If someone asked you to describe your ideal match, you might say things like “single,” “sexy” and “socially conscious.” Would the word “vegetarian” be on your list of preferred qualities? If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, chances are it would.

It’s easy to dream up the perfect date, but finding someone special in real life can be far more difficult. Most online dating sites aren’t much help if you’re looking for a fellow vegetarian. Match.com has hundreds of thousands of members, but you won’t find a checkbox for “vegetarian” when you fill out a profile. You can search by keyword to find other members who happen to mention their meatless way of life, but wouldn’t it be easier if all the vegetarians were in one place?

VeggieDate, Veggie Matchmakers and All4Vegan.net are just a few of the websites offering online dating services for vegetarians. Green Singles provides listings for vegetarians as well as people interested in the environment and animal rights. Many of these sites are free to use, or offer a free trial period. The pool of potential dating candidates on a vegetarian site is far smaller than you'll find on mainstream sites, but Alan Wrigley of Veggie Matchmakers explains why the low numbers are misleading. “ We currently have around 500 active members using the site. Bearing in mind that only 5% of the population are vegetarian, and many of those are not averse to forming relationships with meat-eaters and would therefore probably not use our service, this number probably equates to 20,000 or more on a conventional dating site.”

Marialyce, an environmental resource analyst in California, feels the people she’s met on a vegetarian site are “of a higher caliber” than other sites where the profile questions asked had nothing to do with what she is looking for in a partner. She has had good luck with Green Singles, and recently went away for the weekend with a guy she met on the site.

One drawback with vegetarian sites is that the lower member numbers may mean there aren’t many potential matches in your geographical area. Rural locations may not have any members at all. Are you prepared to open your heart to someone who lives hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away? If you fall in love, are you willing to move? Lori, a naturalist from California, found someone she really likes 1964 miles away in Illinois, and plans to meet him for the first time in April.

Using Green Singles, Laura, a personal trainer in Georgia, met a man who lives two hours away. They get together frequently and she is considering moving closer to where he lives. Other online daters aren’t as eager to travel great distances for love.   Anita, from Montreal, Canada, found the lack of members in her area frustrating, and says she “would have to travel halfway across the continent to meet people.” She wishes sites like VeggieDate and Green Singles would do more advertising to get the word out that these great alternative sites exist.

If you aren’t getting many email responses to your profile, VeggieDate offers a way to meet fellow vegetarians instantly – a free vegetarian chat room. The feature is popular with Toto from California, who finds vegetarian sites connect him with people who are attuned to his way of thinking.

Whatever method you choose, remember to be cautious when meeting people online.  The following list offers advice from other vegetarians on how to make the most of your online dating experience:

1. Write messages to the people you find attractive. You’re much less likely to meet someone if you wait for other people to contact you.

2. Respond to messages. It’s the polite thing to do, even if all you’re saying is “Sorry, I’m not interested.”

3. Get a photo. You won’t be as nervous meeting someone for the first time if you have an image in your head of what the person looks like. “This has been my rule, but I broke it once and had no idea who I was going to be confronted with. I went to the restaurant for our meeting and waited for her to show up and my imagination ran wild on which person on the street it might be, in a most uncomfortable way. The lady didn't even show up. I haven't done that again.” – a dater from California.

4. Take everything you read in a profile with a grain of salt. “Some people are misleading either intentionally or just because they have a certain idea of themselves that might be different from your viewpoint once you get to know them better.” – Lisa, Wisconsin.

5. No matter how well you click by email or over the phone, be sure your first date is in a public place, and keep it short. Meeting for coffee is perfect. If the person is different from what you expected, or vice versa, at least the date will be over quickly.  Logan found this out the hard way, after making plans to spend the entire day with a man she met online. When they met, she found he was nothing like he had described in his profile. She had driven two hours to spend the day with a man she had no interest in.

6. If you’re nervous before a meeting, it never hurts to be careful. Let a friend know where you’ll be, and the name of the person you’re meeting.