Hi Allison,

I hope you have a fun weekend.

When I used to go out to a restaurant for lunch with a friend, we'd get these veggie bowls of brown rice, fermented veggies, cashew cream, nondairy pesto, all delicious stuff but without enough protein. It was a very low key place, so I'd just bring 2 peeled hard boiled eggs in a baggie and put them in. Later the restaurant started offering them as a side order!

I'm not sure what kind of place you're going to, if that's OK or not, but that could be an option for your salad. I used to bring my own pre-toasted bread to Chili's and order a hamburger with guacamole, mustard and pickles but without a bun, then build it myself at the table. No one ever seemed to mind.

: *seeing a Bald Eagle this morning

: Every year at this time, I go to the
: Monte Vista Crane Festival in
: Colorado with an organization I
: volunteer with. We stop for lunch
: on the way to Colorado. The
: restaurant serves Mexican food, so
: that works for me. Breakfasts are
: at a bakery in town. I get a
: scramble with eggs, cheese,
: tomatoes and ham, and fried
: potatoes. We can order a lunch at
: the bakery, but I bring my own
: from home, so I will be packing
: two sandwiches with apples and
: celery. I will take cheese sticks
: and oat cakes in case I need a
: snack. One of the dinners is at
: another Mexican restaurant, so not
: a problem.

: For dinner on Friday, we go to a brew
: pub. The other people all love it.
: It doesn't work well for me. They
: serve pizzas, but these are the
: gourmet, sparsely topped kind with
: inadequate protein. Sandwiches are
: also low on protein, except for
: the Ruben. I don't eat wheat, so
: Calzone and sandwiches don't work
: well for me. They have salads but
: they have no protein. So here are
: the options I am considering:

: 1) bring my own bread and see if they
: will make the Ruben with it.
: Gluten free bread is generally
: smaller and can be crumbly, so
: this may not work.
: 2) bring protein from home, eat it on
: the way to the restaurant, and
: order one of the fancy pizzas with
: gluten free crust and veggie
: toppings.

: I haven't decided yet which option I
: will go with. I have gone on line
: and printed out the menu so I will
: make a decision tomorrow. Last
: year I didn't plan adequately. I
: got the most protein dense pizza
: they had, but ended up very full
: with inadequate protein, so I
: vowed that this year I would come
: up with a plan.

: Allison