How Often Do You Eat Out?

[smsm]

Hi, So after almost a year and a half into this, I am really truly seeing myself heal. My children are finally growing and sleeping (!!!!), my son is exploding in energy, and my daughter's stomach is better than ever. The downside is I am experiencing intense fear and discomfort with eating outside of the home - and I feel bad. My husband loves to eat out and he is incredibly patient and understanding about not going out, but I think I have become too extreme. I have only been glutened while eating out a handful of times (I tried to go out a ton in the beginning to show that it wouldn't be so hard, and usually I was ok - Disney was a monster success and so were many other places, but when it went badly, it went very badly). I want to teach my young children not to be afraid to go out and how to speak to waiters/chefs/managers and I am frustrating my friends and family with my inability to eat out when it really should be a safe environment (for example an omelet station at brunch where it is only eggs and oil or a steak house). It is just that my symptoms of gluten involve muscle and joint pain that can last weeks and I don't want to be in pain again - I can't enjoy eating out because no bite of food is worth going back to that. How often do you eat out? How do you handle any anxiety about it. I am to the point now where I allow my children to eat out in some cases, but I don't eat - they have not been glutened in our last 3 visits out - why can't that inspire any confidence in me?

[Strawberry-Jam]

I eat out pretty rarely. I will eat at one restaurant in Dublin and two thai takeaways with gluten-free menus. Since thai food is often naturally gluten-free, it doesnt' take them too much trouble to provide gluten-free curries made from coconut milk.

I've had bad experiences at restaurants where the servers seemed clueless. I always pick a place with a gluten-free menu, but I have to add a soya and dairy intolerance on top of that, and it seems like gluten-free stuff is always drizzled with cheese or slathered with cream.

I'm pretty sure last time I ate out they pan-fried my fish in butter even though they went thru the trouble of leaving the butter off the vegetables. Didn't have the spine to ask about it and I regret that now...

[luvs2eat]

Pretty much never. The last two times we went (to Chilis) and got the gluten-free menu and spoke to the manager and server, I received a salad that didn't even have flour tortilla strips in it according to the menu description, but was filled w/ them. The sad reality is that I simply don't trust restaurants anymore. Hubs and I cook what we like and don't miss it that much.

[love2travel]

I don't go to many social events unless I am 100% certain I am safe OR I plan ahead and eat in advance or however I choose to handle it. If I visit my family I do all the cooking with my own stuff.

I do not go to chain restaurants but high-end restaurants where I feel safe. The chefs and staff have received more training (for the most part) and are far more knowledgable. Plus the food is superior. These places really know how to spoil you, yet are discreet. Many offer gluten-free brioche or other bread service as well. So, I eat out about once a month when we make the three-hour drive to the city.

Having said that, I can cook better than most restaurants and enjoy it immensely. So, I rarely even think about eating out! My pantry is filled with wonderful gourmet ingredients and my mind is filled with thousands and thousands of superb menu plans.

When traveling it is different - if in a foreign country I plan in advance and take along restaurant cards in those particular languages. Often I go to markets and grocery stores.

[xjrosie]

We eat out about twice a month. It's only been since December that I had my kids' diagnoses though. We have actually been out more frequently than twice a month as of now, but now that I'm learning more creative things to cook, we are going back to our regular thing.

We've eaten at Buffalo Wild Wings, BD's Mongolian Barbeque (they will cook yours in a separate area in a clean pan), Red Robin, Applebees, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Golden Corral (buffet, tricky but doable), and Ruby Tuesday.

Ruby Tuesday was the most gluten-free-friendly.

I refuse to eat anywhere that has "Coney Island" in the name. All I see is sloppiness and lack of education when I think of them.

I want to make my kids confident that they can handle this disease, and not let it handle them. The more they are exposed to tricky situations that come out positively, the more it reinforces the fact that this isn't a lifestyle-ending thing. If it comes out negatively, you know what to avoid the next time.

My advice: go for it. You're giving in to the disease if you let it control what you do.

[alex11602]

Unless you count my mother's house who is very careful when she cooks for my kids, we have not been out to eat in over a year since before we went gluten free. Eventually I may go to Five Guys, when I get less nervous about it, so my kids can have a fast food burger and feel like everyone else, but I have no desire to eat out at all. If we want something special we find a way to make it in a way that satisfies all our dietary needs.

[pricklypear1971]

I eat out about once per week. Sometimes more, but I try not to.

I go to high end restaurants that others have told me do gluten-free or publish a gluten-free menu/statement. I also have tried BJ's, Pei Wei, etc. and been fine.

I did have one horrid glutening experience, I think - a local place that had a gluten-free menu but I'd read reviews they were bad at it - they got me the second time.

I do have one totally gluten-free restaurant here, as well as a bakery (just opened) so I am luckier than most. Also, I live in a resort town, and I find they are very good at gluten-free.

[Gemini]

I don't go to many social events unless I am 100% certain I am safe OR I plan ahead and eat in advance or however I choose to handle it. If I visit my family I do all the cooking with my own stuff.

