Hi everyone…
When my family and I eat out, I try to go with grilled or broiled meats. I also eat salads and veggies. The potatoes and french fries are really bad when you eat out…I swear they load them with sugar…If you are a sub person…cold cuts are usually good! Stay away from Pizza!!! Not good for the blood sugar! There’s a book called Calorie King and it provides a lot of nutritional information and it includes restaurants. I suggest buying one…it’s a great tool! Good Luck!
Go to all your favorite fast food or restaurants web pages. There, you can download their menu. I have a folder for each eating place. There are certain foods I like ( mr donut, mc donalds, wendy, taco bell, etc.) This helps when I need to refresh my memory on the carbs. Hope this helps.
I have this problem too, one more salmon steak with salad will drive me crazy! I usually try to eat fairly well, leave the chips or mash on my plate, but eat the meat and veggies and afterwards drink lots of water and exercise as much as possible. I occasionally eat just a very few chips, not more than 5 or 6 depending on how my blood sugars are at that time.
I eat out all the time, and there are lots of things you can do. First off, your definition of healthy is probably different than mine, so you should adapt this to whatever you think is healthy. My diet is low carb, trying to use as many whole foods as possible with lots of green veggies. That being said, let me give you a few “generic” suggestions.
You are diabetic, so you are special. Call in your chips. Grab that waiter and bring him over and whisper in his ear “I’m diabetic, so I’ll need you help finding an appropriate meal.”
Choose you main meat/seafood entree as a starting point. Then consider all the other parts of that menu item “optional”
Look through the menu and pick out any side items from any other menu item and ask if you can replace items. I have had great success with this, I’ve even gotten primo sides like asparagus in place of french fries.
Usually, you can ask for food to be prepared without sauces or to have the sauces on the side. Things like steamed veggies are best, but you can also ask for grilled veggies.
Finally, one thing you always do with D is be prepared. I will often look at the restaurant menu before hand (on-line), look at the posted nutrition and have a game plan.
I don’t walk into BestBuy and play the diabetic card, but I have no qualms about going in and telling a restaurant about my diet. After all, if they really care about me as a customer, they should worry about helping me find a meal that makes me happy. You may be surprised at the accomodations you will get if you just ask.
I eat low carb, which means, much like bsc, I choose my grilled fish first and then ask for substitutions for potatoes and rice. I ask for sauces on the side. I never eat breaded meats/breaded fish. I take one forkful of my husband’s dessert. I always have a pre-meal salad with dressing on the side and no croutons. I nearly always have some wine but with the meal, 1/2 the usual size. I’m small. I don’t take my insulin til I see the food. I test at one hour after starting to eat, and if it is above 140, I tamp it down with another dose. Waiters and waitresses get used to me and I tip well.
I am struggling with this too…I am getting so sick of turkey and salad, chicken and salad, lamb and salad…I have to admit I am getting kind of bored with my food options. Not just out but at home.
I like soup, but often find it spikes me way more out than when I make it at home.
One thing I do do is ask for double veggies, no rice/potato, or whatever. Sometimes I will get a sandwich and eat it open face. And I try to finish with some really good (hopefully decaf!) coffee or latte if it is that type of restaurant. And I try to talk my restaurant mate into a dessert and having a few bites:)
I love sushi and thai, and do always try to keep the carb content down by ordering some type of soup, and salad as well (with less noodles/rice). I feel guilty when I eat this way though, and try to limit it. I do so maybe 1x/month. I also love indian but was getting such big, delayed spikes that I haven’t eaten it in awhile.
The thing is, you can never tell what’s in the sauce . . .
bsc has come excellent advice. But if you have an unsympathetic waiter or don’t want to call attention to your diabetes you can still eat healthy, eat a variety and avoid spiking your blood sugar.
If you’re really luck, the restaurant has a menu and nutrition guide on-line. Check it out in advance if you can. You can also use any number of carb counting resources to reasonable estimate your carb intake.
Except for the sauces. You just never know what’s in them.
Go enjoy yourself.
I love these suggestions!
Another thing I have learned, while we do not eat out frequently, we do have our favorite places and I tend to order the same/similar meals. So I have learned with trial and error what amount to bolus given where and what I am eating. Even the Pizza Buffet - this is when I have learned that it is so wonderful to be on an insulin pump! A lot of finger sticks during and after the meal to follow your reaction to the meal. And I also love to be able to split those huge burgers or that pasta dish with someone, or ask if I can order off the senior or kids menu to get the smaller size. Some places will allow you to do that, which helps cut down on those carbs.
