Make due or bring something from home?

[ShelShel]

Today my husband and I went out to lunch at our mall. I brought strawberries and almonds from home. When you eat out with hubby...or friends...do you make due and find something from the restaurant or take along something raw from home? I find I always take something with me just incase. Most of the time I am just happier because I know what I have with me is truly raw. I don't have to wonder if they put something in that is cooked. What do you do to make sure you are eating raw food when you are eating out?

[codajess]

I think i've gone out MAYBE once, if that, since going raw. I make do.

[Brianna]

I don't go out often at all, but I usually will order a salad from the restaurant and bring my own avocado for it.

[blessed]

I always go with him and it can be very difficult at times and i have had my problems but before you go look on your internet to find grocery stores. Many of them have organic food and take a small food processor and grater, i have found that these help you to stay raw.
You can make salads and dips with raw sweet potatoes, avocadoes and lime juice, zucchini w/ tomato dressing with basil and diced sweet onions.
I will do better on my next trip.
Have a great time.

Ann

[ShantiDass]

I have only been raw about 2 weeks and haven't faced that yet and wonder what I will do. I have gone out to eat 3 times so far but it's been at raw restaurants so that makes it easy! :D

I don't think I have enough nerve to take anything of my own into a regular restaurant except for maybe some salad dressing. It's considered really tacky and rude here in Los Angeles and I don't want to have to tell someone off if they say something.

[Nini]

Shanti, I agree with you. I may take my own salad dressing, but that is all. If I am going somewhere that I haven't been to before, I usually call in advance and ask if they can serve me a veggie plate or a fruit plate. I also carry a card with me that states my raw lifestyle. That really helps. I got it from somewhere on this forum.

[blessed]

:) My husband and I were out to lunch and i bought an avocado and some seasonings. Don't let unhealthy people make you feel bad, remember you are your own person and you don't live and breath for anyone but yourself.
I've also bought apples and bananas with me and sliced them up for lunch.
If someone were rude enough to said anything to me i wouldn't let it bother me because i know what raw food is doing for me and while they are laying up in the hospital with an illness they may want to have me come for a visit and tell them how to be :D :D healthy.

Ann

[Lunar*Fey]

Today I went over my friends house. Her mom is a nurse and organic/health food lady. lol. She made homemade pizza and I asked my friend if we could have a salad too (I felt so rude!)...my friend knows I am raw but I don't think she really understands it...she asked me if I wanted some french fries when we went to her brothers' baseball game. But anyway I had a huge salad and her mother (being a nurse and nutrition lady) said that since we just went on a bike ride I really needed carbs and protein or I would lose muscle. So she put kalamata olives and walnuts on the salad and made sure I ate lots of them on the salad. I have no idea if they were raw, which kind of bugs me, I know I shouldn't let it bother me but it kind of does. And I am getting that itching in my throat that I have noticed I get when I am sensitive to something I have eaten...but then that could be from yesterday when we went to a chinese buffet place and got poisoned by our food lol.

[ShelShel]

I was wondering if most people did salads...then I wondered about dressing. I make my own at home...raw, but never seem to have anything handy to bring it in. :rolleyes: So, I end up eating the salad plain and feeling deprived when everyone around me is eating chinese...or italian. I never feel this way eating raw at home because everything is soooooooooo yummy. But when I am out I have so little control over the way it is served. That is why I was curious what you all do. ;) Thank you for so much input. (No...I wouldn't bring food into a restaurant either...this was a mall food court. :D ) I have actually asked if at Pizza Hut...they could charge me whatever and bring me the toppings off a veggie lovers pizza. They were so great about it and I loved all the veggies. But outside of that...it's always a salad without dressing. :o

[greeninlosangeles]

Usually I take stuff with me, but once we went to visit friends and they mede a salad just for me, and they put mozarella cheese in it. I was hungry and felt bad, that they did it for me, so I ate it anyway. And I did not feel bad- maybe amount was too small. On the other hand, once I did not plan to stay long out with my friend, so I ended up eating McDonald side salad, and even though it did not have any cheese, aftetr like half an hour I started feeling bad and had high fever the whole night.So I will not eat any fast food salads ever again.
To the parties I always bring big bowl of salad for everyone to share. Hosts are usually very happy. Just make them simple, because once I stole the show with my food and that is not so good, if the party is not yours...
For outings the best is fruit, baby carrots, celery, cucumbers in the bag or container. If it is hot, add ice packets and it will stay nice.

[Green Life]

My hubbie and I go out to eat quite often. I always order the same things. If we go to the Mexican restruant, I will order a nice bowl of quacamole and bring my own home made raw chips with me. Additionally, I will ask for some chopped onion and tomato3s to mix with the quacamole...delicious and no deprivation.


Green

[levamssg]

I end up eating out frequently. I've found it not a problem at all. Many places will make up nice salads and/or fruit plates when you tell them what you can and can't have. Yes, I bring food to a restaurant to ADD to what I order. I Always order something.

if I have time ahead ...

