Do you find yourself saying or asking any of these things when you’re eating away from home? 

“Sorry, I can’t eat this”

“I have a wheat intolerance”

“I can’t eat that – it’s against my principles”

“It’s green foods only this week”

“Is there artificial sweetener in that?”

We all have constraints that we put on our food and reasons why we don’t eat this or that. It’s cool because I have some of my own, you’ll read later what they are.

What I am not so cool with is that many people I know including clients, get themselves into such a confused state about what to eat when out and about.

What I mean by this is, if you know for example you have an intolerance to let’s say, milk, you don’t  eat meat for health reasons and you know eggs makes you itch, then know in an instant what you are prepared to compromise on if you are ever faced with less food options to select from – in other words, have your own philosophy about what you eat.

To illustrate what I mean here is my own example.

Just so you know….I eat a lot of RAW FOODS, I am Vegan (I don’t eat meat or any by-product from an animal regardless of whether it flies, swims or roams the earth), and I have a wheat intolerance (I get very puffed up like michelin wo-man)

I was at a funeral recently and attended the wake. Before I arrived I had a good idea that the food would contain a lot of wheat, cooked meats and animal by-products, it sure did….there were scotch eggs, pork pies, sausage rolls, quiches, sandwiches of varying meat varieties. 

What did I eat, you may ask? I had the garnish that comprised of red / green pepper, salad leaves, carrots, watercress and peanuts. I also had some herbal tea (I asked for it) as there were only two flasks – one for coffee and one for tea. I wasn’t upset by the lack of variety in food. I was very grateful there was something I could eat and that I could share a tender moment like this with others. This occasion was about celebrating the life of this person not anything to do with the food.

My compromise was; it had to be vegan. Actually, If something had wheat in it and was vegan I would have eaten it too, but not too much as I know I would be paying for it later. I didn’t want for anything fancy – in years gone by I know I would have been cursing that there wasn’t anything for me. 

I know this is not the greatest example but I just want to illustrate the fact that there will be times when the choices of food are not going to be plentiful or compliment your eating preferences, just remember that you have plenty of opportunities to eat at other times – unless this is indeed your ‘last supper’.

Things to bear in mind when you are eating away from home:

  • Be grateful you have food on your plate, because there are plenty of people who do not.
  • Celebrate you have many choices about the food you eat.
  • When you decide to accept an invitation and know food is going to be served, plan accordingly e.g. eat just before hand, bring a stash of your favourite nibbles or if possible / appropriate mention your dietary requirements to the caterer – no host likes to see no-one eating.
  • Most of all, know what your food philosophy is. 

Do you have any dietary requirements? I would be interested to hear how you manage, when eating away from home.  Feel free to post your comments here.