My hubby and I love to eat out also! No dishes and clean up to do! :-)) So, some years ago I began using the Ratio of insulin to carbs method of control and began to keep a daily log to help me remember what to do and what NOT to do! Using it for the last 7 years, I can now remember almost every carb per ounce without using the log anymore. WoW, does it work well for me. I practice on all types of carbs and weigh food per meal when at home and now I can have a wonderful dinner at a restaurant, and know exactly how much to order and what type of carbs will do the least amount of damage! I enjoy a variety of “can dos” and a few “can not t dos” using the carb counting. Also, when ordering I make a couple of special requests, if I feel I need some adjust to type of carbs. To date, no restaurant has refused to accommodate my requests, thank goodness!
Think Outside the Box that so many squeeze us into!!
Good Luck!
When hubby and I eat out we tend to eat chinese or japanese food - high on the side of veggies and sauces on the side … I don’t seem to have an issue with eating out this way since what we get is shared between the two of us and most places localy that we eat know me on sight so already know what we’ll order 9 times out of 10.
The real problem with chinese and japanese is of course rice. You can ask for brown rice, and some restaurants have that and I know of places that will even make brown rice sushi, but in the end a carb is a carb. Of all the restaurants, chinese are the most difficult, things are often made with sauces and they contain highly variable amounts of sugar and carbs.
These days, when I go to asian restaurants (and Thai is my current vogue), I’ll order the entree, without rice and see if they can bring me some steamed veggies instead. Even if they can’t do the veggies, then I’ll at least avoid the rice. The other thing I’ve noticed is that the spicy dishes often don’t have as much sugar, many restaurants will skip sweetening the sauces as it is wasted by the overpowering of hot spices. Just some thoughts.
ps. I’ve found some restaurants that actually make a sushi form called naruto with cucumber rather than rice.
I do understand you feel frustrated on this topic however, I have not had a single problem when eating at a restaurant for more than 70 years.
I explain that I have a special meal plan and could they help me? I describe what I would like to have and ask “does this fit any of the set menu offered?”. This type of dialog has worked well for me. During my daughter’s college years (1980-84), she made extra $$ by being a wait person. When one experiences one side of the situation and also tries to understand the another side - it can/may help us to cope better and thus will not push any buttons for us.
There is no reason to mention diabetes at all - just enquire about the menu that you prefer.
Again, I do understand your frustration after reading your post. However, even with a dumb look on a face, it does not necessarily mean that the person does not understand; it might mean that they are tired of running on their feet for several hours, responding to every request from customers as quickly as possible. If this occurs I have quietly sought the manager and it worked out well.
I hope you enjoy your next adventure to a restaurant! Myself, I truly enjoy several types of restaurants and always look forward to this treat of not cooking and doing dishes! :-))
Anna, I eat out almost daily as I am always on the run and working, I carry the Calorie King book with me and when I order a meal the portion is usually always good for two meals, so I have them package half almost as soon as I get the meal. You learn to become a human scale on portions after a while. I too get sick of salads everyday so I tend to add more meals with protein and less carbs to keep my BG down. At this point I’m not worried about my HDL it’s too low anyways around 80+/- yeah 80 it’s not a typo 
As for Restaurants having something about there nutrient in there meals most I have found don’t have a clue so know your portions play with different foods from the CK book and weigh your portions so you can better judge what your eating. Your not alone out there in the food jungle I’m right there with you…
Hahaha the salad appetizer and salmon dinner (over spinach or veggies) gets super old!!
Great discussion! I was actually thinking about asking this a few weeks ago so I’m curious to see what others say.
One of my favorites that I do weekly is Mexican… I order the fajita taco salad with steak and grilled chicken ask them to put no rice or beans on it and extra sour cream guacamole and cheese and when the salad gets there I dump it out of the shell and mix it up with salsa. YUM!
If I want to splurge I order burgers out and ask for extra lettuce, take off the buns and wrap my burger in lettuce. (The Hardee’s Low Carb Thickburger is EXCELLENT!!)
I also get subway or other sandwich shop footlongs, ask for double meat and take of the bread and wrap my extra meat around my toppings.
A lot of times beforehand I will look up the restaurant nutrition info online and choose my meal and I go to the same restaurants often. But most of the time I usually end up getting salad with grilled chicken and dressing on the side, always my “safe” option.
when I go to eat mexican food, I get the chicken fajitas with the boracho beans not the refried beans. I get rice but it tends to just sit on the plate. Lately it has been a decoration on my plate. I will take one spoon and that is it. When I go out to Fridays I get the turkey burger on a wheat bun.
I tend to eat a lot of chicken sandwhiches in any restaurant with wheat buns.
I like Japanesse cause they tend not to use as many sauces as chinesse food