Tips for eating out?

kandacekandace Raw Newbie

Once in a while, I find myself at restaurant chosen by friends/family without a good idea of how to order an actual raw meal. I’ve been sticking to salads and a vinaigrette dressing. I’ve also been told that, at Mexican restaurants, salad and pico de gallo is a handy request to remember.

Does anyone have tips for eating out raw with friends and family?

Comments

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    Yeah this one can be tough at times. I would say just eat some food before you go out, and then have a salad at the restaurant. If the restaurant has avos, just ask them to put some in your salad. Try some squeezed lemon juice or squeezed orange with some black pepper as a dressing. It simple, but I think the taste rocks.

  • kandacekandace Raw Newbie

    It simple, but I think the taste rocks.

    I love finding something easy and delicious – definitely going to try this.

  • KristensRawKristensRaw Raw Newbie

    PREPARED – Being prepared is essential for me, for short outings and longer ones. I have a little bag that I take with me to restaurants which has a tiny raw olive oil, my Himalayan salt in a tiny jar, cayenne pepper, and a few other things.

    Another great thing to do is to call ahead to restaurants, and usually the chef is more than pleased to accommodate my wishes. Also, I have a little laminated card I carry in my wallet that I give to the waiter to give to the chef. It reads: Hello, I only eat raw foods. I’d greatly appreciate it if you could make me a plate with any of the following on it: THEN I LIST A BUNCH OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES AND OLIVES, ETC. It’s a great way to give the chef ideas of things you eat.

    If it’s a family or business outing, I let people know what to expect of me beforehand when possible. This helps eliminate any awkwardness from my bringing my own dish to a function or meeting or social time. It’s a GREAT CONVERSATION starter, because people always ask me WHY. Moreover, I tend to bring a little “extra” for others to sample, if they seem interested. What better way to start getting the word out there more!

    Yes, you can also make sure you eat something before you go.

    At Mexican restaurants I typically eat guacamole and salsa and I might bring my own flax chips or strips of red pepper to dip.

    For trips, I do the same, but include more things such as seeds, ready made foods that are dehydrated, glass straws, my tribest travel blender and nut milk bag for juicing, powdered greens and all sorts of other stuff. It just depends on the trip.

    Another thing that helps me on a day-to-day basis, is having foods/sauces/dressings/soups already prepared in my fridge every few days. If I’m away from home for even half a day, I pack a cooler of fruit, veggies, seeds/nuts, ice, salad, etc, and then I can take off for the day without a worry at all that I’ll be somewhere and get hungry.

    If I find myself in a situation where I don’t see something on the the menu, or I didn’t bring my own food to someone’s house, I like to use it as an excuse to relax my digestive system and just drink water. It’s not always easy, but I promise that it gets easier every time. It becomes so EMPOWERING! I’m always aware that I’m only a couple hours away from my yummy raw organic vegan food, at the most.

  • MopokeMopoke Raw Newbie

    Hmm..interesting topic and relevant to my ‘right now’.
    I have just popped some digestive enzymes after going out for a celebration dinner to a fine restaurant and deciding to completely spit the ‘raw dummy’.... By that I mean I consciously decided to embrace everything that was on offer on the basis ‘the exception proves the rule’. I know I am at least 90% raw these days, and I know my body thanks me for it, and I know I never want to be anything else.

    That being said, on this occasion I didn’t feel like ringing ahead and asking them to prepare a salad – however fabulous.
    Instead I went the other direction and ordered the presentation menu…about seven courses, accompanied by different wines, of artful, incredible food. And a large percentage of it was actually raw!
    Depending on how often you do it, my advice is Regret Nothing!!! If you choose to eat out and eat cooked then do it with full awareness.
    I really feel, of all the people in the restaurant, I was one of the ones who enjoyed the chef’s art the most! (and afterwards I went to thank him, and told him I was a raw foodist and the meal had been fantastic, and I never wanted to eat cooked food that was not of similar excellence, and he stared at me for a moment and then shook my hand :))
    I guess it’s different for those who need to eat out a lot, or feel uncertain about falling off the wagon in case it leads to disease or toxicity or addiction to cooked foods again, but my current view is my immune system is now entirely capable of throwing off the effects of a six monthly cup of coffee and non-raw choc and the pleasure of indulging in the artistry of beautifully presented and tasting cooked food as a ‘one off’ feast is worth a few hours of detox afterwards!

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    mopoke- “regret nothing” is great advice.

    kandace- the easiest thing i’ve ever done is asked the restaurant to make me a raw salad/meal. bottom line: a raw vegan customer is still a customer and you have every right to get something you want, esp since, as the manager at the restaurant i was at said “that’s the easiest thing imaginable, all it involves is CUTTING!” so be scared to ask for what you want—even make suggestions. a good chef will get creative with it!

    (note: that advice is for the US, where the chef is used to us tailoring our orders… when traveling i find it best to see ahead of time which dishes the country “accidentally” prepares that are raw vegan… such as guacamole & pico de gallo in mexico, etc…)

  • MopokeMopoke Raw Newbie

    hmmmm:) So much for my previous post! I have been going downhill so fast since that meal that it’s scarey. My immune system is less resilient than I thought. It’s back to the salads only when I eat out for a long while for now because clearly there is no long temr nourishment for me in cooked food despite the thrill of the feast!

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