Foods that make you sick

Last Friday night I went out to dinner with my husband and another couple. We had a great time. I ordered the chicken salad and asked they put just a little dressing on it instead of smothering it like they typically do. I thought the cabbage looked a little old but the lighting was dim so I wasn’t certain and it tasted fine. Later on, back at home, I went to sleep and awoke to chills even though I had three blankets on the bed. I sat up and felt nauseous. Out loud I moaned, “not good…not good.” My spouse thought I was ranting in my sleep. I ran to the bathroom and threw up several times.

I thought this would be a good time to remind others (and myself) a list of what foods to avoid when dining out to lessen your chance of food poisoning. These are the riskiest and best to avoid when eating at a restaurant, party, BBQ or pot-luck (you just don’t know how long the food has been sitting out).

Avoid these: raw salads, potato salad, anything with mayonnaise, cream or milk; chowder, muscles, and raw foods. You can still eat these items, it’s just safer to make them at home with fresh ingredients that you can consume right away.

Photo: a raw, vegan salad I made at home