Last weekend I flew over to Prague for a few days, my boyfriend grew up there and it was a chance to meet his family, friends and all the things he loves there. I decided to only go for a couple of days so I didn't do the usual sightseeing but of course I shall be doing that the next time I go!
Chris' family only found out about my intolerances a few days before I got there, so I felt sorry for them and we struggled together to find things for me to eat. I have definitely learnt I need some more easy and basic recipes in my back pocket as it was hard to think of something to create that wouldn't be too hard and was also a good meal for me.
When I first got there, we immediately came to a halt of what on earth am I going to feed her? Chris and his family are full on carnivores (nothing wrong with that), meat takes the centre piece of most meals and thinking of a dinner without that and many other things I'm sure was quite a big deal.
My instinct was of course to default to a salad as so many times it does. You can't go wrong with a salad and everyone has most ingredients to create some form of one, so we started getting things out when I realised that they had got rice and meat prepared separately. I could use the rice for something surely, it was more filling and better for me rather than my second salad of the day!
We found some frozen stir fry mix of just vegetables and we all felt like we had hit the jackpot! Such a relief, I would be eating properly and something I could really enjoy as well. A big batch was made so that if needed I could tuck in later on during my stay, which believe me I did as even though it was simple, it was perfect for me.
The second day I woke up to think, oh crap, now what do I do for breakfast. I had brought with me emergency Nakd bars and some Nairns Gluten Free Biscuits, I don't go anywhere without emergency snacks anymore! It wasn't necessary as I find Alpro Soya Yoghurt (thank you to his family for being so welcoming) in the fridge and a banana, nice little breakfast without any worry or having to eat the cardboard that was gluten free cereal in Rome.
We went to a Christmas Market later that morning, it was so so cold but beautiful and it was really nice to go a market that you could actually move around in. The ones in England are always packed and you can hardly breathe let alone turn around, get some Christmas snacks or look at the stands. I had a lovely hot tea while they enjoyed mulled wine and had some bratwurst and sugary pastries. Thankfully I wasn't hungry so I wasn't sad to see the food and I just enjoyed the ambience and feel of a proper European Christmas market. I'm sure there would have been something there for me to enjoy but we were going back to have lunch with everybody soon and I have a stomach the size of a pea so I thought best not to ruin it!
We watched the Prague Astronomical Clock do its thing (bit of a build up for not much but it was pretty) then we went back to the car for the big family dinner. So before now I had not met any of this side of Chris' family and all 13ish people were coming for dinner! Quite an experience it was set to be, the anxiety of eating with so many others was starting to creep in which is only natural when you are so different from others. It is something I am accepting but you can't help but get a little twitchy around new people and in an environment you aren't completely in control of.
However, there was no need to worry at all, they catered so well for me so I had a proper dinner alongside everyone else without a fuss and you wouldn't have even noticed if you weren't staring closely at my plate.
They had prepared a version of their potato salad for me, mine prepared with Soya Yoghurt instead of mayonnaise and basically a Tofu Steak. It was a basic meal but exactly what I wanted, the potato salad was delicious so I will definitely be trying to recreate that. I also forget that tofu is so flexible, you don't have to always go crazy with it, it can just be like a cut of meat with other accompaniments.
It was a really nice afternoon/evening, everyone was mostly speaking Czech but through a few translations and some other conversations in English I felt included too. While everyone enjoyed some soup later in the evening, I got the rice mix out again (knew it would come in handy) and we settled down for the evening.
Next day after the healthy breakfast again we went into Prague to do a spot of sightseeing and to meet a few friends. We met up for lunch in a salad place similar to Tossed in the UK, this cafe was called Puzzle Salad and you could either choose from an extensive menu of salads, a few soups or hot potatoes etc. I of course could not choose from the readymade menu as it would be can I have this one but without this, and without that... However, they did have a create your own option which I used to my fullest ability! Give me salad with sweet potato and avocado anytime and I will make a full meal out of it!
Well, they really live up to their name, they puzzled me with their salad just from the sheer size of it and my thoughts of how on earth am I going to eat ALL of this?! Back to what I actually ordered, I had basic lettuce base with sweetcorn, tomato, sweet potato, broccoli and avocado with an olive oil dressing.
So this picture doesn't do it much justice, the bowl was the size of my head if not bigger! I managed to eat most of it because it felt like a long time since I had such an amazing salad and I was really craving fresh healthy food like you do sometimes. But I have to admit, it beat me. I can't imagine working close to this place, it would be the most amazing thing ever, ordering different combinations each day or opting for soup (if it's Becki Friendly). Drool... Anyway we had to leave this fine establishment so we could have a little wander around Prague.
We went to a few spots for good views, I am a little weak from treatments recently so walking the whole of Prague in a day was not going to happen so we just decided to do views and meet friends this time. After all, I can come back when I'm feeling more human and enjoy the whole place and hopefully do it when it is a tad warmer!
I was fortunate enough to see the beautiful overview of rooftops over Prague which is a lovely sight. Chris seemed to know his stuff about the city so I had a brief historical lesson while we visited different places and waited for his friends to finish work.
We even visited his old hockey club for a cup of green tea overlooking the rink where he practically grew up. Kids of like 7 or 8 were practicing, I have no idea how they have the balance! I would be falling over left right and centre!
To finish our day, we headed over to visit another friend and walked around for a bit in the fresh Prague air. He is a fellow vegan, so I obviously preached about my blog, I hope you're reading it Jakub and you are going to open that Vegan place, you know I'll be there to review it! (Might not be a good incentive!)
Final night before flying home and the show of hospitality wasn't over, Iva made me a wonderful dinner that put some of my ones to shame. I really do need to stop being so lazy!
She used some of the leftover Becki Friendly potato salad, some fried mushrooms, salad, chickpeas and fried tofu with a soya yoghurt accompaniment. What a great plate of food to finish my Czech experience, I must admit, whenever I go to someone else' house let alone a different country I get worried and immediately don't want to eat.
One reason is the burden of having to cook for someone with so many requirements can be a nightmare and I don't want to push that on someone else as it's tough on my own.
The second reason is worry of them not fully understanding and casually putting some normal condiments like soy sauce on without knowing it has wheat in it.
Thirdly, it's hard enough cooking one round of dinner for visitors let alone throwing me in the mix so I usually offer to cook.
I am so thankful to Chris' family for being so understanding, welcoming and for letting me be a guest without needing to cook anything. I know that sounds a little lazy but it is nice to let someone else handle it for a bit and it really felt like a little holiday. I am really looking forward to going back in the new year to do some proper sightseeing and find some lovely vegan hotspots.
Until then, I should probably get back to preparing presents for Christmas and start getting my own Christmas menu ready! I am also going to Offbeat tomorrow for their one day only Christmas menu, I am SO EXCITED!