Julzology Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I work at a country club where they feed us lunch every day. There's almost always a huge tossed salad and a protein so I've been able to eat lunch this week every day but one. But today, at the bottom of the salad bowl there was some mozzarella and though I tried to pick around it some mozzarella got into my salad. I picked around the actual cheese but noticed that there was some mozzarella juice (for lack of a better term) clinging to some of the lettuce. Not a ton, not actually cheese, so .....I ate the salad. Should I have tossed it because it had been "contaminated" with dairy? The alternative would be that I'd have to leave and go purchase something suitable for lunch. Today the protein was pork chops and truth be told I have no idea how these have been prepared but given that there was no sauce and they looked (and tasted unfortunately) fairly dry I ate that as well. Am I being less than strict or just reasonabe? This is just day #4 for me so I'm a newbie. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 The basic rule of thumb with eating out on Whole30 is to politely ask a million questions. I'm not sure what the answer is for you but generally I don't pick around things when I'm on Whole30. Is this something that is pre-tossed and provided? Is it dressed already? This article might help if you can ask questions: http://whole9life.com/2012/11/dining-out-whole30/ Do you know what kind of cooking oils they use? I would make sure that soybean oil isn't used on the grill to cook the meats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted August 7, 2014 Moderators Share Posted August 7, 2014 You have to be as strict as is necessary. The big deal with the Whole30 is that if you do not keep something out of your diet for 30 days, it is difficult to recognize how it effects you. Lots of people believe they have no food sensitivities until they follow a real elimination protocol and then they discover that some foods do have a negative influence on them. Because of this, we make a big deal of how critical it is to not just reduce how much of an off-plan ingredient you eat, but that you eliminate it entirely. It sounds like you can't be sure if you got a little cheese in your lunch or not. Or if it was an amount that might matter. I personally would probably keep going, but you can see that it is worth the effort to be careful about things like this. The thing is, if you are not sensitive to something, eating a stray scrap of cheese won't hurt. However, if you are sensitive, and you eat tiny bits occasionally when served in a restaurant, you might not learn about your sensitivity when you reintroduce dairy later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ultrarunnergirl Posted August 7, 2014 Moderators Share Posted August 7, 2014 You really have to ask how things are prepared. The chances that your pork chop was just a plain pork chop with salt and pepper? It's possible but not probable. The sad reality is all kinds of additives are slapped on your food that you would never guess. Remember, this isn't about following a bunch of strict rules for nothing, this is about your health and well-being. If it were me I would ask for salad ahead of time before cheese (or anything else) is added, and bring my own compliant tuna or other protein. When I do a Whole30, I feel that with all the effort I am putting into planning, shopping, cooking, skipping happy hours and turning down treats, I am going to make damn sure I don't get dosed with bad ingredients from outside food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julzology Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 That really does make sense. I do not have any food sensitivity that I know of b?t I've never done an elimination diet of any kind so how would I know. I'm sure the little bit of mozzarella juice that was clinging to a few of the lettuce leaves isn't going to have a huge effect in the greater scheme of things (it was just a few drops, really). I don't have a choice what they serve to employees at lunch. We don't get to order, they just put a bunch of food out and people take what they want. I would do well to get into the habit of preparing my own lunch. I'm just lazy and being fed is convenient and cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 You can always have a chat with the chefs, ask a few questions. You may find some items aren't good (meat marinated in sugar) but other things are fine. You're only on Day 4, so a restart (or just making it a Whole34) now is not as hard as one at Day 15. My first Whole30 helped me identify terrible reactions to gluten and dairy. Being strict may seem over the top, but I was feeling unwell all the time before my first Whole30 and without the clean time I would not have noticed the difference when doing the reintroductions. I never thought I had any food sensitivities. Now I have a whole new kind of health Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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