Mongolian Barbecue

[MrsStick]

Okay, I'm going to a friend's birthday party tonight at a Mongolian BBQ Place. Huge bonus of being able to pick what I want, not what they want for me (i.e. no rice or noodles). The big questions, though, are the following:

1. Should I bother asking about oil? I speak limited German, but would be able to possibly stumble through. Is no oil better than soy or canola oil? I doubt they'd even do that, but would it be better? Should I just not bother and be happy I made it through without eating grains?

2. Sauces...has anyone ever gone to one of these places and seen a compliant sauce? Should I just go with something that sounds like it's the least non-compliant? I know that if my food is bland, I won't enjoy myself. I do not have coconut aminos (haven't found them locally) to just substitute for soy sauce or something. Is soy sauce a better option than, say, a sauce that might also contain sugar?

I'm so confused on what I should or shouldn't get...I'm going to go to support the friend (who was one of my tent-mates in Afghanistan) but I don't want to be the super weird one...just the one whose plate might be a little bit different but still eating and, therefore, not bizarre.

Any advice?

[Kirsteen]

Personally I would really avoid the soy. I don't know what your restaurant will be like. We have a Mongolian Barbecue here and it's really easy. You fill your bowl with raw meat and veggies of your choice add oil (they use olive) and then whatever individual spices you want and they cook it in front of you. They have recipies on the wall if you're not sure what goes with what. If your's is similar there wouldn't be a problem. Where I go, it would also be possible to discreetly add your own oil, if you had a small bottle with you. Good luck

[MrsStick]

Well, looks like my Whole 30 will be longer! I made a plate of fruit, veggies, and fish (I rarely cook it at home, so I figured it'd be a good way to get it in my diet) and took it to the grill. It came back with soy sauce and I had to make a decision between making a scene (I speak little German and our waiters spoke very little English) and extending my Whole 30. I guess you guys know what choice I made...ugg...

The good (ish) news is that I resisted dessert except for some fruit. I had part of a banana (it was next to a fondue fountain for dipping...I just took the fruit), some honeydew, and some pineapple. I'm mad about the soy sauce added to my food but our food was so anonymized I couldn't get any message to the cook staff not to add anything. You had a clothespin on your plate and left it up there; there were at least 10 or 15 plates before mine in line and there definitely wasn't room for me to stand up there and wait for mine to be cooked. *sigh*

Tell me it's worth it. I'm feeling rather hit by a train, not because I feel bad, but because I feel like it's so pointless. My husband and I love hanging out with people, eating dinner with them...out or in. Now that I have to extend my W30, it's going to still be going after he gets back, which means that at least a week (if I don't screw up on my two weekend trips coming up...) of my W30 will be after he's home. I'm seriously trying to keep from freaking out about this.

[Kirsteen]

Take a deep breath, think of how far you've already come and how much you've learned. Congratulate yourself for not falling face first into the fondue. Personally, I'd jump straight back in and just think how much more experience you'll have and how much you'll have learned by the time your husband joins you. That should make it easier to stick to then. Good luck

[Michaela Elmore Cogswell]

I wouldn't even think of it as "falling off the wagon" like some people who go to a party and decide they "can't help" but drink alcohol. You made a choice in a tough circumstance. Had I been in your shoes, I could see myself doing the same thing. Yes, you have to extend your Whole 30, but you will be healthier in the process. It's especially tough to be in a situation where you can't communicate that you want no sauce. Maybe you can learn what "no sauce" in German is or get a friend who is fluent in german to write a little card out explaining you can't have any sugar or soy in your sauces that you can hand to a waiter. It might help for your upcoming trips.