How to Be a Conscious Eater

56

WHEN NUTRITION

GETS PERSONAL

I

t’s a perfect day for ice cream. My friends and I, party of

five, meet up in Seattle at the contemporary version of an

ice-cream parlor: vegan and gluten free. We step in, ready to

order. Or so we think.

“Hi, ladies! Welcome! Any allergies in the group today?

Any dietary no-nos we should know about?” The next fifteen

minutes are a blur of questions, qualifiers, and indecision.

We are two vegetarians, one allergic to tree nuts, and two

eaters (myself included) with no constraints. But even being

restriction-free doesn’t help in my case, as I try to under-

stand the options: “Are you sure ‘activated charcoal’ is safe for

human consumption? Are those pine needles in that flavor?

What does ‘soy-free earth balance’ mean?” The counter girl

ends up calling in reinforcements. We are holding up the line.

It turns out that this particular vegan ice cream estab-

lishment relies on cashew milk as its primary substitute for

cream. That means our friend with the tree-nut allergy is left

with limited options. As soon as we’re all served and settled

in, we want to try each other’s flavors. But we stop our com-

postable spoons mid-swoop. How many college grads does it

take to figure out the licking sequence to spare the allergic

friend? Quite a few, as it turns out. It’s almost comical. Except

I really feel for her.

I’m guessing that at least a milder version of this scene

resonates with experiences you’ve had interacting with wait-

ers and groups of people eating out. From chefs and retailers

236 how to be a Conscious Eater

Conscious Eater_04 PT_4th patches.indd 236 10/23/19 1:38 PM