I do not go to chain restaurants but high-end restaurants where I feel safe. The chefs and staff have received more training (for the most part) and are far more knowledgable. Plus the food is superior. These places really know how to spoil you, yet are discreet. Many offer gluten-free brioche or other bread service as well. So, I eat out about once a month when we make the three-hour drive to the city.

Having said that, I can cook better than most restaurants and enjoy it immensely. So, I rarely even think about eating out! My pantry is filled with wonderful gourmet ingredients and my mind is filled with thousands and thousands of superb menu plans.

When traveling it is different - if in a foreign country I plan in advance and take along restaurant cards in those particular languages. Often I go to markets and grocery stores.

What she said! There are a few people on this forum who I feel are living a parallel life to mine!

If you live in an area where there are many higher end restaurants and awareness, then you will do fine with it. I fully realize that not all parts of the country are like that. You really get to know whether a place will work or not but that takes time and practice. I tend to go to the same places where I know they will not make a mistake and they never have. My husband and I probably go out about once a month to every 6 weeks.

[IrishHeart]

I don't go to many social events unless I am 100% certain I am safe OR I plan ahead and eat in advance or however I choose to handle it. If I visit my family I do all the cooking with my own stuff.

I do not go to chain restaurants but high-end restaurants where I feel safe. The chefs and staff have received more training (for the most part) and are far more knowledgable. Plus the food is superior. These places really know how to spoil you, yet are discreet. Many offer gluten-free brioche or other bread service as well. So, I eat out about once a month when we make the three-hour drive to the city.

Having said that, I can cook better than most restaurants and enjoy it immensely. So, I rarely even think about eating out! My pantry is filled with wonderful gourmet ingredients and my mind is filled with thousands and thousands of superb menu plans.

When traveling it is different - if in a foreign country I plan in advance and take along restaurant cards in those particular languages. Often I go to markets and grocery stores.

EXACTLY

Thanks for your post, LOVE2--- it is almost exactly what I would have written and you saved me the time. I fear chain places, diners, etc. --gluten galore!

I am also VERY fortunate to have a TOTALLY dedicated gluten-free cafe/bakery run by "one of us" about 45 mins. away that I go to for lunch twice weekly after physical therapy. It's my reward and I socialize with/and have the opportunity to help other celiacs. Lucky me.

We NEED MORE of these safe havens.

Cheers, IH

[IrishHeart]

What she said! There are a few people on this forum who I feel are living a parallel life to mine!

.

We ARE indeed living parallel lives, kiddo. :lol:

[Darn210]

About once a month and we go to the same three places because we have had good luck there . . . PF Changs, Red Robin, and Five Guys. I let my daughter order for herself most of the time so that she gets experience talking to the wait staff.

[Melissa Palomo]

I eat out way more than I should - but at the same few places. Mostly the local taco shop for work lunches -

[love2travel]

What she said! There are a few people on this forum who I feel are living a parallel life to mine!

If you live in an area where there are many higher end restaurants and awareness, then you will do fine with it. I fully realize that not all parts of the country are like that. You really get to know whether a place will work or not but that takes time and practice. I tend to go to the same places where I know they will not make a mistake and they never have. My husband and I probably go out about once a month to every 6 weeks.

We do live parallel lives in ways, don't we? Nothing wrong with enjoying the best food possible and being able to do so safely at the same time.

[love2travel]

We ARE indeed living parallel lives, kiddo. :lol:

YUP!

[love2travel]

EXACTLY

Thanks for your post, LOVE2--- it is almost exactly what I would have written and you saved me the time. I fear chain places, diners, etc. --gluten galore!

I am also VERY fortunate to have a TOTALLY dedicated gluten-free cafe/bakery run by "one of us" about 45 mins. away that I go to for lunch twice weekly after physical therapy. It's my reward and I socialize with/and have the opportunity to help other celiacs. Lucky me.

We NEED MORE of these safe havens.

Cheers, IH

Only too glad to help, IH! Sure, make me look like the food snob I am.

No cafe/bakery anywhere around except the Kinnikinnick one in Edmonton. Oooooh...I almost forgot. They have reformulated their bread. It is now SOFT! No need to wait for 22-minute toast. I tried it the other day and it's true. It did not fall apart, nor did it become crumbly with my heavily-laden sandwich fixings. Good to know for the times I don't make my own.

[IrishHeart]

About once a month and we go to the same three places because we have had good luck there . . . PF Changs, Red Robin, and Five Guys. I let my daughter order for herself most of the time so that she gets experience talking to the wait staff.

I just want to say....You are such a wise woman. Providing your daughter with coping tools-- early on-- to be independent, assertive and confident ... and in total charge of managing her celiac disease.

Major kuddos, J!

[IrishHeart]

Only too glad to help, IH! Sure, make me look like the food snob I am.

No cafe/bakery anywhere around except the Kinnikinnick one in Edmonton. Oooooh...I almost forgot. They have reformulated their bread. It is now SOFT! No need to wait for 22-minute toast. I tried it the other day and it's true. It did not fall apart, nor did it become crumbly with my heavily-laden sandwich fixings. Good to know for the times I don't make my own.

