Food and Dates

Prom weekend was last weekend. I went with a friend and his cousin + his girlfriend. It was a lot of fun. :) Going on dates (especially dinner dates) can be really hard for someone with PKU. You only have so many options. you can either:
1. Bring your own food
2. Eat before
3. Try to see if there's anything you can have and order that /or/ with this case order something specially made.
4. Bring a substitute and see if they'll cook it there

There is good and bad about each of these. You want to make a good impression on a date right?? Some restaurant won't let you bring your own food. Eating before can lead the boy to think you don't eat or your trying to impress him by starving yourself. You might not finding anything you can have on the menu and they won't exclude a couple ingredients. And nowadays most restaurants won't let you cook your substitute. Personally for Prom I did two different things. At lunch on our day date I brought my own food. The boys had each bought food for their dates and I told mine that I could bring my own so he wouldn't have to worry about that. (He was a little disorganized.) Then at dinner we went to Olive Garden. Luckily I found something I could have with little excluding of ingredients. It worked out and I didn't draw any extra attention to myself in the group. I didn't want the whole date to be about my diet, I wanted it to be like a ordinary Prom date that everybody has. (I know that normal is a dishwater setting and that I shouldn't be embarrassed about my diet... but I'm not!) I'm not embarrassed. I just get tired of telling people about it everywhere I go and hog the conversation trying to explain while other people get mad at me for hogging the conversation. Then the best part is when the people who asked about my diet just stop listening and suddenly don't care! They ASKED! It's not like I said, "Hey I have a medical condition and I'm going to tell you ALL about it!" Sorry I'm a little frustrated right now. But basically with dating with PKU; I try not to make a big deal out of it and make it work. Whatever is easiest is the way I try to take. I'll blog in you later. -C.