Eating with people who don't enjoy food

I am on Ozempic to control my blood sugar as a diabetic. It has resulted in me eating smaller meals but has also affected my taste so I have 'gone off' quite a few things I used to love. When I visit my DS and his family I try to eat whatever they are having but if it is one of the things I no longer enjoy I just ask for a smaller portion. I also eat much more slowly than I used to so eating less works ok. Sometimes though I end up being hungry later so I always take a stash of snacks for if I'm hungry later in case there is nothing I fancy in their fridge. I usually take anything I specifically enjoy with me. After my last visit when I took my usual greek yogurts for breakfast, we had to buy a fresh supply during the week and the children wanted some too. Mine were quite expensive ones and I understand they have since found a cheaper alternative which the children call 'granny yogurts' and eat regularly now!

I presume the OP stayed with the frugal friend and that's all she was given? Bit of a nightmare and I agree with those who say 'take your own.' My DD and SIL have a term for it when they are invited to weddings. Always take 'pocket ham'.

My own bugbear is when you take a bottle of, say, Champagne or posh chox and say, 'these are our contribution to the meal.'

And then you are given neither and never see them again.

GoldenAge - quiet word with the proprietor or person taking your order to pass on to the chef will often result in your food arriving on your plate looking just as good as anybody else's but already prepared in smaller pieces.

Yes, I have done this and they are very discrete. Lamb nicely sliced and served on a bed of vegs. I often have a starter as a main meal and no one has every objected.

We have been invited to several weddings which were lavish apart from the food. There were no allowances made for dietary requirements and we ended up eating cheese on crackers. We have been to other weddings where the food was splendid and allowed the guests to have a feast. I tend to go to 4 star hotels now to eat as they always come up with something to suit. There is one near us where I can actually eat a three course lunch without fear of reprisal.

DoDo: I would have burst one of her blood vessels! How intolerably rude.

GOD: I have the dreaded falsies too - much better than trying to bite down using an abcessed or wobbly tooth. Fixodent. Brilliant stuff -holds them in place - crusty bread, al dente anything and rare steak now a doddle. Try it.

Dalrymple23 thanks but I am allergic to Fixodent (gave me big burning blisters). I use polygrip but due to a variety of issues arising from the plastic pretenders, I have to reglue them at interval throughout the day, they become progressively more uncomfortable as the day wears on, I can hardly chew with them, so just stick with soft food and stuff which doesn't stick to them.
The dentist says they are the best fit she can make them, has vaguely suggested implants but says she can't guarantee that they would be feasible (aggressive bone loss since extraction) and an aggressive estimate of cost!
So I just grin and bear it if I can't avoid food-centred social occasions.
Ho hum.

AGAA4

I took my son and his new girlfriend out for a meal. She ordered then didn't eat any of it. It was a very popular, always booked up restaurant, so a bit embarrassing sending back a whole plate of untouched food. I found out later that her diet consisted of several bottles of cola a day and a few bags of crisps.

I sometimes think that these really fussy people actually invent reasons not to eat because of eating disorders. One of my husband’s friend’s girlfriends was supposedly vegetarian, I went to a lot of trouble to find out what she’d like and cooked things for her on several occasions. She always refused to eat anything. It transpired that she just didn’t like eating and ended up in a mental unit with anorexia.

I would get a second opinion on your dentures GOD

I have spent a couple of years learning how to manage IBS and I’m incredibly cautious - nervous, even - eating what anyone else has prepared. I’ve decline Christmas and Easter with my daughter two years running for exactly this reason.

*declined

dalrymple - I don’t think Dodo meant that she would burst anyone’s blood vessels - she meant her own own blood vessels would burst

eazybee chilli IS an allergen for some people but as it’s not common it is not on the list of the most common allergens that restaurants have to notify people about. I am severely allergic to chilli (carry an EpiPen) as is my niece.

She once accidentally handled a chilli seed whilst emptying a kitchen bin at university, went into anaphylactic shock and spent three weeks in hospital. If all her flat mates had not been medical students, knew where her EpiPen was and how to administer it, then took turns to do cpr until the paramedics arrived, she would not be with us now. She is a wonderful NHS doctor but was so weak after the incident she had to walk with a stick for 3 months. She couldn’t even lift a cup of tea up to her lips.

So please don’t assume that if a food isn’t on the common allergens list it is not an allergen - it could be fatal. Please don’t judge those of us who have nearly died as ‘picky’.