The Vegan 9-5 Experience

Any vegan out there knows that there aren’t always enough options to eat when it comes to social gatherings. The same holds true at the office. It’s been almost three years since I graduated college and started working a 9-5, and about a year and a half since I went vegan, so I think that makes this a good time to reflect on my experience.

When I made the decision to go vegan, at first it really was a little difficult, especially since my diet until 5pm was composed of: For breakfast, either a poppy bagel and lox cream cheese spread with tomato & onion slices, or bacon, egg and cheese on a roll or croissant. I often bought a donut from a coffee cart. The occasional oatmeal with raisins was about as close as I came to the diet I follow now, and I loaded it with brown sugar and maple syrup. Sometimes I got breakfast and lunch at the cafeteria in my office building (run by Aramark), but usually I headed out to a local deli. For lunch, I ate a hero or a roll, chicken salad or turkey with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cheese, or a BLT. I also ate from hot dog stands, halal carts, and burger spots, even fast food once in a while. I ate pizza too, but most pizza in Times Square is on par with the Midwest, and obscenely overpriced. Every month or the office threw a party and brought in good NYC pizza or an ice cream cake. I should also mention that at this point, starting since early in college, I was fixed to about 5 cups of coffee a day, milk and sugar please.

When I first became vegan, these are meals which I figured would be impossible to replace. But, determined as I was, I started making changes. I brought in a tub of Tofutti cream cheese every week and kept it in the fridge, dobbed it onto a bagel, with the tomato and onion slices, all of which I picked up from the office cafeteria for $2, and this was worked for me. For lunch I was mostly eating random salads and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, until I found Green Symphony. This place is like the organic version of your typical deli, and I love it. I got hooked on their tofu and avocado wrap, with melted soy cheddar, otherwise known as “FS1”, FS standing for fresh sandwich. At the time, I got very short lunches, so I would call in my order and it was ready by the time I got there, 5 or 10 minutes later. They have the most amazing vegan food selection, most everything organic, and everything labeled with care and consideration, and I would recommend many items on their menu. I found on their breakfast menu, a toasted whole wheat bagel with tofu cream cheese, cooked onion, tomato and avocado, and this became a delicious staple. Between these options, I was pretty much set for the next 6 months. There was usually at least something I could grab in the cafeteria in my office building, or otherwise I could just call an order in to Green Symphony, and run down the block to pick it up. My office also had a Starbucks kiosk outside the cafeteria, and the women there made me a delicious coffee with steamed soy milk, several times a day, and they got to know me well enough that I barely had to say anything beyond the size I wanted. I also brought in soy milk for when I wanted free office coffee. At office parties it could be difficult, but my co-workers were aware that I made the change, and for the most part, they were really respectful. Because I was just starting out, a few people thought it would be a phase. When we discussed the reasons I became vegan, most just shrugged it off, while some defended themselves, but I am pretty sure I was the only vegan. On my last day at the office they threw me a pizza party and they were sure to get a few vegan pies.

When I changed jobs, and moved to an office one avenue away, I was thrilled that I would still be able to go to Green Symphony. Adding to this, I found a few new places that I could mix into my rotation, one in particular is Free Foods, another is Moshe’s Falafel, also Bread and Olive, and other salad bars I like are Café Duke and Grand Central Place (while not organic, they have a great salad bar with delicious quarter cut avocados, and tasty soups). I also eventually realized that there is also a seasonal fruit salad/juice cart on the street level right outside my office building, and some items are actually organic. For $3, the woman there takes your average small fruit salad container, stacks both halves with whatever fruit you desire, and wraps the whole thing closed with a rubber band. Soon I became introduced to juicing, and I started to buy a juice every once in a while too. I also brought in soy, rice or almond milk for my coffee and kept it in the office fridge.


A year and a half later, here’s how my meals shape out now:

Breakfast. Over the course of the past few months, I admit that I have been eating a more raw vegan diet and juicing (at least until dinner), so I have been going to the places I mentioned a bit less often. These days, for breakfast I have some 24oz variation of green vegetable juice which I buy for $4 from the juice cart on the street outside my office building (sometimes they give it to me for $3!), and I bring it upstairs and strain it (there is a usually still some pulp that weighs down the juice). I assure you that the juices are delicious, although perhaps you might need to develop a taste for it. Around the office I am always asked what I am drinking, some with quizzical looks. Every once in a while I get a fruit salad. If I’m really in the mood and can spare 15 minutes, I head over to Green Symphony and grab a bagel, or what I call their “breakfast salad”, kind of like an Israeli salad, but just a mix of chopped tomato, onion and avocado, with a slice of grain bread. By the way, coffee has mysteriously vanished from my routine, and I barely ever have a desire to drink a cup at work, although I don’t have a rule against it. For the record, my energy levels now are usually much higher than what they once were.

