It is an ongoing process for me in my quest to “make good choices” to be able to politely decline food. I am always worried about offending people or bringing too much attention to myself.
Case in point. One summer Tate and I were sea kayaking in Alaska. We were a full days paddle from Juneau and decided to set up camp by a cabin inhabited by two older couples from Georgia. The women took pity on us (it was raining) and invited us up for dinner. I offered to bring some vegetables but they said they had everything we needed. When we sat down to eat I was dismayed to see BBQ chicken and coleslaw covering the plates. I have been a vegetarian all of my life and while I do occasionally eat chicken broth I’d never actually eaten a bite of meat. And I despise mayo so much that my sisters used to chase me around the house with a spoon dripping with it to tease me.
So, rather than offend these generous Southerners and their hospitality, I pushed the cole slaw around, shaved off the tiniest little bites of chicken, and guzzled beer. Tate came to my rescue by scarfing his down and emptying my plate onto his. Our hosts must have though him a controlling husband or something when he said “she’s had enough” when they tried to offer seconds! When we got back to the tent I feasted on raw broccoli and carrots.
Have you ever been in a situation where you ate something you weren’t interested in or more than you wanted to avoid bringing attention to yourself or causing offense? How do you gracefully handle these situations?
