Our first dinner out in 3 months....

For those that do not know, my daughter was put on a special diet three months ago. She can no longer eat gluten (wheat) or casein (dairy). We think we are going to be taking out soy as well, but are waiting to talk with her doctor. We also think she may be going dye free as well, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

At any rate, so I cook and I cook and I cook. When we don't have time, I cook. When I'm tired, I cook and when I'm sick, I cook. LOL. This is new for my family, as we used to eat out at least once a week.

Well on Saturday we went to the mall and it was 5:00. I, all of a sudden for the first time in 3 months, had the urge to eat out. I turn to Chris and told him that I have heard Red Robin was very good with allergies and we should try it. He agreed, so we had a talk with Carmela and she was on board so we headed to Red Robin after the mall.

I will say that while it was nice to have someone cook for me, it was hectic. The menu that they gave her was very limited. Basically a burger with no bun or seasonings or salad. Carmela opted for the burger with no bun with bacon on it and a side salad on the side. Seriously it took at least 45 minutes to get our food. The kitchen obviously while having the gluten free menu available, does not use it often. At that point, my kids were starving and very antsy, but they were pretty good. Carmela loved to be able to eat out and she handled it like a champ. She ate most of her burger and about two bites of her side salad (I forgot to say no tomatos duh!). Her side salad had no dressing, but she was good about that too.

All in all, it is nice to know we have the option of eating out like most American families, however, it is MUCH easier to eat in -- and healthier to boot! But I hear Outback has a good gluten free menu so I am tempted to give that a try LOL!

The best part of our dinner out was at the table next to us was another lady and her 14 year old son was gluten free as well. She came over to talk to me before they left, and it was so nice to hear I wasn't alone at that particular moment. I wish I had noticed what her son was eating! But this particular lady said that for her son,he is off gluten and dyes but he can have the casein. It clicked then that Carmela had lemonade two days in a row (red dye) and she's been off the wall for those two days, so of course, my head is spinning thinking of the red dye! Once we get home from Disney, I'll get a bit more serious about that.

Gotta run, my board meeting is in 45 mins at my home and I need to get ready for it.