Eating Out (sort of!) on Day 2. An unexpected difficulty

[BoCa]

It is Day 2 for my husband and me. We live in India, so we have limited places to eat out. At Indian restaurants, almost all food has either yogurt, cream, or something sweet, often just plain sugar. There is also the problem of getting an answer to a question. It's a cultural thing. They want to answer your question, they don't want to disappoint by saying "I don't know", so often the answer is a lie based on what they think you want to hear. That makes eating out during this 30 days pretty difficult!

 

So today is day two and we decided to have lunch out at the restaurant inside the American Embassy compound (it's where we work). I figured our menu would be informative, trustworthy, and the staff there, though Indian, would be more accustomed to American questions. We're a pretty annoying culture with all of our incessant questions! Or so it seems :-)

 

I read the menu. Unbelievable lack of options on it. It came down to one entree that I thought I could reasonably expect accommodations on, or a bowl of lettuce. I'd never really thought about it, but really, here in Asia, the food is just NOT conducive to Whole 3o, which is probably why I weigh what I weigh.

 

The entree I decided to go with was Teriyaki marinated salmon with grilled vegetables and fragrant rice. So the question was if the salmon could be prepared without marinating (teriyaki has soy, and soys no good) and if they could just leave the rice out. I knew I'd never be able to get a straight answer on what the fat was that they prepared the veg in or the salmon in, but I know that the default fat is oil, and I decided that would just have to be good enough. My husband ordered Mediterranean chicken kabobs but had to leave half his plate uneaten (humus, pita, cheese cubes in the side Greek salad), and that really bothered him. 

 

We could have had a green salad with no dressing. But that's hardly a lunch. To make a lunch that would have fit Whole 30, I'd have had to ask them to create it out of the bits and pieces of a lot of different entrees. Ugh. I couldn't go there. 

 

I hated being "that person" who asks for all kinds of accommodations. I hated being "that person" the waiter looked at that way. I hated being difficult and annoying. My meal was fine. But I have to say, this may be the month I do not eat out. That's a difficulty I had not really expected. It seems a little lonely, to be honest. Eating out is something my friends and I do. 

[EJSmadhatter]

Wow I thought eating out in America was bad when you have to do this. Great job on sticking to it as much as possible. I have found through my many failed attempts at cleaning up my diet that for me it is easier to not eat out, especially when I have just started. I probably wouldn't have done as well as you. I hate being that person who asks for special things too. I found that if I tell people that I have allergies to some foods that they work with you better. Not sure if that will help you in India.

[BoCa]

Anything is helpful, so thanks! I think I'm going to probably eat in for the most part, and have parties! I was thinking about that. Why not just have people over to my house and I'll do the cooking? But for the temptation of the wine for the guests, I can make things that work for the Whole 30 and they'll probably be none the wiser, since it can easily be quite delicious :-)

[LauraJS]

My suggestion is just plan to go to places that you have viewed the menu online before hand so you know you will have options or call ahead to speak to the manager to explain to them the things you can eat and if they have optoins.

 

I am on day 5 and I have eaten out twice on my weekend with family.

 

First place I went to was a seafood restaurant so I got 6 natural oysters and a piece of grilled salmon and asked for no chips and just a garden salad with no dressing and just some lemon wedges.  They almost got it right but of course the chips still came out but the rest of my family were happy to eat those for me lol.

 

The second restaurant was a yacht club so i got online that day and viewed their menu and realised that steak would be the best option for me so once again i got some natural oysters followed by a rare steak.  the steak was meant to come with a ceaser salad and chips but i asked for none of that and just a garden salad with lemon wedges again. and of course once again the chips came out with my meal lol. this time i removed them off my plate right away because i wasnt in a good enough mood to stare at them on my plate all night lol.  and i was too hungry both nights to send my meal back to get the chips taken away. 

 

 

i agree with you and i hated asking for everything the way i wanted it, but at the end of the day we pay money to get what we would like to put into our bodies.  

 

the next place im going to eat at will be a sushi / japanese restaurant because i just love raw fish and i will take along my coconut aminos  instead of having soy sauce.

 

if you do have the time just try plan ahead or speak to someone before you even get seated at a table so if it sounds like they cant cater for your specific needs then move along and find a different place.

 

i wont be eating out as much as usual this month either though but with a little pre planning it can be done and its not all that bad!   best of luck with it all!

[BoCa]

If I were in America, that would be an excellent solution. Unfortunately, I live in New Delhi, India and do not speak Hindi, and, even if I did, there's the cultural thing Indians do -- they want to tell you want they think you want to hear, and so they lie. It's not meant rudely. Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. They want to please, and this is how they do it.

 

So, unfortunately, the Whole 30 is quite complicated here in India for that reason as well as for other reasons. I'm still doing it, but one of the side effects is that I will have to eat at home this month or carry my own food. 

[LauraJS]

oh i see! that does make it hard! 

 

yes in that case I would just not eat out for the duration of your whole30 and make your own foods.  safer that way

 

best of luck!

[BoCa]

I also have to admit that I have a cook/housekeeper. Now, she's Indian, so she is looking at me like I'm insane. "No rice? What the heck do you mean, No Rice?".  "No potato? But you said no rice, so what's left? Potato!"

 

On the upside, she's a South Indian, and South Indians love the coconut. Coconut everything. So I've given her the list of what I can eat and told her to just have at it. We'll see what happens! Might be really great. Yesterday she bought four coconuts at the market, brought them home for her husband to crack open (you have to have this skill. We all admit that we do not have it), and brought them in today. She's going to make us fresh coconut milk.

 

So, no restaurants, but I really can't complain :-)

[LauraJS]

haha I can just imagine her confusion when you say no to rice and potato!!

 

You'll have to let me know what amazing dishes she does come up with!  Anything with coconut is always delish in my books!

 

During these 30 days I do prefer eating in and cooking my own creations than the stress of going out, but I do still love going out for a black coffee with friends