Do you eat out often

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Do you eat out often

Postby Alycia 123 » Sun May 02, 2021 4:38 pm

Do you eat out often?
Do you have any strategies for eating out ?
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Alycia 123 » Sun May 02, 2021 5:46 pm

What type of social activities do you do?
Do you still go out to pubs and bars ?
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby QubitBob » Sun May 02, 2021 6:37 pm

Alycia:

Jeff Novick has a really informative discussion thread about eating out in his sub-forum; here is the link to that discussion: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=60642 . On a personal note, I eat out less often now that I have adopted this WOE. I've been able to identify local restaurants where I can get compliant meals. For instance, I have found several Chinese restaurants where I can order rice and steamed vegetables. Another Chinese restaurant has a sushi bar and offers a vegetable sushi dinner. Finally, at some national-chain restaurants, I have found I can order "side dishes" like two baked potatoes (no toppings) plus an order of steamed broccoli.
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Daydream » Mon May 03, 2021 9:06 am

I hardly ever eat out, especially since the pandemic. Before I started eating the McDougall diet (8.5 years ago), I used to love to eat out at restaurants because I ate whatever I wanted and I enjoyed not cooking or cleaning up. Now I hate going to restaurants because most of them don't have anything I want to eat other than a dry lettuce salad. Restaurant food is drenched in oil, too salty for me and I don't like it. As QubitBob said, the best choice at a restaurant (IF you can find it) is steamed veggies, plain rice, plain salad and a dry baked potato but most restaurants don't have those options and some Asian restaurants have oil/salt on their so called "steamed veggies".

I never go to pubs and bars. I never drink alcohol. I have never liked the taste of alcohol-- it gives me an upset stomach and a headache.

Once things go back to normal after the pandemic, I might occasionally go to a restaurant with relatives but I will not enjoy the food, I will go only to enjoy my visit with relatives. Also, once relatives and friends have had the covid vaccine, I will have them over my house for a meal and that way I can make compliant food that I love.
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Plumerias » Mon May 03, 2021 10:57 am

The last time we ate in a restaurant was February 27, 2019. It was at Sweet Tomatoes in the Las Vegas area. That was our favorite place, as you could make very healthy choices there, and they had locations in many states, handy for full time RV life. Sadly, as it was buffet service, it did not survive Covid. We also used to like Indian buffets, especially south Indian, but that's not an option any more either. Both of us can cook, and well. In fact, better than most restaurants, as it is tailored to our own tastes. It will be a l-o-n-g time before we're ready to try a restaurant again. We so rarely drink either, although if we ever get to Ireland, a pub visit would be on the list.
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby michaelswarm » Mon May 03, 2021 11:07 am

Enjoy occasional restaurants with the family.
At Mexican restaurant we order tortillas, plain beans, rice and salsa.
At Italian we order pizza without cheese with vegetable and fruit toppings.

Mostly meals at home though. Except for the best restaurants, where good chefs enjoy the challenge of creating something special, my own meals are just better tasting. I know my own tastes better than any restaurant.

Social activities are mostly kids birthday parties and neighborhood pot lucks.

Family brings bigger changes than whole food plant based foods.
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby MINNIE » Mon May 03, 2021 2:21 pm

I haven't eaten out since beginning the McDougall WOE in 2013.

In this regard, the pandemic has not changed my lifestyle at all. Pubs and bars never appealed to me, and most in my town have been closed through the pandemic even if I wanted to go.

At first I ate only home-cooked meals because I wanted to challenge myself with a few months of preparing all my own food - a radical change for me. I had never ever liked cooking. This was mainly because I hated the mess of cleaning up oily pans and dishes etc. I never expected to continue doing this permanently.

But I enjoyed my own oil-free cooking so much that I have done it ever since. I like my own food so much more than anything I ever ate even in very expensive restaurants! If some social occasion, (that I really want to go to) to occurs in a restaurant or pub, I would go but eat my own food in advance.

Most of my acquaintances know that I don't eat restaurant/take out food and it has never been a problem. Also, not going to restaurants means I don't have watch people I care about poisoning themselves with CRAP.

Anyway, I do a lot of things that people think are weird. So this particular eccentricity doesn't surprise anyone :).
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Langeranger » Tue May 04, 2021 11:49 am

Since "converting" to WFPB (no oil) in 2008 my wife and I have gradually become slightly less than fully compliant with this WOE. This is manifested almost 100% in meals away from home, chiefly a neighborhood Thai place where the sauce almost surely has some chicken or beef broth in the sauce. Though, as I write this I have a vague memory of asking them about the sauce years ago and I, if memory serves I think they told me it was vegetable based. It definitely contains at least a bit of oil of some kind. And it's also very salty, a downside to eating out in general.

I also occasionally eat at a mall food court place called Sarku where I can get a great meal of steamed carrots and broccoli over rice for four bucks with packets of soy sauce. They only offer white rice which I like and welcome as a variation on the ever present brown rice in my daily fare at home.

We're going to a supper meeting with a garden club group in a week or so. It's gonna be at a BBQ joint. There we'll stand out like sore thumbs with our baked potato and salad sans animal flesh meal. These events often lead to us getting peppered with questions. Mock disbelief that we could actually not eat meat, etc.

Slightly related to this discussion is a strategy I developed years ago while on a long road trip from Dallas to Oregon via Montana.
In Montana in a restarant with stuffed Bison heads on every wall I said to the waitress, "we need your help." Proceeding to esplain our WOE to which she responded kiddingly "we don't much like your kind out here." She proceeded to cooperate and saw to it we had a good meal. From then on, when in an "unknown" cafe or restaurant, I always begin with "I need your help." The statement is an implied compliment in that it reveals a dependency I have on the good offices and perhaps greater knowledge of the waiter. It has lead to some pleaant interactions over the years. good eatin' Don
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Freya » Wed May 05, 2021 11:43 am

I haven't eaten out since the pandemic started, but before that I found that the absolute best place to get a McDougall-compliant meal was a high end steakhouse. They have HUGE baked potatoes, green vegetables and salads, and will go out of their way to make your dish the way you want it. Just ask for your vegetables steamed and your salad dressed with only balsamic vinegar. And you can top your potato with steak sauce, bbq sauce or mustard.
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Langeranger » Wed May 05, 2021 5:07 pm

Freya, your post could function as a splendid dictionary example accompanying the definition of irony. Good Eaton’ Don
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Dougalling » Thu May 06, 2021 9:32 am

Once in a while I´ll get a chopped salad from Subway and dump a can of beans on top. Mustard as dressing.
It´s my go-to "don´t want to eat anything at home" thing.
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Langeranger » Thu May 06, 2021 4:15 pm

Clever Dougalling. Don
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby Vanilla Orchid » Sat May 08, 2021 7:53 pm

We don't eat out often, but when we do we go to a good vegan or vegetarian restaurant where we will have actual choices. I'm not interested in having a plain baked potato or steamed vegetables. I can do that at home. We have good luck at non-chain places where they actually make their own food from scratch.

We sometimes go for pizza without cheese. We ask if the sauce contains oil, and if so, ask for a layer of fresh sliced tomatoes instead.
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Re: Do you eat out often

Postby landog » Thu May 13, 2021 5:54 pm

We get take out weekly in order to support our local Thai restaurant. We get a great steamed veggies over brown rice dish!
The restaurant has been take out only for more than a year, now.

-dog
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