Tuesday, December 7

Can I ever eat out again?

reposted from 6-17-05

"No." The answer is short and simple. "...at least never again with the ease you did in the past." With that said, I would add, "That's a GF Reality."

My doctor said, "It is what it is." I didn't realize then how right he was (or actually what he meant.)

I like to imagine life with CD (celiac disease) as a whole new adventure. I think of myself as a jet-setter visiting a foreign country, speaking a language no one understands, with a strange disinclination to eat that country's favorite food. This food item is included in, on, and around every menu choice and I get to educate the hostess, waitstaff, and chef.

Still, after all that, I might fail. And I get to pay for this pleasure, not only monetarily but physically for weeks afterward.

See how things go on a first date here: http://glu-teenfree.blogspot.com/2010/03/gf-ninja.html

Yet, the payoff can worth it and I can continue to have a life and socialize with friends if I take a few precautions in advance.

#1 Call ahead and ask about a GF menu and GF options.
#2 I review the menu again and take with me a dining card explaining CD.
#3 Talk to the server--(get them on your side).
#3 Review the preparation when the meal comes with the server.

Payoff can be so worthwhile. (Like the Thunder-Down-Under dessert I stumbled on at Outback Steak House.) http://www.outback.com/foodandmenus/pdf/glutenfree.pdf

Go there and eat dessert first.

Helpful sites:
Food allergy dining cards to hand to waitstaff at http://www.foodallergybuddy.com/

Triumph dining cards: http://www.triumphdining.com/

My son took these to Europe on a school trip and came home relatively unscathed. (Italy really knows their gluten-free pasta. Asking for no bread in France is anti-cultural and they are insulted enough to start a war--which, the son assures me, given their military history, they would lose.)

Other side benefits: The fifteen-year old could say "No bread," in four different languages.

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