Dilemma.

High carb birthday buffet. What do I do?

  • Do I eat before I go to the party?

    Votes: 12 52.2%
  • Do I ask sister B if it's possible to arrange for a burger without bun and chips instead?

    Votes: 4 17.4%
  • Do I sneak away from the party to eat my bunless burger by myself to avoid being provocative?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Am I being too hysterical?

    Votes: 8 34.8%
  • Other suggestions? Please write them as a reply.

    Votes: 5 21.7%

  • Total voters
    23

briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
It's my sister A's 50th birthday. She's mentally handicapped, so my sister B has done most of the organising. Sister B is a pescetarian, and has ordered a vegetarian buffet at a cafe for nearly 40 people. She knows I have certain dietary challenges, but didn't ask me if this was suitable for me. There are 3 out of 11 possible items I can eat, but no protein and fat. I eat keto, and would really hate to be set back several days and have my BGs fly to the moon. I am very carb sensitive. I pointed this out to sister B, who replied that that was why a buffet was such a good idea, as one could choose. Not much help, right? So what do I do? I don't want to cause a conflict, as we've had far too many of those in our lives already, and I don't want to risk spoiling anything for sister A.
She also ordered some meatballs for the 'meat eaters', which will be most of the party, but they're normally made with flour and anyway, they'll be the first to be eaten.
Let's see if the poll thing works ...
 

kitedoc

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,783
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
black jelly beans
If she is a pescetarian, why no fish?
? Take along a tin or two of sardines and a small bit of cheese +/- your own prepared meatballs.
She is offending you by not considering your needs,.With her dietary preferences she cannot fault the sardines, you have a valid excuse to not have the meatballs so either do so or take some of your own.
I imagine some milk will be there for beverages - cheese is your 'condensed version" sans the beverage.
The most important thing is that this is about a celebration of your sister A.
Everything else is secondary so your sister should concentrate on that and let you provide what you need yourself.
 

briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
If she is a pescetarian, why no fish?
? Take along a tin or two of sardines and a small bit of cheese +/- your own prepared meatballs.
She is offending you by not considering your needs,.With her dietary preferences she cannot fault the sardines, you have a valid excuse to not have the meatballs so either do so or take some of your own.
I imagine some milk will be there for beverages - cheese is your 'condensed version" sans the beverage.
The most important thing is that this is about a celebration of your sister A.
Everything else is secondary so your sister should concentrate on that and let you provide what you need yourself.
True, and no matter what I do to keep my BG levels within sane levels it would be considered a provocative and rebellious act anyway. My sister A wouldn't mind. She knows and accepts that I'm a bit 'strange' :) Really I wish I could avoid the situation altogether, but sister A would be deeply unhappy if I stayed away.
 

DCUKMod

Master
Staff Member
Messages
14,298
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I made a pact with myself when I was diagnosed that I would never be defined by diabetes, so I don't hide it but I never, ever ask for arrangements to be made to suit me.

In your circumstances, I would handle the party, just like I would were I going somewhere I had no idea what was going to be served. In those circumstances I have something light to eat before I go. That way, I'm not going to beed to chew on the table leg, but if there is an array of deliciousness on the buffet, I can indulge in it a bit.

Even when I have been faced with serving trays of sausage rolls or solely sandwiches (I'm gluten free which adds an extra dimension), there's usually salad around, and garnish on the serving trays, so I can have something on my plate, and I'd probably deconstruct the sandwiches.

The first couple of times I did this I felt self-conscious people would notice. Generally, no. People are more interested in feeding themselves rather than be concerned about what anyone else is having. When there has been a comment, a little white fib comes in, and I "confess" to having forgotten there'd be food, so had had something to eat beforehand. That usually does the trick.

One thing I do always do is when people have stuff on their plates, I usually will too, even if it means a sacrifical mini sausage roll or vol-au-vent.

It works for me. most parties are about more than the food, so I try to focus on those aspects.

I'm not saying what I do is the right way. It's just a way I find works for me.

To be fair, the last time I deployed that very tactic was at a conference, where I assessed a dish to be a rissotto. The individual portions were very small, so thought I'd risk it. As soon as it entered my mouth I realised it was orzo. Mea culpa - I hadn't read the label on the tray. From that point the 3 week timetable or repercussions came into play. Deep joy.

Nobody always gets it right, and it was a fantastic conference. Hey ho.
 

briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Its a buffet so not a sit down meal so if anyone asks just say you're not hungry? Eat before or after.
It's a buffet, but this means that you're free to get up and take food whenever you want to, and then go back to your place at the table. I could of course eat before I go, take a little food on my plate and mess around with it so it looks as if I've eaten something. That would probably be the most discrete way of dealing with the situation.
 

briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
I made a pact with myself when I was diagnosed that I would never be defined by diabetes, so I don't hide it but I never, ever ask for arrangements to be made to suit me.

In your circumstances, I would handle the party, just like I would were I going somewhere I had no idea what was going to be served. In those circumstances I have something light to eat before I go. That way, I'm not going to beed to chew on the table leg, but if there is an array of deliciousness on the buffet, I can indulge in it a bit.

Even when I have been faced with serving trays of sausage rolls or solely sandwiches (I'm gluten free which adds an extra dimension), there's usually salad around, and garnish on the serving trays, so I can have something on my plate, and I'd probably deconstruct the sandwiches.

The first couple of times I did this I felt self-conscious people would notice. Generally, no. People are more interested in feeding themselves rather than be concerned about what anyone else is having. When there has been a comment, a little white fib comes in, and I "confess" to having forgotten there'd be food, so had had something to eat beforehand. That usually does the trick.

