Being Whole Food Plant Based has ruined my experience of going to gatherings that are centered around food. Most of the time there's nothing I can eat. In the rare case where someone has "specially prepared" something to accommodate me and any other "vegetarian" it's usually roasted veggies.

I actually dread going to these gatherings now.

Right now I'm at a gathering of my husband's coworkers. It's centered around food, Filipino food. I love Filipino food but most of it has animal products in it. I have never met most of these people and my husband introduced me as a vegan. They looked at me like I had 3 heads. It was so awkward and uncomfortable.

The host made a "special dish" of roasted veggies over chickpeas. Of course they had olive oil drizzled all over them but the herbs and spices were good. However, the host took 2 hours into the gathering, while everyone else was eating, to finish the "special dish." Meanwhile for the last 2 hours, well-meaning people were telling me to go eat. Everyone else had been eating or were already done.

I want to crawl out of my skin and dig a hole to jump into. It's so awkward and uncomfortable because food is so important culturally and socially. When you can't eat, people ask lots of questions and then you're "one of those" who insist on a "special diet." I feel like a freak. Normally at this kind of gathering I'm very social and warm. Now I just feel like a freak.

How do you all handle this? I'm only 4.5 months in. The holidays are coming up with lots of food-centered events to attend. I'm dreading all of them.

Edit: Thanks so much to all who have responded. There is so much helpful advice. I think making a dish to share that I can eat is brilliant. I did that once, and it made the experience so much easier. I don't know why I didn't think of that today.