The Social Macro

One of the hardest things for us about going macro has been the social aspect of it all. I value the sanctity of the food that I put into my body, and being conscious about the food choices that I make is important to me. But, I also value the ability to go out to dinner with friends, have dinner parties where my guests are not put off by the food we eat, and attend dinner parties and actually eat something that the host prepares...

A conversation I do not enjoy having: "Oh, you're a vegetarian!? You should have told me! I'm so sorry..." "it's alright! I can find something to eat here - is that a salad?" "yes, but it has bacon in it..." "I see some beans over there!" "they have ham in them" ...

and since going macro, the conversation has turned into this: "I know you're vegetarian so we made a great ceasar salad for you, and some tofu." "Thanks, I really appreciate that, but, actually, I'm not eating dairy anymore either... or romaine lettuce..."

The point is that I'm afraid we'll stop getting invited to things if we continue along this path! We love having people over -- and the recipes in love, eric & sanae (look at the post from April 27, 2008, for an example) are from two genius macro minds. They are elegant, flavorful, and inventive - and make for great dinner party fare, when we are the hosts. When going to other people's homes, though, I haven't quite mastered the art of preparing ahead -- macrobiotics is hard to explain to people, it's very restrictive compared to the typical American diet, and I don't want to be a burden on hosts. Some ideas are to offer to bring a dish that is macrobiotic - making enough so that everyone can have some if they so choose, planning ahead in the days leading up to the dinner party to make sure that your body is in balance so that you can "cheat" a bit during the party and still feel good, or not going at all (not really)...

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and feelings on the social macro front!