I caught up with a friend for a bite to eat recently and she was commenting on how hard and frustrating it must be to find places that cater for my eating choices. How sometimes the only dish I can pick off the menu is a vegetable side dish, or how annoying it must be to constantly be “tweaking” my menu choices.

I was about to start nodding and sighing in agreement, when I suddenly realised something.

I can actually EAT out at a restaurant!

Having spent a big chunk of 2016 and 2017 following the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) for my health - not being able to eat out at restaurants or at friends’ houses in case they used a refined seed oil or even pepper, and staying away because I also didn’t want to hear the usual lecture of “why are you doing this again?”. I suddenly realised that I once again have food freedom.

Yes, I am currently eating gluten free and plant based. So what! Many others do also and many others probably should (that’s a whole other topic), but for now - I’m utterly grateful for where I am right now on my healing journey.

For those of you able to eat nightshade veggies, this one’s for you (and me!)