Most people think that eating a raw food diet in social situations is difficult, and they are right.

Today, I want to share with you a letter I received from one of my readers.

She went through a situation that is incredibly similar to my own and many others.

At the end of this article, I will tell you my number tip for socializing while eating raw.

Here’s the email I received from Valentina:

“Socializing is a problem. I live in 30 km from Paris. Being vegan in France is still very difficult; it is easier than 10 years ago, but still few people know the meaning of the word “vegan”.

My colleagues are not vegans and not raw; they hate me for what I am. Still, each month, our boss organizes a team lunch. There are no vegan restaurants around, and it is VERY difficult to negotiate a raw salad… I do not know why, it seems so easy to me.

FullyRaw Kristina said once on her YouTube channel that everybody will be happy to prepare for you a fresh salad… That is not true; she should come to France…

My husband is Indian, and Indian restaurants do not understand the meaning of “salad” as we understand it; there are no raw options… It is VERY difficult to resist Indian food; when we travel over there, it is a torture for me…

So yes, eating raw at home is not a problem at all for me, but socializing, going out with friends and colleagues is complicated. 

I gave up to go for lunch with colleagues, so now they can talk behind my back and it is more and more difficult to work with them.

I invite my close friends home to eat, which I have grown to prefer over restaurants.

In India, when we travel there, I will be honest, I fail… I eat only once a day, but I eat real Indian food, very heavy, very oily, may I admit I enjoy it? … And coming back to raw is difficult each time…”

I can relate with Valentina and I am sure many of my readers will too.

Believe me, during my journey from cooked to raw, I tried so many options and approaches to eating raw food while socializing; most failed, except one.

Here are a few things I’ve tried that didn’t work out:

• Eating only salad

Trying to eat only salad by itself when going out isn’t really an exciting option.

For the most part, restaurants and bars serve cooked food, and even if you get some raw food in the form of greens, they won’t give you enough calories to get through the meal and you will be left unsatisfied.

And to top that, most restaurants use incredibly unhealthy salad dressing options.

• Eating fruit salad

I tried the option of eating only fruit salads for a while, and that can work, if you happen to hit a restaurant that serves large portions of fruit, but I found out in most circumstances, that’s not the case.

Most restaurants will give you tiny fruit salads servings and to make things even worse, they will top it up with sugar or other junk food ingredients.

• Eating before going out

For a while I tried the option of eating at home before going out to events and this also can be a hassle. Why? Because I don’t feel like preparing food and eating before going out; do you?

It’s inconvenient, you have to get out of your regular eating schedule to eat something you don’t really want to.

Its wastes time, in my opinion, and isn’t fun. I found out, in most cases, the food I eat beforehand doesn’t digest as well because I am too excited about going out.

You want to be getting ready to go out by having a shower, dressing up, and looking good; not worrying about food.

The ideal solution will be hitting a raw food restaurant every time, but our society isn’t ready to quit cooked food for good just yet.

What really works for me, over and over again is intermittent fasting.

Yes, by adopting this technique, you can still go out to every possible social gathering you need to attend; you won’t eat anything and drink only water.

You can also drink tea or coffee if available, but not food.

I found out that through intermittent fasting is when I actually feel my best and I enjoy every occasion even more.

You can chat with colleagues and friends, do business if necessary, and you will feel at peace because you will not be stressing out over what to eat and what to avoid.

I know that having people sitting next to you eating cooked food can be tempting at times, because some cooked food can be highly addictive.

But it’s not a huge sacrifice; just think about how bad is having to deal with diseases caused by eating the wrong food.

Just concentrate on the conversation, and as long as the company is good, you will enjoy it.

Most people take very little time to eat their meal anyway, so you may not even notice it that much.

If people ask me why I am not eating, I am always honest in my reply. I tell them I eat a raw food diet, or I tell them I eat a more specific diet, without going into detail, or I simply tell them I am not hungry.

Don’t assume that people really “care” what you eat. In fact, I notice that many people are interested in my diet because they can see how my diet may help them overcome health issues they may be experiencing.

Food isn’t the main reason we go out with friends or colleagues anyway. The sooner you figure this out, the lesser problematic food will become.

Some people may be offended by your stand on “veganism” and I can understand that, but that’s an ethical and political issue, not nutrition.

I never use the word vegan in social occasions, I prefer to use the word “plant-based”.

If you want to make a stand on veganism, that’s OK too, but you will have to deal with other people’s opinions as well.

While going out to parties or events at dinner time, I used to eat afterwards when I got home, but I stopped doing so a long time ago, because I don’t feel good if I eat too late at night.

In fact, I love going to bed on an empty stomach, because that’s when I get the best quality sleep.

In my program, Health For Life, I cover other aspects of socializing on a raw diet and how best to deal with social pressures.

If you’d like to find out, click here.

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