Where to Eat?!

Now that is the question... for this week!!! Last week we talked about where the big G could be found in your home. Now we're going to talk about where you won't find it when eating out! So as usual, read on, share, and be blessed!

I get asked all the time, "So are you like cooking allllllll the time? You must never eat out? Right?!" Yes and no is the answer. We do eat out a lot less and I do cook more than I used to and being GF is a part of that, but it doesn't mean we never eat out. It helps save money and I believe it also teaches our kids that eating out is a privilege and special treat, not something they should come to expect!

Here are a few tips on eating out before I share some of our favorite places.

• Be prepared to ask questions, a lot of questions! (ex: ask if the tacos your ordering come on flour or corn tortillas. Ask if the side of rice and beans are GF.) Basically when ordering, ask what's in it?, just like you'd read a label before buying it at the grocery store!
• Don't be embarrassed to ask said questions!!!
• Go online and see if the restaurant you're planning on going to has an allergy menu online to view. A lot of restaurants are doing this these days and being prepared before you go saves you any risk of being embarrassed by asking tons of questions and makes the ordering process a lot faster (and keeps the wait shorter which is helpful when eating out with kids)!
• Ask if the restaurant has a GF menu or substitutes. A lot of places have a GF equivalent so you're not having to leave a lot of things off what you would normally order. (ex: regular pasta dishes can sometimes be served with GF pasta.)
• Be prepared to pay a little extra at some places for the GF substitute.

Now here are some of our favorites:

Fast Food:

• Chick-fil-a: We order the grilled chicken nuggets and french fries. If you are sensitive to cross contamination (we're not) I would order their fruit bowl or small salad as a side instead of fries.
• In-N-Out: We order our burgers protein style (wrapped in lettuce) and they're fries are safe from cross contamination since it's the ONLY thing they fry there and they are freshly cut, so no G to preserve them.
• Wendy's: A friend who is GF orders their cup of chili. (We haven't yet, just because the kids won't eat it.)
• Chipotle: We get the burrito bowl, salad, or tacos with brown rice, black beans and all they veggies and salsa. No cheese or sour cream since we're DF too.
• Qdoba: Basically same as above.

Dine-In:

• True Food Kitchen
• Jason's Deli
• Indulge Burger
• Picazzo's
• Macaroni Grill
• PF Chang's
• Flo's
• Butterfield's (the only breakfast place we've found so far with GF pancakes!)
• Pita Jungle
• Mayo Clinic Hospital's cafeteria (they're food is good and my parents work there, so we often go for lunch dates with Gammy and Poppie)

Pizza:

• Barro's
• Domino's
• Chuck E. Cheese's
• Sauce
• Picazzo's

These are just some of the places off the top of my head that have SPECIFIC GF menu's/items. Most of the regular places you eat have GF items without knowing it. For example, if you go to a restaurant and order a steak with roasted veggies and mashed potatoes, the meal is most likely GF. Like I said before, just ask what's in it! If there's a gravy on those mashed potatoes, you'll want to ask if it's GF because gravy is made either with corn starch (GF version) or flour (not GF).So most likely, you don't have to give up eating at your favorite places!

Are you getting the picture?! When eating out, use your mouth and not just to eat, but prior to your meal arriving to ask a simple question, "Does this have gluten in it?" or "Is this Gluten Free?"

I promise that it's not as overwhelming as it sounds and that you can enjoy dining out when on a GF diet. But just in case you're not that ambitious yet, next week I'm going to share a few of our favorite and "on the reg" GF meals. So you'll definitely want to come back next week. Until then, be blessed!