Be prepared

Be prepared is a fabulous motto, no wonder the Girl Scouts borrowed it from the Boy Scouts. It’s especially important for anyone with a restricted diet. I’ve known this, but last Sunday when I went sailing with my family- I should have better prepared myself.

We were out celebrating Brian’s dad’s birthday and everyone contributed to lunch, there was a fabulous spread of fruit, crackers, breads, cheeses, meats, and cupcakes.... I didn’t want to be a burden, so I made some vegan-gluten free corndogs, grabbed a few carrots, and a bar of vegan chocolate. I was proud of myself, and we ventured off.

Well, they ripped into some of those crackers right away; it was a little difficult not to join in. I used to be so obsessed with Wheat Thins and Cheez-its. I was doing fine- until I got a whiff of the Cheez-its. I immediately grabbed a carrot and started munching. We continued our 14-mile sail towards the islands.

Once we arrived and anchored, everyone started pulling out the cheese and breads, and my heart practically skipped a beat. It wouldn’t hurt to eat just a few bites, right?? Less than 2 months ago, I would have considered this paired with grapes a perfect meal. I again rushed down to the galley and started heating up my corn dogs. By the time I returned, I was feeling a little better, I hadn’t cheated yet and now I had real food to eat. I shared the corn dogs, and everyone seemed to like them, which was pretty cool.

When it came time to sing happy birthday and eat cupcakes, I was armed with my vegan chocolate to not feel deprived. That’s when my mom oh so rudely told me she frosted the cupcakes with Nutella! Nutella was one of my favorite spreads before this adventure started, and I found it cruel that she would do this to me. Haha- anyway I was satisfied with my vegan, sugar-free chocolate- and I thought I had made it through the day completely scot-free.

But on the way home, people were still snacking on the bread, cheeses, and crackers. Suddenly my stomach was grumbling and I had run out of snacks! I knew we were only about an hour away, but with the drive home I was feeling very tempted by all the dairy, gluten and sugar. Luckily Brian agreed that as soon as we got back we could go to a sushi restaurant and get me miso soup and avocado rolls. That held me over just enough to get through the rest of the sail without eating all the provolone.

If I could go back, I would have brought kale, corn tortillas, beans, cookies, or anything else more filling than corn dogs and a bar of chocolate! But I was very proud of myself for not cheating this time.

Lucky for me- tomorrow I’m going to Universal Studios and Wednesday I’m going to the Santa Barbara Zoo, so I’ll have a chance try again with being prepared for a day!!