Eating Clean in New Orleans!
If you have read my material over any length of time you know I do not eat shellfish or pork. I do this because I first believe in God’s law, and though I don;t believe in earning my way into God’s grace (that was given), I do believe that he has called me to be obedient. And though I can’t always accomplish his other requests (seems that I fail multiple times a day every single day); this is one area that I know I can adhere to!
So in New Orleans, it is pretty much bend your will, or starve to death! Well, actually, I am doing ok. But would you believe that of about 40 restaurants that we searched menus for, only two of them had items listed on the menu that I could eat “as-is”. So night one, we were so late, that we went to a tapas restaurant, and they had little plates they were fine, ended up going with some bruschetta (yes I eat grains, just not when I am doing the full healing diet, and I never eat many) as well as the lamb sliders (on a bun, more grains, but ohhh tasty).
The next day I was able to navigate my way through lunch with a large spinach salad, and snacking on nuts that I had brought throughout the day. But for dinner… well we walked with our friends, who really don’t get me, so I have had a chance to talk to them about how Biblical truths (don’t eat pork and shellfish) are also modern technology truths; as you know many people get sick from shellfish every day in coastal areas because of the high levels of toxins in the meat (they clean our toxic waters with their GI tracts), and we have seen sutdies that show that pigs are able to survive extremely high toxic levels because their system is designed to store those toxins away harmlessly in their fat, which people seem to love to eat! So it has been cool having a chance to discuss this… however, we had to look (walking relatively aimlessly through the French Quarter checking Yelp the whole way) for over an hour checking menus as we went, with me saying “no, not here” the whole way.
When we finally found a place, my wife was able to settle on a swordfish (which is a rareity for us because they are ridiculously polluted too in most cases), and I had a salmon. I was forced to have them leave off the crawfish topping, and as i asked for the goat cheese crepes with no crawfish topping, the waiter paused and exclaimed “they will be awful without a topping”, so I switched to the romaine salad… “just hold the bacon vinagrette please.” So what do you do when you get the feeling that you are insulting a waiter, or possibly the chef when your request comes back? Acknowledge that your beliefs, have created a sensitivity, and tell them… “I have a sensitivity to pork and shellfish”.
The good news is that it is true, when I consider eating those, I actually get a little nauseated because I have studied their uncleanliness enough to really not be comfortable with them (kind of like those of you who have seen Food Inc, and your inability to be comfortable with any food!) A waiter and chef will be much less likely to be offended if they are concerned with your potential “food sensitivity”, than if you are a picky eater unwilling to try the chef’s beloved creation!
So the dying question… did i go to Cafe Du Monde? Of course I did, got a large Cafe Au Lait and a bag of three Beignets… and shortly after had one of the worst sugar headaches ever… though it was short lived. Actually, it wasn’t too bad because it hit and disappeared FAST… probably a testament to the fact that I haven’t been the cleanest eater in the last several weeks. I problem I plan to resolve as soon as this vacation is over!