If you have any sort of dietary restriction, chances are that you know what it’s like to feel like an inconvenience to others. Lucky for you, we’re all in this together. Here are some moments you might relate to!
1. Awkwardly sitting at Thanksgiving or any holiday meal knowing that you can’t eat anything on the table.
That turkey? Nope. Mashed potatoes? Nope. Bread? Maybe, unless you’re gluten-free.
2. Being the bane of every restaurant worker’s existence.
I’ve worked front-of-house, back-of-house, AND been the customer who needs to change everything in an entree in order to adhere to certain dietary requirements. I’ve grilled countless poor employees about what kind of stock they use in their soups, if their sandwiches come with any “surprise” sauces, and how liberally they apply butter in their kitchen. Most of the time, the message has to get relayed up the chain until someone can definitively say if something is vegan or not. By the time I actually place my order, it seems like eons have passed. That being said, restaurant employees get it- just be upfront with your restrictions BEFORE you place your order.
3. Frantically reading restaurant menus online hoping to find at least one thing you can eat.
Yelp might say a restaurant is vegan-inclusive, but is it really?
4. Avoiding making your dietary needs known to avoid sounding like an inconvenience.
“I’ll just have a water” is something we’re all too familiar with.
5. Trying to meet everyone else’s dietary accommodations before actually making something for yourself.
If I’m making dinner for my friends, I will make everything as dietarily-inclusive as possible. Gluten-free? Got it. Tree nut and peanut free? Easy. Remembering to make something vegan for myself? The last step, of course.
6. “Ugh! I could never do that.”
You like meat and bread. We get it.
7. Wondering why you just didn’t just bring a Tupperware of food for yourself.
I’ve found it’s much easier just to cook for myself. I don’t have to place blind faith in someone else (who most likely doesn’t know a darn thing about veganism) to make my food for me, nor do I have to question if the food in front of me is actually vegan.