The Pomodoro was vegan. The veggies and fruits were vegan. And the olive oil. Oooh the olive oil. Well, I could have that all day.

We went out to eat and ate vegan only. We stayed in and had nice food from the local stores that was vegan. We even got vegan sorbetto and pizza and more.

Unless you make it hard on yourself, it's quite easy.

[chloe]

yep agreed with all the above, i also roughed it out in spain on the oddest combos of food, i brought lentils in a jar and added lemon juice garlic and olive oil and had that on bread . or brought tinned tomatoes and dipped bread in those. i was really really on a 'shoestring' though, if you can manage it with no money, you can definately definately manage it on a bit of spending cash, go for sundried tomatoes and olives and fruit and veges,...mmmmm

[soniczip]

hi vegathlete.

This translation will help: SONO VEGETARIANO...

the rest of the translation could help if you know ho to pronounce it but "vegetariano" doesn't mean vegan ... it means vegetarian, so you don't want to use that word. you have to say "vegano"; but if you go to a restaurant or supermarket, they wont necessary know what a "vegano" is and what the difference between a "vegano" and a "vegetariano" is.

that said, living in italy as a vegan is extremely easy because the mediterranean cuisine is heavily based on grains, fruits and vegs. this reflects on choices you have at restaurants, supermarkets, minimarkets, outdoor markets, etc.

if you go to a supermarkets, (almost) all packed food is labelled both in italian and english.

if you go to restaurants in turistic places like rome, they should have menus in english or at least a waiter that does speak some english. if that isn't the case you can explain, or hand the waiter a piece of paper with what tarz wrote (changing "vegetariano" into "vegano") and ask or write: "cosa mi può suggerire?" (what can you suggest?). he/she'll come up with plenty of options from rich salads to pastas with so many different kinds of sauces (just remember to specify not to add any cheese (formaggio) on it, because cheese is a huge thing in italy and everybody, apart from vegans and extra terrestrials, puts it on pasta.

you can also go to any pizzeria and ask for whatever pizza you want, and tell the waiter you want it without "mozzarella". just choose any without meat or fish or eggs on it. or you can ask a pizza with the ingredients you want. i allways ask for "pizza con (with) rucola (rocket), funghi (mushrooms), e (and) pomodori (tomatoes) senza (without) mozzarella (mozzarella cheese); something i often ask for as well is "pizza marinara" (tomatoes, garlic, oregano, oil).

in essence ... you'll be fine

enjoy your holiday and let us know how it went, once you're back

[soniczip]

...or brought tinned tomatoes and dipped bread in those...

ggghhhrrr

[Hiking Fox]

I spent a couple of weeks in Rome a few years back and found it really easy to be vegan. You shouldn't struggle, as long as you are not intolerant to wheat!

My tips (apologies if I have spelt any words wrong):

There are delis everywhere, at which you can buy bread, sun dried tomatoes, olives, artichokes and grilled aubergines. Then sit in a square and eat them.

All pizza places that aren't aimed purely at tourists do 'Marinara' (surprisingly yummy pizza with just tomato sauce and often torn basil), 'pene al arabiata' (penne pasta with a tomato chilli sauce), and 'spaghetti alio olio pepperonccino' (spaghetti with garlic, chilli and loads of olive oil).

There is a chain of pizza places in Rome that do modular toppings - you choose whatever you want from the menu. You can end up with a pizza topped with olive oil, tomatoes, roast veg, garlic, rocket, peppers, pine nuts, herbs, and all sorts of other stuff.

There is at least one Jewish bakery - where dairy products are not used.

Most of the ice cream stands do 'gelato de soia' (soya ice cream!) and some have a variety of flavours.

Salads usually contain meat - beware.

[soniczip]

My tips (apologies if I have spelt any words wrong)

accepted

'pene al arabiata'

hem, "pene" is something different from "penne" check it ou in an italian - english dictionary http://wordreference.com/

[Hiking Fox]

Sorry, that was a typo - I know it is spelt 'penne'.

I've probably got some of the other words wrong, though.

[chloe]

'pene al arabiata'

hem, "pene" is something different from "penne" check it ou in an italian - english dictionary http://wordreference.com/ [/quote]

heheh funny!

[Veganitaliana]

I just discovered a wonderful vegan site from Italy. Check it out to get support for your visit and practice your Italian. http://promiseland.it

Enjoy your trip. Ciao.

[bob_summers]

so i gather from the above that, say, penne or spaghetti pasta would usually be made without egg? that's good news, i always assumed it was egg pasta.