ADVENTURE AWAITS

Have you heard someone say “I’ll eat anything?” What about, “I love travelling because I get to eat food from different cultures?” Oh, oh have you heard this “I love being adventurous with food!”

Well, if you have heard someone say this, I can bet they weren’t allergy reactors. But why is it that people associate being adventurous, spontaneous, ‘chill’ with food. I believed the same thing when I was younger, and that's why I felt left out. Recently, I actually took note of everything I have done with my life that did not include food, and WOW. I have done so much. To name a few: moved countries away from my family and friends, gone on solo trips/holidays, rollerbladed at a disco park, lots of first dates, workshops, friends' holidays in the middle of nowhere. Plus, there are so many small things I do every day that show me I am brave and adventurous and none of them involve the food I eat.  

Yes, yes, I do believe that I would be adventurous with food if I didn’t have these allergies, that’s based on my personality and my love of food, but what I think people often do is make allergies as an excuse not to be adventurous. I just want to invite you to push your self out of your comfort zone without having food in mind.

Over the last few months, I couldn’t be adventurous with food, none of us really could. At the beginning of the pandemic I stated that I wouldn’t try anything new whilst we were in lockdown. As time went on I got a bit more relaxed and didn’t have the fear of going to hospital and nobody being able to help me. Even though I felt more comfortable eating, I still stayed within my comfort zone, there weren’t many opportunities to go out of it. I made every meal at home, the restaurants were closed, and we couldn’t see family and friends. I got used to this life.

Now, however, things are opening, we have the #eatouttohelpout, which is amazing but I then feel guilty because I am still unsure. I am still feeling nervous with the idea of putting my life in somebody else’s hands again. I haven’t been faced with that predicament until, last Sunday.

My mum invited me to have lunch with her, our cousin and her friend. We were going to go to a very fancy restaurant on a golf course, looking out onto the Irish Sea (the dream), and it was meant to be very sunny that day. My mum has offered lunch a few times since we came to Ireland but I always had something to do and I never felt comfortable. But that Sunday I was free and I thought why not, remember Lindi, ‘you have an adventurous spirit.’

I wasn’t going to eat at the restaurant but, I could still have a drink. Funnily enough, Ireland’s rule, (at the time I am writing this) is if you want to order an alcoholic beverage, you have to order food. The policy is because the government has only allowed restaurants to open not pubs or bars. So I would have to order food. Now, here is why you need people to support you and understand your allergies, so you feel safe, less of a burden and respected. We agreed that I would just “order” a starter for my Mum so, they wouldn’t get upset with me if I ordered a drink. Yes, I know that is bending the rules, and I normally would never do that, but I feel like when the government sets out rules it is hard to think of the outliers, the people who want to be social, but find it very hard. I didn’t have to have a drink but that is my “treat” if you like, that is the joy of eating out because there are times when I won't eat, but having a drink makes it feel different, special, fun.

What I do before going somewhere new, or to a restaurant, road trip, flight, is make a plan. When I plan, I feel more confident, when I feel more confident I feel less anxious, when I feel less anxious I have a good time. I prepped some fresh fruit and tuna in my bag for the journey back (when I would be hungry) and I had a big breakfast, so I wouldn’t be starving whilst they were eating all the food.

The day was as lovely as we had expected. We got to the restaurant and I cannot describe it as much as to say, it was stunning. The clouds were those wispy ones, the sun was high in the sky and it was hot - not humid, hot but basking in the glow, hot. We were seated on the balcony, right above the 18th hole of the golf course, watching the boats on the sea and a lighthouse on the rocks. Magical. If perfection existed, it would have been that.

We got the menus. A limited menu. There were probably 2/3 things I could have had, that didn’t have any of my allergens in it. I am glad I planned for this because I wasn’t worried then. If you or I don’t expect not to eat, I can get quite disheartened. You have the excitement to enjoy some lovely food and when you get to the restaurant, you might feel uncomfortable, your gut is saying don’t eat, but you didn’t bring anything with you, you told your friends you would eat (you even checked the menu at home), but you have this feeling. Planning not to eat and discovering that you want to is the best feeling and no setup for disappointment.

My mum chose two dishes that she would like (lucky haha) and I ordered one of them (was fun actually ordering food and not telling the staff about my allergies!) and a pint of Murphy's.

Everyone at the table got a dish that would have killed me. I was sat on a table where every corner but mine was mixed with one or more of my allergens. But that’s okay, I planned for that. I looked out on to the sea and thought “I am so glad I am here, I am glad I decided to get outside of my comfort zone, the food isn’t the reason I came”. 

I took pics of all the food because let's face it, I am a foodie, and it is great inspiration for my home cooking. The bread they served with the chowder looked unreal! Dried cranberries and sunflower seeds - you can expect that on the blog soon!  

I drank my Murphys, I laughed, we chatted, I basked in the sunlight, and I was happy.

Yes, I would have liked to have eaten, and I probably could have (Ireland is great with allergies and the staff was so nice and accommodating) but I just thought, “why bother?” It doesn’t always have to be about food, I don’t always have to eat when others are eating, I could just be with people I love looking out over to the Irish Sea, dreaming of my next adventure. It can be as simple as that. 

I didn’t eat until I was in the car on the way home, and it was very yummy. I am glad I got outside. I got outside of my comfort zone without it being about food. We have these allergies that dictate what we can and cannot eat, but they don’t dictate what we can and cannot do. You can still enjoy life without the need for food, you can be reintroduced into the wild, whilst not eating the plants.