Hooray keys!

I really don't try to be a pain in the ass with my dietary needs

When people have dietary restrictions, I find they generally don't understand the amount of effort that goes into it.

That's why I proactively do things like suggest what I *can* eat (as opposed to "I can't eat gluten; I bet you don't even know what that is, since it's not something you have to deal with, but hey, you can just figure it out but if you can't I'll be a dick about it!"). Since I *do* know how much effort goes into it, I tell people upfront what might work best, to cut down on the work they need to do. If I'm eating at someone's house, I offer to bring things. Voila: no work for the host. If we're eating out, I suggest restaurants/types of cuisine that work best. I don't leave people to flail around.

When people have dietary restrictions, I find they generally don't understand the amount of effort that goes into it.

Ok. Fair to say that some may not understand, some do and very much so?

The latter often do not want to put people out, often refuse invitations or carry emergency food / fake eating so as not to upset their host, carry emergency meds in case of contact, and are immensely grateful when an accomodation is made. This goes from peanut allergies to Celiac and beyond.

When my mom and stepdad were super-strict with their vegan eating, they would just gracefully decline food made with cheese, etc., or bring their own. They never made any fuss about it. (They've moved to ovo-lacto vegetarianism, which makes dining out a lot easier for them.)

I think my posts are devolving into #notallfoodallergicpeople

I suspect shrift meant that people who don't have restrictions don't understand the work involved in dealing with them.

Ha, that was an important word to leave out, shrift. [ETA: having happened to have read your post both before and after the edit]

And, my above post being said, I am often and regularly sad that I can't eat certain delicious things and SUPER GRATEFUL that I CAN eat, for example, cheese. I would miss cheese a whole lot if I had to give it up. Red meat not so much. I like a steak well enough, but if I could never have another one, eh, I'd be okay.

I want to mention that I edited because I dropped a very important word? That people with dietary restrictions have to put a ton of work into just basic eating, and that people who don't have dietary restrictions don't understand how much work it takes.

I'm so tired that I can't do words, apparently.

I want to mention that I edited because I dropped a very important word? That people with dietary restrictions have to put a ton of work into just basic eating, and that people who don't have dietary restrictions don't understand how much work it takes.

D'oh. I was arguing against an inadvertent straw dietician.

I want to mention that I edited because I dropped a very important word? That people with dietary restrictions have to put a ton of work into just basic eating, and that people who don't have dietary restrictions don't understand how much work it takes.

I was reading/lurking from my phone, didn't see the edit until now -- and have encountered the other view in various forms, some related to me.

Many Hugs and thanks for saying, even without the words..