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How is eating out possible?


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So, let me preface this by explaining that I may be worrying about absolutely nothing. I rarely eat out (and if I do, most of it is fast-food meals because I am lazy- something I obviously will need to get over). However, when I DO eat out, it's often a last-minute decision. It's not unusual to decide, while leaving church, that we should all go out to eat. Sometimes, it's a trip to get ethnic food. Other times, it's grabbing a quick, late dinner at Panera. 

I certainly do not want to live in a bubble during my Whole30 (which I plan to start in a few weeks- I have a bit of prep-work to do before I can begin). In cases where it's a late dinner at Panera, etc, I can always suggest Chipotle as an option instead (both Panera locations in the area are right by Chipotle). 

But the ethnic food thing is a bit trickier. In many of these cases, the employees speak broken English, so making special requests can be nearly impossible. Plus, sugar can be hidden in just about ANYTHING.

I've already determined that I'm going to skip out on my young adults' group events that involve dining out during that 30 Days. Fortunately, one of the upcoming events is Chick-fil-A which someone is bringing from another town, so it won't even be fresh. Not a difficult decision to skip. The other thing is a picnic/BBQ at a house that's pretty much down the street from me, so I can either bring something safe, or eat first and come a little later.

I'm just feeling very discouraged when I look at menus and see that everything is either obviously not going to work, OR it is one of those things that LOOKS safe, but has hidden ingredients that make it off-limits.

Fortunately, the only regular social event I have that involves food to some capacity is my Bible study on Thursday nights. I'll just continue to bring some fun salads and/or other Whole30 friendly options. I try to avoid bringing sugary/carby foods anyway since one of the guys there sticks to a primal diet most of the time (though, he DOES do dairy). I'm not against, if my budget for the week doesn't allow me to prepare a protein for the entire group, bringing my own protein to zap in the microwave and eat along with a salad I bring to share. 

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You just have to ask the questions and be very clear about your needs are - there really is no other way.

Your best bet is to go for plain/dry grilled steak, pork loin or fish with sides of steamed veg, or plain baked potatoes, or plain salads & then bring your own dressings, oils or mayo.

You are probably more likely to find compliant meals in indian cuisine rather than chinese as (in my part of the world) they often cook with ghee & use coconut oil/milk/butter. That said you need to be wary of peanut oils.

Avoid marinades & sauces, and even spice mixes unless you can get the chef's guarantee that they comtain nothing off limits.

 

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Congratulations on deciding to start a Whole30!

Indeed dining out can seem daunting and the places you describe are going to be more difficult to get compliant meals (fast food or faster food places are going to be especially difficult).

That said, it's only 4 Sundays after church... If you are going to follow the suggestions of doing meal prep etc... then you'll have prepared food at home which may then make the 'last minute decision' to go out to eat a moot point... I imagine that aside from the social aspect, the last minute decision to go to panera is made partially on the basis that there's 'no food at home'.

You don't have to live in a bubble to do a whole30 without eating at fast food restaurants. Your plan of bringing food to eat and share to Bible study sounds like a great one and maybe if part of the social aspect of Panera after church is important to you, you can plan one week to invite those same people to your home for lunch? Or suggest that your after church social group all bring something and have an after church potluck in a park or someone's home...

You won't find good recommendations for how to eat at fast food restaurants because there aren't any... what you end up getting if you can make something compliant is usually bland, sad and expensive. The ethnic restaurants may be more able to accommodate but you're right that if there's a language barrier, figuring out if the veggies are cooked in soy oil or the sauce has sugar is going to be difficult.

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Inviting people over to my house isn't an option (I don't live alone), and often, this is a last-minute decision. For example, I had church on Friday. Around 8pm, my friend and I were both hungry, so we decided to grab a bite to eat at Panera. Eating before church wasn't an option. Not only was there no time, but I finished lunch around 2pm and I left work a little after 5, so I wasn't hungry. 

In the event that I'm invited to hang out at a friend's house after church (which happens occasionally), I can always make a stop at a grocery store to pick up some Aidell's chicken apple sausages and a bag of frozen veggies (my friends all have olive and coconut oils in their house). But eating out is tricky. I don't always choose the dining location, and, again, how am I supposed to ask questions of a server who doesn't speak English?

I'm not against keeping a little squeeze bottle of olive oil/vinegar and/or a bottle of coconut aminos in my purse. I'm definitely not against ordering sushi rolls without rice. (Personally, I prefer sashimi, but when I get sushi, it's usually because the rolls are half-price) (though, I'm unsure if I'll need to skip the wasabi or not). 

