Eating Out on Whole 30

I went out to eat at a restaurant for the first time during this Whole 30 challenge on Friday night. It was Bob’s dad’s birthday. And of course, dinner was at an Italian restaurant! Luckily for Bob and me – we aren’t really into eating noodles (paleo lifestyle aside). It also helped that 4 out of the 5 people at the table got salads. His dad ordered spaghetti. I have never been a spaghetti fan. I am not going to lie – before my dinner came I was eying the cheesy lasagna that the kid a table away was munching away at.

When it was Bob’s and my turn to order we had a few questions and few requests. We each ordered the cobb salad – one of my paleo go-to’s at restaurants. We got the salad with no blue cheese. Their cobb salad came with your choice of turkey, ham, or bacon. We requested chicken instead. I also told our waitress that we were on a special diet and if they use oil to cook the chicken to use olive oil. She informed us that the chicken was baked. I probably should have made sure they didn’t use any kind of marinade, since many marinades have gluten in them. When we got our salads it looked like the chicken just had a few dry spices on it, so I think we were safe. After our substitutions our salads were made up of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chicken, avocado, and boiled egg. We dressed our salads with oil and vinegar. It wasn’t a super exciting dinner, BUT we passed a major test during the Whole 30 challenge.

We didn’t even succumb to the birthday brownies for dessert. I have a pretty incredible sweet tooth, so seeing everyone eat dessert was the most challenging part of dinner for me. But I think of how much good I did my body by not ordering a cocktail, eating from the bread basket, munching down on cheesy lasagna, or going ape shit on that sheet of frosted brownies.

I have been eating out on a paleo diet for years now. It’s okay to request substitutions. Don’t be afraid to ask the server questions or to specially modify your food. You are paying for it and putting it in your body, so you have the right to get exactly what you want. There may be upcharges for certain substitutions – don’t be cheap and don’t be an ass about it. Besides salads with no cheese, dressing on the side, my other go to’s at restaurants are: steak or fish with no starch, add extra veggies; hamburger, no cheese, no bun, add grilled onions and peppers, no fries, sub salad; egg scramble with meat and vegetables, no cheese, no toast, no potatoes, sub fruit; carne asada or carnitas, with no tortilla, rice, beans, sour cream, add extra guacamole; Thai curry (most are made with coconut milk) and I choose one without potatoes; pho without the rice noodles, add vegetables; ceviche, shrimp cocktail, mussels, or clams are paleo appetizers you probably don’t have to modify.