What’s Your GratiTUDE? Day 93 (Eating Out)
 "Whats Your GratiTUDE? Day 93 (Eating Out)")
Today I am grateful for eating out.
I rarely go out to eat. It’s difficult for me to eat out and after so many nights of telling the waiters, managers, or chefs about my allergies and still ending up with cheese in my salad, I guess stopped trying. But I’m giving it a go again. I can’t be terribly spontaneous about it, but give me a day or even a few hours in advance, and I can make it work.
It’s easier now than it used to be. And as far as I can tell, there are two reasons for that. The first reason is that there is so much more awareness than there was 5 or even 3 years ago. People know what food allergies are now. They know that they are scary and that they are a significant health risk. The second reason is that I treat going out to eat differently than I used to. I don’t ever go to a restaurant without calling first and finding out if I can eat there. I used to just show up, hope for the best, and then often burst into hunger induced tears when they couldn’t feed me. But now, I treat my food allergies and myself with more respect. I understand and I accept that I can’t just wing it. That I must be at least a little prepared if I want to eat someone else’s food safely. I used to fight it. I didn’t want to have to do anything extra. I wanted to have the freedom to not think about it, just like everyone else. But that’s not who I am. I have special needs and I need special care. And going out to eat has become a lot easier since I accepted that.
This morning for the first time in maybe a year, I had brunch. A friend and I went to this really cute place called City Girl Cafe in Inman Square in Cambridge. I had called them up on Saturday to see if I could eat there safely, Lauren, who is one of the owners and also is the chef, was totally gracious on the phone and she really knew her stuff. I didn’t have a ton of options, but all I really wanted was a delicious omelet stuffed with vegetables and herbs that I didn’t have to cut up, cook, or clean up. Luckily, they could do deliver that one to me with ease.
Going out to eat is such a small thing, but finding a way to eat out and have it feel easy is momentous to me. My omelet and freshly squeezed orange juice were delicious and they tasted like freedom.
What’s your gratiTUDE, today?
What is a “GratiTUDE”?:
GratiTUDE is a general attitude of thankfulness and gratefulness.
What is “What’s Your GratiTUDE?”: Every day, for as long as I can keep it going, I’m going to tell you something I’m grateful for. I want to do this because I want to remind myself how fortunate I am in a more concrete way. They will be small things, big things, meaningful things, and seemingly inconsequential things. They may repeat on some days if I happen to feel grateful for the same thing more than once. I’m not planning it or mapping it out. I’m just feeling grateful, publicly. And I’d like you, if you’re feeling it, to do the same.
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Lillian makes other people's allergy friendly (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, cane sugar-free, & soy-free (at the very least)) recipes for the very first time on camera.Subscribe
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Thanks, Lillian! I have never been to City Girl Cafe. I will definitely have to try it. I miss eating out, too! That must sound crazy – I cook for a living, but I have many of the same sensitivities you do, plus a severe anaphylactic allergy to peanuts and a less-severe but still dangerous allergy to soy and most other legumes. It’s hard to trust food that someone else makes. So even when I’m not at work, I’m still cooking.
I miss Prana. Everything there was either safe or had nama shoyu or miso that the servers knew about and could just steer you away from. It was all raw and vegan, which matched how I used to eat until I couldn’t anymore. I have since realized my body requires meat, fish, or egg at most meals to function properly. But raw vegan food is usually grain-free, usually soy-free, usually legume-free, and always dairy-free, refined-sugar-free; and the good stuff is nourishing, real food, made mostly of veggies.
I’m talking with some friends about opening a place that would be safe for those of us with allergies and sensitivities. Grass-fed meats, farmer eggs, real local veggies, traditional preparation methods, lactofermentation if we can get approval for it. All gluten free. We may have some non-gluten grains and local dairy, but only for people who want them. No hidden grains where they shouldn’t be. No cheese on your salad! No soy and no wheat anywhere. No GMOs. No hidden sneaky sugar either – local maple and honey and fruit are all the sweeteners I need.
I’ll keep you posted!
OMGoodness, Mary that sounds amazing. I would eat there all the time.
How do you cook for a living with your food allergies? I worked in restaurants for years, but even just as a server it was pretty difficult. I can’t imagine actually doing the cooking as well…
I tried to go to Prana last week and discovered that it’s closed. It was a serious bummer. I ended up going to Red Lentil in Watertown instead but all they had that I could eat was a cashew milk, banana & date shake, and sweet potato fries (not that I’m complaining. They were both delicious). I had a good conversation with the guy at East Coast Grill in Inman this Saturday as well. We didn’t end up eating there because they don’t open for brunch until 11, but we’re probably going to try their brunch at some point in the next few weeks as well. I’ll update!
And please keep me posted about this perfect restaurant of yours!!