Eating well at restaurants
Life happens and planning ahead isn’t always possible. But when planning ahead is possible, you can select restaurants with a variety of choices, which will increase your chances of finding foods that fit both your tastes and diabetes meal plan.
Keep two or three “go-to” restaurants top of mind
By having two or three go-to restaurants in mind, which you now have menu options that work for you, when the question “where should we meet to eat” arises, you’re armed with several options to suggest.
Do some restaurant research
You can gather information on your dining options and locate healthy options that fit your calorie, fat and carbohydrate needs in just a couple of minutes.
Always be prepared
Don’t forget to grab your blood glucose monitor (if you have one), diabetes medications, and any other diabetes supplies that you need to take with your meal.
A few helpful tips to guide your choices when you’re eating out
- Stick to food in their simplest forms such as a grilled chicken sandwich instead of processed chicken nuggets. Other words to look for on the menu are baked, broiled, light, low-fat, steamed, healthy, whole grain or whole wheat.
- To find out if an item is healthy, ask: How is this made, what ingredients are in this, and what kind of oil is this cooked in?
- Go easy on the condiments. Just one packet of mayonnaise (about 2 teaspoons) adds 60 calories and 7 grams of fat. Keep in mind that “honey glazed”, “honey mustard” and barbecued” mean extra carbohydrates.
- When possible, choose foods that are not breaded or peel off the breading to remove extra carbohydrates and fat (if fried).
- Share your fries with a companion
- Switch out the fries for a green salad
- Try to start your meal with a bowl of salad. This will control spikes, decrease consumption and support a long satiety
- Remind the waitress to not to use any dressings, add your oil by yourself to be aware of caloric consumption
- Choose menu items labeled: small, plain, and regular instead of large, deluxe and biggie.
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