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Diabetic options in restaurants

JJay said:
There are apps which will tell you the carb content of many restaurant/cafe items. Personally I use NutraCheck to track my carbs - as it has the facility to carb count and store my own recipes as well as a huge database of supermarket foods and chain restaurant offerings.

M&S cafe was mentioned above - as an example, an M&S Cafe cheese scone, my mid- shopping snack of choice, is listed as 33.7g carb. I round that to 35g and I would use the same figure for a cheese scone in any other establishment - there’s not a lot of variation between scones!

Using the app I can find pretty close approximations for most dishes to be found in restaurants.
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Thanks - hadn't heard of that app. I still need practice with low carb does not mean no carb and like to think that I err on the side of caution but the app sounds great for helping to 'know' rather than guess!
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Please do continue to post @Sweetmadriana !

It’s absolutely fine to just put something out there, and for the conversation to unfold and be clarified / ebb and flow as people add their thoughts.

It strikes me that a ‘lower carb’ opitions menu might be broadly welcomed - after all not everyone who aims to eat lower carb is a person who lives with diabetes after all!

I wonder though, if all these options would fall foul of personal variation - how ‘low carb’ would something need to be? Low? Moderate? Keto?

Some people with T1 have raised the prospect of labelling legislation to require carb counts on all fresh foods served in cafes/restaurants etc - which would allow anyone to choose their own level.

But then, of course, calculating carb levels of mixed dishes (and ensuring they are accurate/consistent enough to be useful) is nothing like as easy as it might seem!
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Thanks for the reassurance - just don't ever like to think I'm upsetting anyone!
 
Somebody in a group I was with today struggled to get a meal (without a lot of fuss) which was dairy free and didn't have onions and actually had some protein rather than just a plate of veg or a salad. They didn't seem to have a clue.
 
Felinia said:
Just a thought - some restaurants give the average calorie count for their meals. Perhaps menus would be more helpful if they stated - not a diabetic label - but a low/lower carb label, or something like "less than xxxgm carbs per portion". Some online menus also do contain nutritional information, which includes the carb value. I check in advance before going somewhere new, but must admit I tend to stick to my "old faithfuls". In fact tomorrow may well be a roast without potatoes or yorkies!
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Online menus do now, those that meet the requirements to display carbs. McDonalds even have a nutritional calculator, you can add the burger, nuggets, chips etc and it will add it up for you including carbs.

Any chains will have their menu's online so in advance you can look up carb information. I do this sometimes. Note portion sizes can vary, but not places like McDonalds as that's the point its all portioned.
 
Leadinglights said:
Somebody in a group I was with today struggled to get a meal (without a lot of fuss) which was dairy free and didn't have onions and actually had some protein rather than just a plate of veg or a salad. They didn't seem to have a clue.
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When I stopped eating meat, it was very common for the only vegetarian option on a British pub menu to be vegetarian lasagne.
Fast forward a few years and I was living in Germany where the only vegetarian option was gemüse pfanne which was literally "vegetable pan" and that is what I would get. Occasionally, there would be a white sauce but not usually. I knew the chance of getting protein when out was very low but eating out was not about having a balanced meal, it was about being with friends and enjoying the ambiance of the venue.
One meal a week without protein was not something that concerned me, then, and wouldn't concern me now.

Nowadays, the choices are more varied when eating out but patrons can be more demanding. I think we need to learn to meet in the middle at times.

But I have deviated from the low carb discussion. I apologise.
 
Drummer said:
I go to the Sidmouth folk festival most years and the kitchen at the Rugby Club is great as it is run by a type 2 diabetic who seems to understand what I need for a low carb way of eating. My plated meals look strange to the waiting staff and other diners but it is tempting to take a week off from cooking and just eat there.
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Our rugby club food is carbs with more carbs. One of the chefs is a retired Italian man who has lived in the UK for most of his life. His food is great. Portions huge. Not type 2 friendly but as a type 1 who plays sport its needed. And I am his favorite so extra garlic bread for me.
 
helli said:
When I stopped eating meat, it was very common for the only vegetarian option on a British pub menu to be vegetarian lasagne.
Fast forward a few years and I was living in Germany where the only vegetarian option was gemüse pfanne which was literally "vegetable pan" and that is what I would get. Occasionally, there would be a white sauce but not usually. I knew the chance of getting protein when out was very low but eating out was not about having a balanced meal, it was about being with friends and enjoying the ambiance of the venue.
One meal a week without protein was not something that concerned me, then, and wouldn't concern me now.

Nowadays, the choices are more varied when eating out but patrons can be more demanding. I think we need to learn to meet in the middle at times.

