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Eating out

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Edgar

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I am going out with friends next week to an Indian restaurant, the first time I will have been there since I developed Type 2 so was wondering what sort of choices I have when choosing dishes. Is there anything that I should look for and is there anything which I should absolutely avoid? I love my curries but want to control my carbs too.
 
I love curry. I just don’t bother with rice or bread with it (apart from a small piece of naan to wipe the plate!) and I order it without potato. I wouldn’t eat a korma if you paid me.
 
Just flicked through my Carb and Calorie Counter book. King Prawn Bhuna 175grams is 3g carbs, compared to 10g carbs for 225grams Chicken Korma. Tandoori chicken seems fairly low too.
 
I tend to only eat curry and accompaniments which I cook myself but if I must eat it in a restaurant I take only a very small portion of rice and a couple of popadums which I find I can tolerate fairly well in terms of BG. I also console myself in the knowledge that I don’t eat out often in curry house and if get a bit ‘naughty’ I know it’s a temporary lapse. Enjoy your meal, Edgar.
 
I have been eating out a fair bit recently and it's eat in moderation though watch out for the deserts as they can be heavily laden in carbs but very nice as an odd treat. with curries I tend to avoid the naan breads now as they are pure carb hell for me. Thankfully I don't like rice or that would be another major problem, I tend to have chips with the curry and for me that combination works reasonable ok.

On rare occasions I will have a naan bread, but the chips are taken out as having both would be a nightmare for me, I do pay the price as levels shoot up quickly and when I test before going out if my levels are higher than I like them to be that will dictate that naan breads are to be avoided.
 
We eat curry quite a bit as 1/ We both love it (despite my wife being American) 2/ There are a lot of choices for me
I cut the Rice Dishes, potato or starchy based dishes but outside of that pretty much anything goes (OK, I treat myself to a samosa or pakora) The easiest type of place for me is a buffet.
 
I just have a much smaller portion of rice & if they do salads, I have some of that. A couple of poppadoms also are not too bad (around 3-5g carb each depending on size)
 
They may well have something like a tandoori platter which you could hsvh with salad
 
Go for the Bhuna and maybe some chicken as that usually comes with a small salad...Since being diagnosed with type 2 in January, yesterday we ate out for the first time. I was so nervous about doing so. We took the easy option and went for a Harvester... apart from the salad bar it was a nightmare! but I ended up with simply grilled chicken and tenderstem broccoli .. it was delicious! when will these places realise that cutting carbs is a way of life for a large portion of the population? diabetic or not!.... even the 'swaps' were potato for potato! ...
 
I went to Prezzo's a few weeks back & found they do roasted med veg as a side, which is much better than potatoes, rice or pasta. Had chicken in a tomato sauce & it was gorgeous.
 
Pakoras/Bhajis are a good choice cos the batter's made with Gram (chick pea) flour. Chapatis are also about 90% kinder than naans, and a great deal smaller too. Tandoori chicken is simply chicken with some ground spices cooked in a Tandoor and therefore if made properly - completely carb free. Proper Indian curries use no thickeners, thickening of sauces should be purely by reduction, not with gluten.
 
I usually have a tomato based meat curry, vegetables and dhal and nothing else, except maybe one poppadom. Fortunately they do not have tempting puddings.
 
Had a chicken Dhansak in the week, persuaded them to replace the rice with sag aloo (she who must be obeyed had most of the potatoes) & also had another spinach & cheese side dish.
5.6 before eating, still only 6.6 before bed so definitely not on my naughty list 🙂
 
I've found Indian restaurants to be one of the easiest eating out options. I limit myself to 1 poppadom, then tandoori chicken or prawns with salad or any curry with a veg side dish. No rice or naan, but I'm usually full enough with the curry. The hotter the better!!! Enjoy your meal, whatever you have!!!
 
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