Lunch. For lunch, I usually bring a salad. It only takes me about 5 minutes in the morning to throw together some mixed greens, sprouts, cut up some cucumber, tomato and avocado, sprinkle it with Italian seasoning and pack it up. I keep olive oil and Bragg’s dressing at the office. I usually shop at Fairway or my local co-op on the weekend, and I get enough produce for a salad for lunch and dinner for the whole week, for under $30. Compare that to the $5 to $12 it costs to buy a salad for lunch in Midtown, which usually is not organic. I was fortunate enough this past week to make it down to Bonobo’s for a lunch date, and I doubt you could find a better tasting and more nutritious soup and salad in all of NYC, not to mention the rest of their selection which looked amazing, and I have no complaints about their prices or portions. I also met another buddy of mine for lunch the week before at Little Lad’s for the first time, it is in the basement of 120 Broadway, and I was definitely impressed with their $5 buffet, you get to fill up a plate and a bowl with a s salad and a combo of some really hearty dishes, it’s not a small lunch, and an extra plate is $1.

Snacks. I don’t usually get hungry between meals at work, but if I do, that’s when I might head over to Free Foods for something from their salad bar. I like the raw pizza and the raw lasagna the most. Fruit is also an option, depending on my mood. I know a lot of people snack throughout the morning or afternoon, well I’m a “Jay Leno” snacker, so I can tell you that there are a lot of great vegan, and raw options, and since I don’t snack at the office, I’ll leave this subject for another post.

The larger office parties at my job pretty much serve exclusively to the non-vegan palate. At a monthly luncheon there is usually a fruit salad, but I am not always interested in fruit. Sometimes they have a mixed green salad with some tomatoes mixed in, but I must say, it has been a craps shoot. And the real dishes are never vegan. During the last luncheon, I basically didn’t eat, I’m sure some of the people there were wondering what the heck was wrong with me, but I held out and I bitterly went out to grab a bite afterwards. I’ve been thinking about making a special request, but I usually eat a salad for lunch anyway so I haven’t made the effort yet. Still, it can be annoying. If I eventually make a request, I will let you know how that goes, but in the meantime, I would definitely appreciate hearing any stories about a conversation on this subject with HR.

At our smaller departmental office parties for birthdays and such, my co-workers are generally very considerate of me, most recently offering to add a vegan pizza and salad to the lunch order to accommodate. I do feel like I am one of the only people with some kind of special diet consideration, and it can make me feel a little out of place. When people bring food into the office to share, unless it is fruit, it is a good bet that it’s not vegan. Sometimes I feel bad turning down a cake or pie that one of my co-workers made and wants to share, and sometimes I just say that it’s too early in the day for me. It disappoints me that many people tend to believe that non-vegan ingredients (i.e. eggs, milk or butter) are essential ingredients, either to a foods taste or texture, or to the body’s health and overall nutrition and metabolism. I think that there are so many reasons and examples why this is obviously not the case.

I hope this all goes to show that there is no doubt that you can easily be a vegan working in Midtown. Hopefully if you are thinking about changing the direction of your diet, you can see that there are a few stellar, and plenty of decent options at a reasonable cost, or you can plan ahead and bring food from home for even more cheaply. It is still clear that the majority of lunch options in town are decidedly un-vegan, and also very unhealthy, and despite the difficulty of social situations, I have found some great options for myself. It bothers me that at both offices I’ve worked at, all of the fridges are kept stocked with many gallons of many kinds of milk, and I bet a bunch of it gets thrown out at the end of every week. It wouldn’t bother me if lots of 9-5ers decided to start eating better for their health, and as an unintended consequence, vegans like me might have some more legitimate options in the workplace. I always think to myself, wouldn’t it be great if Green Symphony’s started replacing all the McDonalds? After all, there isn’t much difference in price between a #1 and an FS2, but those two sandwiches are worlds apart.