But I have deviated from the low carb discussion. I apologise.
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When I was veggie it would be a bean burger, or worse a horrible bland chili. It's much better now.
 
PhoebeC said:
When I was veggie it would be a bean burger, or worse a horrible bland chili. It's much better now.
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Always amazes me how many veggie options in restaurants proudly include Parmesan. A distinctly non-Vegetarian cheese!
 
I went to a business meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum on Wednesday. The buffet included chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce (drained off), salmon fillets, chickpea and spinach in a pumpkin puree, and small bowls of salad ( largely ignored so had several!) as well as sandwiches, rice and pancakes. Everyone happy.
 
helli said:
When I stopped eating meat, it was very common for the only vegetarian option on a British pub menu to be vegetarian lasagne.
Fast forward a few years and I was living in Germany where the only vegetarian option was gemüse pfanne which was literally "vegetable pan" and that is what I would get. Occasionally, there would be a white sauce but not usually. I knew the chance of getting protein when out was very low but eating out was not about having a balanced meal, it was about being with friends and enjoying the ambiance of the venue.
One meal a week without protein was not something that concerned me, then, and wouldn't concern me now.

Nowadays, the choices are more varied when eating out but patrons can be more demanding. I think we need to learn to meet in the middle at times.

But I have deviated from the low carb discussion. I apologise.
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No apologies necessary. as you say wouldn't do any harm for one meal, the person always makes a huge fuss about the meal whatever anywhere is able to offer. In the end they got something suitable and tasty, a beef stew with peas and chips.
 
Leadinglights said:
No apologies necessary. as you say wouldn't do any harm for one meal, the person always makes a huge fuss about the meal whatever anywhere is able to offer. In the end they got something suitable and tasty, a beef stew with peas and chips.
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Wow! There were no onions in the beef stew!!
 
PhoebeC said:
Online menus do now, those that meet the requirements to display carbs. McDonalds even have a nutritional calculator, you can add the burger, nuggets, chips etc and it will add it up for you including carbs.

Any chains will have their menu's online so in advance you can look up carb information. I do this sometimes. Note portion sizes can vary, but not places like McDonalds as that's the point its all portioned.
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McDonalds are as you say good for this information others like Dominos very poor. I think part of the problem is there's no legislation about how this sort of information should be provided so everyone does it slightly differently if at all. Tesco are great on their website other supermarkets a bit more random. I think there should be better food labelling generally but each time it comes up the government of the day waters it down presumably from pressure from suppliers. Even allergy information is mixed as that sad case involving the Pret sandwich showed.
 
JITR said:
I went to a business meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum on Wednesday. The buffet included chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce (drained off), salmon fillets, chickpea and spinach in a pumpkin puree, and small bowls of salad ( largely ignored so had several!) as well as sandwiches, rice and pancakes. Everyone happy.
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I used to hoover up all the leftover salad at business meetings too! Too good to waste IMO.
 
Sweetmadriana said:
Thanks for the reassurance - just don't ever like to think I'm upsetting anyone!
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I think it's other people who might consider apologising to you! You simply asked for advice and received lots of strident (and contradictory) opinions in return, as well as people talking about you as if you were giving evidence in court.

The fact that you thought you might be "upsetting" people suggests that some of the responders weren't as welcoming as they might have been.
 
Sweetmadriana said:
Morning everyone - sorry for not replying last night - I am swimming twice a day this week to complete the swim22 challenge and was just too tired to check in last night. Firstly - thank you everyone for your contributions. Secondly, let me first apologise for a clumsy title to the thread that has obviously caused confusion. I guess I was coming from the POV of having been so newly diagnosed, feeling somewhat guilty of my prior ignorance of how difficult it is sometimes being diabetic and finding a new found empathy for all of those of you who have been navigating this for years. I wasn't really aiming for meals on menus to be labelled as 'diabetic' just for restaurants to be aware of having a couple of dishes that are more diabetic friendly for those of us trying to limit carbs e.g fresh fruit as a desert option; a chicken option that isn't coated in bread crumbs; a lunch option that doesn't involve thick cut bread. I am sorry to have opened a can of worms - but thank you for i) the really good suggestions of how I can navigate menus going forward and ii) the lesson that I need to be much more careful about explaining myself fully if I ever post again!.
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I'd like to apologise on behalf of the Forum for what seem to me to be some shockingly unwelcoming and judgmental responses to your request for advice :(
 
CliffH said:
I'd like to apologise on behalf of the Forum for what seem to me to be some shockingly unwelcoming and judgmental responses to your request for advice :(
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Yes sorry, one of them was me. I was trying to help and got it wrong. Will learn from this.
 
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