I make a baggie with "salad stuff", chopped tomatoes, onion, mushroom, celery, cukes, raisens, etc ... put some oil, apple cider vinegar with spices in the baggie and let the veggies marinate. I order a large salad with as many raw items as they have ... then add my baggie of veges. The oil/vinegar/spice marinade serves as the dressing. I also sometimes take an avocado to add a well. It works out fine -- the baggie fits easily in my purse, and is easily added to whatever salad they prepare for me.

If I don't have time to do marinated veges ... I pop an avo and an orange in my purse. I add the avo, and squeeze the orange over all for the dressing.


Once I took a red pepper stuffed with sunny pate with me .... ordered a large entree salad, added my veges and sliced the red pate stuffed pepper on my 'bread plate'. No one minded, and it gave me something to eat besides salad. The key is - Always Order Something, and just add to it. (I order an entree size salad, not a house side salad). I would feel I was being rude if I just brought food in, sat there and ate it.

[ShantiDass]

I would feel I was being rude if I just brought food in, sat there and ate it.

That's what I was trying to say. I have friends (who eat cooked) who have brought basically a whole meal with them in to a restaurant and have been asked to leave. I can actually understand that. It's a business and they are sitting there eating a meal that isn't served in the restaurant. They really should order a meal and then add if they want to.

[ShelShel]

Wow...those are some great ideas. Thank you. ;) I never thought of putting the dressing in a baggie. Wow. Thanks you guys. And that is a good balance...bringing some extras to go with what you purchase. :) I'm going to have to try this. (My fam eats out a lot!) Thank you ...thank you! :D

[RawFoodieMom]

I make a baggie with "salad stuff", chopped tomatoes, onion, mushroom, celery, cukes, raisens, etc ... put some oil, apple cider vinegar with spices in the baggie and let the veggies marinate. I order a large salad with as many raw items as they have ... then add my baggie of veges. The oil/vinegar/spice marinade serves as the dressing. I also sometimes take an avocado to add a well. It works out fine -- the baggie fits easily in my purse, and is easily added to whatever salad they prepare for me.

Terry I really love your marinade idea. Thanks for sharing! :) Makes going to a restaurant a little more exciting.

[wyjoz]

We went to a 'fancy' restaurant and in all the orders that everyone placed I ordered 2 salads off the menue . It was ala carte and the plates are always small even for a $12 salad.Hmm? And then everyone gave me their RAW stuff off their plates. We all laughed and had a great time. To me Dining should be a pleasurable experience and everyone teases me about being RAW but they all offer me their (raw) food. It's great. One time this guy had a lettuce and a big big round slice of red onion, he was not eating it so I started to ask and he dumped it on my plate before I finished the question.
Yes, I bring a little plastic container of my dressing. Tell the waiter to put the dressing on the side or to skipp the dreassing. I choose to go eat with friends for their company NOT EXPECTING MUCH OF FOOD. I know there are many that do company/business Lunches or Dinners and all the food is 'SAD" . Drink your smoothie just before going out, order a big big salad, bring a pate or a burger in a very small container that fits into your purse, and ENJOY YOURSELF. Dehydrated crackers are ideal to crumble into your salad, then it becomes a good meal,

One time I took a beggie of sliced veggies, sweet onion, yellow peppers, olives, 2 kinds of sprouts: and when my big salad (lettuce, tomatoes, 3 slices of cucumber arrived I just dumped my beggie on top mixed it in and no one even noticed!

[ShelShel]

Very cool ideas you guys! ;) I'm looking forward to when our fam wants to dine out this weekend. :D Thank you!

[RawFoodieMom]

Oh good! ShelShel, I'm glad you're looking forward to it. :)

Let us know how it goes!

Debra

[cornvalley]

I've had this little dressing bottle I've toted around for years which I had professionally inscribed "Yes, I am weird, thankyou". Works like a charm.

[VeggieFriend]

Today I went over my friends house. Her mom is a nurse and organic/health food lady. lol. She made homemade pizza and I asked my friend if we could have a salad too (I felt so rude!)...my friend knows I am raw but I don't think she really understands it...she asked me if I wanted some french fries when we went to her brothers' baseball game. But anyway I had a huge salad and her mother (being a nurse and nutrition lady) said that since we just went on a bike ride I really needed carbs and protein or I would lose muscle. So she put kalamata olives and walnuts on the salad and made sure I ate lots of them on the salad. I have no idea if they were raw, which kind of bugs me, I know I shouldn't let it bother me but it kind of does. And I am getting that itching in my throat that I have noticed I get when I am sensitive to something I have eaten...but then that could be from yesterday when we went to a chinese buffet place and got poisoned by our food lol.

