haha, that's hilarious. I dread that line, but me being loving food so much, I get excited when I hear that line, and I always turn up unsatisfied as well! Usually people make me something so bland with loads of cheese...etc. But I shouldn't complain, they are just being nice.

Yes, I get a little weary when I hear this. It could be anything- you never know what to expect. Most of the times it's just something they thrown together from the fridge- who knows how old it is!

I agree. It's a scary statement and prospect. 8 cheese lasagna or something. Or they cook the poor dish for hours. These people usually don't eat vegetables except in casseroles, I find. With cream of Campbell's. Or they make that same dish EVERY TIME, because "I know you'll eat THAT, at least...."

I try and call ahead, tell them I'm bringing a dish, if at all possible.

I brought some homemade hummus to a party given to my cousin once. "You say this is made out of garbanzo beans?! I've never heard of such a thing!" Sigh.

Because I just found out that I should follow a low-salt diet, and because I am the only one, I find myself eating the same thing over and over. In addition, I have not been able to find a seasoning mix that really stirs up my passion for food, so I end up eating just to live and not really enjoying my food. I am not much of a meat or fish eater. Can somebody give me some hints that could help me to enjoy at least some of my food. Have lost quite a bit of weight.so need to be cognizant of this. Don't have any trouble with fruit, just veggies and protein. The stuff the dietician gave me has not helped much. Please help me if you have any help or can refer me to any other.I use Dash but don't seem to like theirs either and I understand that you have to be careful of Potassium salts in some of the mixes. Thanks in advance. Barb

Barb:
Low salt is great. You will find that lemon or a bit of cayenne pepper (start with 1/4 tsp and work your way up if you don't like things hot) along with other spices added to dishes will perk them up. It takes awhile to get the salt off your tongue so you actually can taste your food. Go on line and look up how to use spices instead of salt. Fill your salt shaker with:
2 Tablespoons Pepper
1 Tablespoon cayenne
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon onion POWDER
1 Tablespoon garlic POWDER
1 ground bayleaf
Good luck http://www.heartbright.org/sodium.pdf

Nancy, I like the sound of that dish!
I live in Israel where hummus and fresh salads are staples so I can manage with those and bread. (It's harder for me to bring something cooked, since nearly everyone in my circles keeps kosher and most of my kitchen is dairy. I offer to bring salad or dessert.)

It was definitely harder being vegetarian when I used to live in the USA.