Fed up of Freaking out when you're Eating out? Snap.

You know that feeling when something just looks too good to be true? or the alarm bells are going off in your head as the waiting staff haven’t exactly filled you with confidence when they say “oh but it does contain butter!” Even sticking to the same “trusty” restaurants seem to fill you with dread. Oh I hear you.

I’ve had three really bad experiences of being “glutened” each time I had complete faith in those serving my food. It was the third time that really effected me and I only noticed it when I went to eat out again.

As if deciding where to eat was hard enough, deciphering a menu for “what’s going to be the least risky option” was harder. Then the food would arrive, it would look good, smell great! but I just couldn’t eat it, I was petrified I was going to spend the next two hours throwing up. Even triple checking with the waiter wasn’t enough to rid the powerful voices in my mind. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve gone hungry, or just eaten the fish and veg (even scared of chips in case they’ve been contaminated in the fryer) and sauces are a no-no! I feel so sad because I love my food!

So how can we combat these overwhelming anxieties infiltrating our fun with food?!

It was a Buddhist restaurant in Sydney Australia that evoked the first sense of security for me. They arrived in the form of tiny GF flags.

I once cried in a pub in Cornwall because the gravy on my sausage and mash tasted so SO good, the chef very kindly reassured me and was chuffed to see that it was that tasty!