Hey Lunar I know how you feel. And let me just tell you it could be a lot worst! I was in a another country and I lived with a family and 2 of the adults were doctors. When I told them alone I was Vegan they thought that was super unhealthy because I "needed to eat animal protein to survive." Even though I knew better. I am really thin compared to the people in their culture so that is why I really thought I was undernourished or something. If I told them raw I think they might of thought I was seriously out of my mind. I just gave in to eating scramble eggs and potatoes and other crap for about 2 months to avoid a culture clash. It was so hard for me to be in a country where I could barely speak their language let alone try to explain my eating habits that are UNHEARD of in this area. Needless to say I am still suffering the consequences and trying to detox some way and get all the S#$%&%^#@$%@@!!! out of my body. Fortunately God is helping me get better everyday.

God Bless,
VF

[VeggieFriend]

I've had this little dressing bottle I've toted around for years which I had professionally inscribed "Yes, I am weird, thankyou". Works like a charm.

Hey Cornvalley!
You just made me laugh hardcore! Anyway see I will be honest. I am not completely raw and this is why. I have a very active social life and family. I would love to go completely raw but I know my fam and friends will think I am weird and have a eating disorder because I am already thinner than everyone. Actually I am healthy but most people are used to seeing thin people anymore. I hate attracting attention to myself or being a pain at restaurants or being different. But the Yes, I am weird, thankyou" is a nice phrase. I would like to use it if you don't mind.

Also~Lunar another thing-People/friends/relatives know about my eating style yet they constantly offer me things they no I would never eat. I think they want to not feel so bad for eating it/they think it is healthy cause it has more calories. It makes me so mad when people do that and I feel offended. I don't have a solution of what to say when people offer me these things. I do not feel supported. "I always want to say, you know I don't eat that
way, why do you offer it to me?" If you have a catchy phrase to recieve some respect, please let me know.

Gracias,
VF

[dreamrawalwz]

I rarely go out ever in the first place. Now that I'm raw and my friends know it then I say "i can only go here or here" and they choose. True, that only
gives us two choices lol, but that's ok.

Forgot to add, since I'm doing my best to do organic only so now I have no options eating out :p

[heabrook]

We rarely go to eat out..

If we do, then there is a cafe (within a co-op) that has an organic salad bar and they also make some organic raw dishes too (bit pricey tho and not that good...)

OR there is also the organic salad bar at Wild Oats or Whole Foods.

If we had to go to an actual restaurant we would probably call ahead of time or something.... hadn't had that issue yet. It would probably be better to invite people over to our house for dinner because that way we know there will be something we can eat :p and we could also introduce them to raw food.

Not sure what we'll do when we go visit my husband's parents.. though that is not an issue at the moment because there is no plans to do so in the near future. They live in a very small town, so we would have to go to the local Whole foods (which is 45mins from where they live) and stock up on produce. At home, we don't shop at Whole Foods because they don't have that great of a selection. We have Vitamin Cottages here in CO and that is where we do most of our shopping.. that and the local farmers market.

[Kim120]

My favorite place to eat is an Italian restaurant in Colorado Springs. It is called Zio's. I order a really large salad and an order of Bruchetta. I ask them to skip the bread and instead give me extra tomatoes. I then put this all over my salad. It is so yummy. Plus I order a side of Olive relish. I am not sure if the olives are raw but they are the one thing I allow myself at this point.

[asil]

I never bring anything with me because I'm not big on planning ahead. :D I just go with my naturally lazy personality.

But it's never a problem, at least so far. Any restaurant with a bar has slices of lemon and orange. I ask for a few slices and some olive oil, a big, big salad. In my part of the country, most palces use avo in *something* on the menu and often have fresh pico de gallo, so all that together is just fine.

I'm mostly in it for the company anyway. ;)

[juliebove]

I always plan my meals in advance. I don't go somewhere to eat unless I know in advance that I can get something suitable. My daughter and I both have food alleriges and I have diabetes. So aside from the raw thing, we already have to be careful where we eat. I've learned that I can almost always get fruit or salad wherever we go. Other things I might have to bring with me. This is no biggie. I often take food with me.

[RawFoodieMom]

I've had this little dressing bottle I've toted around for years which I had professionally inscribed "Yes, I am weird, thankyou". Works like a charm.

cornvalley, that is SO cool. :) Good for you. I love that idea. Who cares what others think! I'm tired of worrying about how other people are going to respond to me now that I'm raw. I'm doing this for me, not so other people will like me. I'm trying to be more confident about it. We haven't told anybody yet...

Debra

[ShelShel]

When I am offered something I don't eat...and they know I don't...I never take offense because I think they are just trying to include me. As much as we feel a bit odd not having what they are having...I think they feel odd eating what they know isn't healthy for them. Our being there...just reminds them more of that fact. So, I try to go easy on them. Because most of them...I know...love me. :rolleyes: And I'm trying to show...it can be done...with joy...and a huge smile! :D Because it makes me happy...I'm not being deprived or starving myself. You know?!?! Which is why I started this thread...I really needed help when I go out. You guys gave that to me in Spades!!!! You're awesome!
See there...you guys are truly "living" raw! :D That is so awesome. I love all these responses. You guys are great! Raw (((HUGS)))