Quote:
I eat at my MIL's house at least once/wk and it's usually a meat + potato + winter squash or cooked carrots + another veggie sometimes peas + dessert (freshly baked).
Even though I eat 20 meals on my own, that one meal worries me. How do I get through phase one?
I tend to bring my own food any time that I know it'll be hard for me to find something to eat. Every so often, I'm surprised by what's on offer and I don't need to eat my meal. But most of the time, it comes in handy. I haven't ever offended anyone, as far as I know. I just explain that I'm on a special diet and can't eat things off of it. People seem to understand.I eat at my MIL's house at least once/wk and it's usually a meat + potato + winter squash or cooked carrots + another veggie sometimes peas + dessert (freshly baked).
Even though I eat 20 meals on my own, that one meal worries me. How do I get through phase one?
I try to find out what the menu is before the event if we're going somewhere. I figure out what I might need to bring to make it safe for me. For instance, if they are having hamburgers, I'll bring a WW bun so I can have one, and then I'll bring a side dish, like coleslaw or 3 bean salad, that I can contribute to the dinner (and have myself).
That's another good technique when going to others' houses--offer to bring something (or just bring it!). I find it's especially helpful if I bring a dessert that I can have. It saves me from temptation with anything else that's around. Though, sometimes, I just bring a SF chocolate bar to eat and bring more of a main dish.
As for restaurants, the internet is your friend! Look up the menus and nutritional information before you go. When you're there, ask them if they have whole wheat bread or buns (make sure you point out that it needs to be whole wheat, not just wheat. Lots of people don't seem to get this). Look on the menu to see if they have something that comes on a whole-wheat bread or bun, then just ask them to use that on the item you want. For instance, in the past (it's been a while, so I don't know if they still have this), Applebee's used to have a whole-wheat (low carb?) wrap. They had a chicken fajita wrap I liked that came in a flour tortilla. I asked them to sub the wrap/tortilla from the other dish for the chicken fajita one so it would be SBD-safe. They had no problem doing it.
A great fallback restaurant is Ruby Tuesday's. Besides the salad bar, they have a lot of great SBD-safe items on the menu and a ton of awesome veggie sides, including mashed cauliflower, yummy French green beans, and even brown rice with cheese. Yum!
What are your tips for eating out? Share them here!