It takes one (food snob) to know one. :lol:

Really? no more 22 minute toast? Girl, that was one of the funniest damn threads I ever read.

[love2travel]

It takes one (food snob) to know one. :lol:

Really? no more 22 minute toast? Girl, that was one of the funniest damn threads I ever read.

on both counts.

I will never, ever forget that 22-minute toast. And at 22 minutes it was not even brown - just sort of beige here and there and sort of crusty but not really. I bet to get it nice and toasty it would have taken 31 minutes.

[dani nero]

The only reason I would want to eat out would be because I'm too tired or too busy to cook. This is the toughest part but I usually cope with that because it's becoming tougher for me to put my health into someone's hands. It takes them a split second of absent-mindedness to render me dysfunctional for days, if not weeks.

Besides, I got over restaurant food the moment I found I can make food that is as tasty as theirs and better quality-wise than most. I do miss the days when I didn't have time and simply ordered thai takeout though.

[Di2011]

I don't eat out. :{

Unfortunately my skin (DH) also reacts to corn, sals and possibly iodine so that takes away any menu. I am slowly adapting my pantry / cooking so things are a lot more interesting in my kitchen than they have been the past 10 months. I ALWAYS have fresh garlic next to the stove and fresh garlic butter in the fridge. My mums amazing garden potato, our great Aussie avocado, good cheese, garlic and herbs and little bit of curry paste have been my saviour. ((I find Thailand products like rice noodles and curry paste to be most reliable and "safe". Their cuisine is naturally gluten free so their production lines for these products tend to be so..))

I am re-learning to cook. It is a great relief to feel this way after many months of basic meat/veg/fruit and not much else. I was always hungry and struggled to maintain weight. I was so excited to introduce cheese, pure cream and (very natural) yogurt!!!! I might even test a chocolate milk mix at some stage!

When I get it all sorted I hope to have a lot of people over for dinner at my place!

[love2travel]

I don't eat out. :{

Unfortunately my skin (DH) also reacts to corn, sals and possibly iodine so that takes away any menu. I am slowly adapting my pantry / cooking so things are a lot more interesting in my kitchen than they have been the past 10 months. I ALWAYS have fresh garlic next to the stove and fresh garlic butter in the fridge. My mums amazing garden potato, our great Aussie avocado, good cheese, garlic and herbs and little bit of curry paste have been my saviour. ((I find Thailand products like rice noodles and curry paste to be most reliable and "safe". Their cuisine is naturally gluten free so their production lines for these products tend to be so..))

I am re-learning to cook. It is a great relief to feel this way after many months of basic meat/veg/fruit and not much else. I was always hungry and struggled to maintain weight. I was so excited to introduce cheese, pure cream and (very natural) yogurt!!!! I might even test a chocolate milk mix at some stage!

When I get it all sorted I hope to have a lot of people over for dinner at my place!

I am so sorry you are unable to eat out and really hope that changes for you very soon. Good thing you can have some dairy. That would have been very hard in addition to your other intolerances.

I know what you mean about Thai products - they are fabulous. I cook Thai often at home with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, pandan leaves, make my own curry paste, etc. But I do have to drive 3 hours to good stores to buy these ingredients.

Maybe you will need to send out invitations have US over for dinner!

[dilettantesteph]

I can understand why you wouldn't want to eat if there is a possibility of weeks of pain. Why do it? Why not spend the money on cooking supplies and gourmet foods and enjoy cooking and socializing at home?

I don't eat out. I will occasionally go out with friends to socialize and not eat or bring my own food. More often my socializing doesn't involve food or takes place at my house.

[GFinDC]

Oh, at least 2 or 3 times a year, maybe 4 or 5 even. That includes times getting a piece of fruit and water or fruit juice to go with my Lara bars I brought along. I have gotten salads at places a few times, and been ok. I always bring something safe with me if I am going out for an event like a sketchcrawl. Because we usually stop for lunch somewhere. As long as I have something with me I can eat I am happy to stop anywhere the group finds handy in the area. Usually we are walking around a neighborhood all day sketching and so we find a local place that looks good. Generally I don't know ahead of time where we will end up eating. So I may get some steamed veggies or salad with no tomatoes or cheese or croutons and vinegar and olive oil dressing. That and an orange or apple or banana and I am all set. I have just not eaten before but that seems a little awkward for the rest of the group. So I think it's better to bring something along to eat. They always think I am some kind of health nut or on some super weight loss diet. The one time I had a problem was in a stupid pizza joint where they were tossing the dough in the air a couple feet away from me and patting it down with flour. I got a glass of wine and a pear to eat and got sick. Probably from flour on the glass or pear or just in the air. Or on the waitress maybe. She was cute though so it was worth it.

[Darn210]

...Or on the waitress maybe. She was cute though so it was worth it.

Ummmm . . . GeeEff, were you nibbling on the waitress again?

[babygirl1234]

it depends when my house goes out they are ueslly good about making sure they have gluten-free stuff for me, or they cook me what i can have but they are good about it