In all honesty, I'm probably worrying about nothing. If I DO get invited to eat out after a church service or something, I can manage at a place like Panera (the roasted turkey has no sugar, so I'll bring my own emergency dressing and get a salad with turkey, veggies, and avocado) or Chipotle. For a sit-down option, I'll suggest a place like Houlihans that cooks everything from scratch (so, I'll probably order salmon or steak off the gluten-sensitive menu [seasoned with salt and pepper and ask for everything to be cooked in olive oil.). 

It's really the impromptu, hole-in-the-wall ethnic dining situations that are going to be a challenge. 

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If you can't communicate clearly with the staff, I don't think it's really possible to eat out and stick to Whole30. Eating out in general is possible, but as the others have said, it requires a lot of questions and staff who's able to answer those questions.

 

I'm familiar with the situation you're in, and no one wants you to live in a bubble while on Whole30 (or any other time!). One solution might be to keep not only your salad dressing items with you, but also some nonperishable emergency food items (preferably not a sugar-bomb Larabar, though those would work in an absolute emergency - more along the lines of almonds and a tuna pouch, that kind of thing). Then you can have that snack to get you through, order an unsweet tea or something small (if you need to, depending on the situation) and eat a full meal when you get home. Not ideal, but hopefully you won't run into more than a few of those situations.

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I do plan on keeping some emergency snacks on hand (though, the nice thing about a Larabar is I can leave one in my purse for weeks and only eat it if I'm REALLY hungry; some foods, I'll eat just because they're there). I plan on keeping a couple squeeze bottles of dressing (or one of olive oil, one of oil and vinegar, and one of coconut aminos) on hand. 

I just like to make a plan of what I'll order if I go to certain places. For a diner trip, I'll probably stick with a salad with as many veggies as I can get (including avocado; I'm not sure if the black olives will be ok), hardboiled eggs, and maybe some other protein. Salmon? Shrimp from a shrimp cocktail (I don't like the sauce anyway, so no worries) and my own dressing. 

I am probably worrying about nothing. Again, I don't eat out too often, so I may not need to worry about eating out at all, but I do want to have a plan just in case.

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Where I live we have a lot of restaurants where language can be a real issue and really, a lot of these places aren't safe to eat in, not just because of the language but also they tend to be less sophisticated kitchens, with a lot of food/sauces prepared offsite and they have no idea what's in it.

 

Even gluten free menus can be full of corn and other non-compliant ingredients, there's no short cuts in finding compliant food when eating out (even paleo restaurants can have things like honey). If you don't want to ask in front of everyone though, you can call ahead and ask (best results when it's not super busy).

 

I know it feels weird, but it's good to ask for places you can eat, as part of your plan, try and find at least two places where you are confident you can eat and then you can suggest those if people are going out (you get a say too). Most people can understand people working hard on their health, so just let them know it's important to you. We all like to get along, but trust me, no one wants you to sacrifice your health, just ask :)

 

For some no-fuss emergency food, compliant tuna + compliant tinned green beans + compliant olives is a meal and if you can get them in small cans/jars, keep some in your purse or glove box (much better than a Larabar, no sugar dragon poking required).

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Oh, I completely understand the dangers of a gluten-free menu, but that'll still be a starting point for many of my dining out experiences. From looking at the gluten-free menu at Houlihans, I can see that I can order the salmon or steak seasoned with just salt and pepper. Then, it's just a matter of requesting olive oil instead of butter, etc.

On the bright side, I found out that my raspberry balsamic vinegar is a-ok. One of my favorite salads is mixed greens and fresh berries with avocado, goat cheese, and toasted nuts (usually a mixture of pecans and almonds) topped with olive oil and raspberry balsamic vinegar. I'll just add a sprinkle of salt to the nuts and nix the cheese for the Whole30. 

I've been in clean-out mode to make room for food. I don't live alone, but I do buy my own food, so I've been working on eating up foods I can't eat on the Whole30- and giving away anything I know I won't eat in time. I have a bag of bread, store brand butter, and a few other goodies in my freezer to give to a friend on Thursday. My fridge has a half gallon of organic milk (unopened) for another friend. I don't usually eat food I don't buy, so I'm not as worried about that, but I need temptation out of my house.

Plus, giving away food is making me more determined to start this thing.

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