Do you ever feel like you have to choose between fellowship with friends and family or maintaining your dietary preferences? Does it seem unfair that every social situation revolves around food that you can’t (or aren’t willing to) eat?

In her guest post below, Heather Smith shares with us a few of her tips for handling these situations. So what about you? Have you ever encountered this dilemma? What tips do you have for dealing with these situations? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below….

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“Chances are you have a group of friends that like to meet up every once in a while to socialize and catch up, however not everyone shares the same “real foods” lifestyle that you do. This doesn’t mean you have to skip out on the next hang out session, it’s learning how to make do with what you have and work it so that you still stick to your choices:

• Eat beforehand: Sometimes it is just easier to plan ahead and decide to eat beforehand. The main reason you are meeting up with your friends is to enjoy their company and talk. Eat a solid meal before you meet up and sip on some water once you arrive. Plus, it saves money!
• Modify: Find out where the meeting place is and view the menu beforehand. Try to find something on the menu that would be easy to modify to fit your specifications and needs. Most restaurants are happy to please their customers by doing so.
• Host it: Instead of going out to meet, offer to host a get together at your own home and provide the food. Hosting the get together will help you have full control over the menu and what is being served. You may have a mess to clean up afterwards, but definitely a mess you are willing to make.
• Pick it: Throw out some suggestions to your friends of places that you like and that they may like. Chances are if you are the first one to give their opinion the faster everyone will be on board with your idea.
• Pot luck: Another way to ensure that your diet is not being tainted, offer to go pot luck at your next gathering. Not only is this helpful to the host but it’s a fun way for everyone to get involved. Be sure that your dish is hearty and plentiful.

Eating real in social gatherings is really easy; it just requires that you plan ahead. Find out the location beforehand and view the menu or offer to help host or bring a dish to the next hang out. Remember the real reason you are meeting up with your friends and don’t let the food waiver your decision to see them. Have fun catching up and enjoy!”

Author Bio
Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to www.nanny.net/ service by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She can be available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.