One thing I do always do is when people have stuff on their plates, I usually will too, even if it means a sacrifical mini sausage roll or vol-au-vent.

It works for me. most parties are about more than the food, so I try to focus on those aspects.

I'm not saying what I do is the right way. It's just a way I find works for me.

To be fair, the last time I deployed that very tactic was at a conference, where I assessed a dish to be a rissotto. The individual portions were very small, so thought I'd risk it. As soon as it entered my mouth I realised it was orzo. Mea culpa - I hadn't read the label on the tray. From that point the 3 week timetable or repercussions came into play. Deep joy.

Nobody always gets it right, and it was a fantastic conference. Hey ho.
You lot are all so sensible. I'm glad I asked in here, even if I don't know what orzo is :D It looks as if you're on par with Bulkbiker, more or less.
 

DCUKMod

Master
Staff Member
Messages
14,298
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
You lot are all so sensible. I'm glad I asked in here, even if I don't know what orzo is :D It looks as if you're on par with Bulkbiker, more or less.

Orzo is a pasta about the size and shape of rice. Being GF, pasta isn't my friend.

I'm not as radical as @bulkbiker, I just put an (anti-hunger) insurance policy in place to ensure I'm not going to be in danger of being caught out too badly on the hunger front.

If I get there and the food looks fab, I'll have some, if I fancy it.

I see it as my job to look after me; not the host or hostess who likely has more than enough to be thinking about.
 

briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Orzo is a pasta about the size and shape of rice. Being GF, pasta isn't my friend.

I'm not as radical as @bulkbiker, I just put an (anti-hunger) insurance policy in place to ensure I'm not going to be in danger of being caught out too badly on the hunger front.

If I get there and the food looks fab, I'll have some, if I fancy it.

I see it as my job to look after me; not the host or hostess who likely has more than enough to be thinking about.
Thanks for the explanation. Well, generally I'd agree, but I think she's the only non-meat eater there (sister B), so she's certainly been thinking of her own needs, and not the needs of the guests in general. At my in laws the situation is quite opposite. They insist on making sure that I get exactly what I need, which is also tricky. Last time my BIL had cooked the onions seperate from the meat because he knows onions can be problematic, but he's very black/white, so no amount of telling him that it really wasn't necessary to go to such extents made him budge.
Anyway, the party starts at 1pm, my hungry time. I'll have a solid cooked breakfast before we take off, and dabble in some lettuce when we get there.
 

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,435
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
It's my sister A's 50th birthday. She's mentally handicapped, so my sister B has done most of the organising. Sister B is a pescetarian, and has ordered a vegetarian buffet at a cafe for nearly 40 people. She knows I have certain dietary challenges, but didn't ask me if this was suitable for me. There are 3 out of 11 possible items I can eat, but no protein and fat. I eat keto, and would really hate to be set back several days and have my BGs fly to the moon. I am very carb sensitive. I pointed this out to sister B, who replied that that was why a buffet was such a good idea, as one could choose. Not much help, right? So what do I do? I don't want to cause a conflict, as we've had far too many of those in our lives already, and I don't want to risk spoiling anything for sister A.
She also ordered some meatballs for the 'meat eaters', which will be most of the party, but they're normally made with flour and anyway, they'll be the first to be eaten.
Let's see if the poll thing works ...
no protein? at all? what is in this buffet?
 

Tophat1900

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,407
Type of diabetes
Type 3c
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Uncooked bacon
It's a buffet, but this means that you're free to get up and take food whenever you want to, and then go back to your place at the table. I could of course eat before I go, take a little food on my plate and mess around with it so it looks as if I've eaten something. That would probably be the most discrete way of dealing with the situation.

That's what I'd do, I'm sure you can find something that will work and just enjoy the time there.
 

Geordie_P

Well-Known Member
Messages
849
Type of diabetes
Type 2
It's a buffet, but this means that you're free to get up and take food whenever you want to, and then go back to your place at the table. I could of course eat before I go, take a little food on my plate and mess around with it so it looks as if I've eaten something. That would probably be the most discrete way of dealing with the situation.
That's precisely what I was going to suggest. Have something before hand, then graze a little. Some salad, some meatballs, even a little bit of the more starchy stuff as a one off, if it comes to that. If nothing there is suitable at all, just put it on the plate, walk around a bit, and leave it at the end. You shouldn't go far wrong.
 
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briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
A massive serving of madness... :):woot:
Well, it's vegetarian, and ,I'm sure, healthy for most undiabetic people. There is lasagna, pie (with potatoes), bean casserole, homemade bread and a marzipan/cream layercake. I can eat the broccoli/spinach salad, the olive thingy (probably, depends on other ingredients), but I'm unsure about the bell pepper stuffed with hazelnut stuffing. I'm unsure of what else goes into the stuffing. I will ask, though :)
 

briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
I would either eat before I went
I think that's what I'll go with. Have a couple of fried eggs on top of a beef patty for lunch before I go. That'll keep me full for hours. Then I can nibble for the sake of discretion.
 

Tophat1900

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,407
Type of diabetes
Type 3c
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Uncooked bacon
Well, it's vegetarian, and ,I'm sure, healthy for most undiabetic people. There is lasagna, pie (with potatoes), bean casserole, homemade bread and a marzipan/cream layercake. I can eat the broccoli/spinach salad, the olive thingy (probably, depends on other ingredients), but I'm unsure about the bell pepper stuffed with hazelnut stuffing. I'm unsure of what else goes into the stuffing. I will ask, though :)


I was just joking about the serving of madness, but I'd pretty well eat the same things you mentioned. The salad thing and olive thingy sounds ok. Have a look around, you never know what else makes its way onto the table that you may not be expecting to see that is ok too.
 
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