my friends just don't get it

[garden granny]

they know I "don't eat meat" they think I'm vegetarian, and yet everytime we get together, they pick a place where it's very hard for me to find something to eat. Like now, their gonna go to a barbecue place, and before that a steak place. They don't like what I like, and I don't like what they like. Any good suggestions? :mad:

[catdeveer]

how about take turns hosting pot luck get togethers? that way ya'll can still enjoy each other's company, there will be a little of what everybody likes and something raw. who knows. maybe they'll end up liking what you like and not even know it's healthy!

blessings,

cat

[dreamrawalwz]

you can always order a salad at a steak place. It may say "steak salad" or whatever, but just ask to keep the steak off of it or ask if you can "make" your own salad using ingredients you see on the menu.

[Nurse in the Raw]

I just stopped going out with my friends until they got a clue and now they make sure we all go some place where we can all eat. If they want your company they will be sensitive to your needs and if they don't....forget em. Who needs insensitive friends.

My 2 cents.

[Ginger]

In your situation, being the 'oddball', I would just fill up on food before you go and just have a little something edible there to pick at and instead focus on the reason for going- your friends.

[deberaw]

Oh I wish you were my Granny - I'd have lunch {or dinner or breakfast with you all the time!).....I'd say make sure you eat before you go out and then choose a salad and be specific about it being only raw veggies...ask for fruit on the side...maybe bring your own container and some nuts too. Most importantly, focus on the friendships and not the food as the reason you are with them. Granted, they might be focused on the food, as that is what a large part of our culture does these days....and there is probably a lot of MSG and whatever else to make the cooked food so addicting......but I'll bet you feel a lot better after the meal than they do. If they give you a hard time about what you are eating, you can either smile, laugh it off, in a genuine way say something like, "oh you are so funny" and change the topic.....or you can try to enlighten them, but that might just be frustrating. Remember, if they give you a hard time, that is THEIR issue....maybe remind them that you are there to be with them....who the heck cares about what you eat??? (besides you and all of us of course)....good luck! Deb in Michigan:)

[Blazin'Jane]

Sometimes I pack along my own avocado just for kicks. But you're right---barbecue places are just about the worst place in the world to get anything with a vitamin in it! My friends are pretty good about picking places where "Jane can eat." I know that when I'm not along they go to those other places.

[River Mom]

Hey Garden Granny,
Do you have a favorite place to eat where you can invite them? Maybe a little pre-dinning exploration would help you find a restaurant that could meet your needs AND theirs.

I love the ideas of calling or going ahead of time and working out the arrangements. I have worked in the food industry for a long time and know that MOST places have someone that will do anything to make your meal a pleasure.

Then you can do the inviting,,,,
enjoy your friends
Rm

[juliebove]

I guess I'm lucky. Most of my friends have some sort of food issues and have to follow a special diet. So when we get together, we come up with a place where we can all eat. Are there any places around you with a salad bar? If so, I'd suggest one of those places.

I would flat out refuse to eat at a BBQ place. I don't think they'd have a thing I could eat there. Not too sure about a steak place either. But I might be able to get a salad there.