I always order chicken chow mein. don’t eat the noodles. today, i’m thinking of being brave (and trying something new) and ordering chicken with broccoli. Do you guys “do” Chinese food? If so, what do you order, and how has it worked with your blood sugar.
Thanks
Egg drop soup,
Shirataki Lo Mein
and yes Chicken broccoli is a great choice.
Yes lol…I love chinese food as long as it’s good. I skip the rice or most of the rice and I either get vegan chop suey or vegan chop suey with tofu. I have no issues with chinese food.
Stay away from the rice, noodles, and sauces as they are usually loaded with sugar. Look into Hotpot restaurants as you can easily eat diabetic friendly food at Hotpot.
I eat it all the time. I worked in a Chinese restaurant all thru high school. I still eat there. It’s all rough on my BG. I’m a Chinese food junkie.
I basically mainline a deadly insulin dose (maybe 15u), and then don’t eat to capacity. I don’t stuff myself. Then, if I get post meal lows in 2-4 hours, I nibble on the leftovers.
This strategy is pretty effective, but also a little dangerous. I’ve had some bad moments where I pre-bolused, the food was slow, and I started passing out before the food arrived. Buffet is always a little safer.
I like to see a post meal high (but not a severe one). If the data stays super flatline, then disasterous lows are imminent. I usually plug in a low temp basal increase for 4 hours. But, don’t use all those strategies at once the first time you eat a food because it will kill you or upset your dining partner. Experiment and expect to run high the first couple times you eat the Chicken and broccoli.
Chinese food is always so difficult. It’s not just the carbs, but the intense carbs mixed with being fried and the more sugar added to the sauce.
I normally use 6 units for a meal. I can use 20 for a Chinese food meal and still need more a couple of hours later.
I have similar issues with pizza. It is just too unpredictable.
And taking those large boluses makes we stop and think “ why am I eating this?”
I go to a vegan Asian themed restaurant and I get some really good food that is high carb but lower fat. I’m not vegan, but I can dose the carbs more easily, even with the noodles chow me in etc.
I pretty much never go out to eat anymore. There just isn’t anywhere to go without driving an hour to the crazy expensive ski resort in the county. But I make Asian food at home all the time. Rice,/rice noodles and all. I don’t struggle to dose it at all, but I think it’s because I make it the same way I make all my other meals… Balanced. There’s protein and fat to slow the carbs down, and I don’t go crazy with the carbs. By the time you fill the wok with protein and veggies, there’s not a lot of room left on the plate for carbs.
Pei Wei’s Mongolian Beef with thick udon noodles has always been my favorite. I do copycat recipes now, and just add extra veggies since the original doesn’t really have any.
I always have problems with Chinese food. Between the carbs and fat, I can never seem to bolus correctly.
This despite the fact that I can bolus perfectly for pizza and never go above 150. Dual wave, 60/40 over 4 hours.
Ruth,
What does dual wave mean?
Thanks!
Dual wave is splitting the dose, with some portion being given immediately and the rest being given over a period of hours…usually used for high-fat meals. It can only be done on a pump.
Thank you.
Just gotta remember that everything’s doused in corn syrup and bolus accordingly. Which is impossible.
I always make sure any kind of sugar is not put in mine. Not necessary for chop suey veggies anyway. But that might change the flavor for some other dishes.
I always ask for sauce on the side so it’s not drenched in sugar. Used to live in MA where Chinese food was yummy. Live in AZ now. Food not great here. Any type of food lol. All chain restaurants
Great post and question. We love Chinese food. Typically order chicken with vegetables or similar. We have found a restaurant that honors my request for “no soy sauce, no added salt.” (This more about cardiovascular than BG.) I ask for spicy to make up for the missing salt.
I eat a very small portion of rice – otherwise rice will skyrocket my BG level or force me to take way more FiASP than I like to.
I have yet to find a Chinese restaurant that is able to supply just a small quantity of rice. When ordering takeout, we typically we get enough for the entire neighborhood and have to throw most of it out. But yes, Chinese and T1D are compatible if you are careful about the carbs and adjust your fast-acting insulin.
We also love Indian food and the above about rice also applies to that cuisine. In fact, since we love Naan (flatbread), I typically skip rice entirely when eating Indian food.
I went out to a popular Chinese buffet last night, Robyn. Me and my friend were the only ones there. That place used to be packed. It felt apocalyptic and depressing.
I’m not ready for a buffet where people are sharing serving spoons and even w a sneeze guard people are kinda breathing on your food.
I’m good to go to restaurants though. I usually sit outside.
But I’ve actually eaten inside too.
I am scared to sit next to Sheryl. Not because of COVID. She just scares me.
I miss Thai food the most… although there’s a few authentic Chinese Szechuan places I’m going to miss and their mind-blowing spicy food.
For decades, I preferred tamari over soy sauce thinking it was better.
Now, all that lovely sodium is forbidden.
I just make my own sesame noodle versions with spaghetti squash and loads of ginger and tell my tastebuds they’ve had enough sodium to last 10 lifetimes.
Oh, it’s not a Covid thing. I’m honestly not sure how Covid would change my dining habits if they were optional. I just live in the middle of nowhere and the options are cook (with supplies you bought in bulk on one of rare shopping trips every 6 weeks or so) or starve. Thankfully, I learned to be an incredible cook!
I love a good Chinese buffet, though. When I lived in Orlando 8 or 9 years ago, there was an absolutely incredible one near the mall. I used to eat there 2 or 3 times a week. It was teaming with people, so the food was constantly fresh. It also had a sushi bar longer than most full buffets. Thankfully I didn’t have a CGM back then to tell me how terrible it was for me! LOL
We do have a Chinese buffet about 3 hours from me now that I tried once. It was terrible. It’s easy to behave when you absolutely don’t want to put the food in your face.