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Eating out

Peter5145

Active Member
Messages
25
Location
Stockport, Cheshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
The dietary guidance I've been given seems to assume that you're preparing all your meals yourself.

However, in practice, unless you're a recluse, you're going to be eating a lot of meals out of the house, for example going out with friends or when on holiday.

Any thoughts on how to deal with this without appearing too much of a party-pooper, especially when it comes to "ethnic" cuisines such as Indian, Chinese and Italian?
 
Indian - chicken tikka with a non carby vegetable.. something like spinach or aubergine
Chinese - roast or crispy duck or roast pork (watch out for sauces as a whole lot are sugary)
Italian - anything that involves meat with some green veg.. for starters cold meats

It's really not difficult to avoid carbs when eating out although you may end up leaving "carbage" on the plate.

Assuming of course that you are prepared to try a low carb way of eating.
 
Carbs and Cals app or book has a "takeaway" section covering typical Indian and Chinese favourites, and then just switch to the rice and breads sections to add in naan etc if you're having them. There'll obviously be variations depending on the restuarant but it'll at least give a ball park figure instead of guessing.
 
If it's a chain restaurant, I find that either the restaurant themselves or myfitnesspal to have information online. I second the carbs and cals app-really useful, even if some portion sizes seem ridiculously big!
 
katmcd said:
I second the carbs and cals app-really useful, even if some portion sizes seem ridiculously big!
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Carbs & Cals cracks me up sometimes.

It's got two portion size photos for goat curry - I've eaten in plenty of Indian restaurants but have never once seen goat anywhere. I'm going to have to hunt one down just to test it out.

Like a bit of French toast from time to time ( shh, don't tell the low- carbers!). C&C calls it "eggy bread"! Always reminds me of the Royle family. "Barbara...!"
 
Many Indian restaurants here have goat.
 

You have obviously never been to India. Goat is served everywhere, but you wouldn't eat it if you took a walk down the shopping street and saw the goats tied up outside the butchers ready to have their throats cut.
 
Scott-C said:
Must be a regional thing. Once tried fried crickets in Bangkok, let's see C&C have a go at that for the backpacking crowd! Not unlike pork scratchings...
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I live in Canada so it wouldn't be something you'd expect here.
Goes to prove anything is better when deep fried. Even crickets.
 

In many genres "goat" is actually mutton. My local butcher sells goat (and rabbit), albeit frozen, due to the modest demand.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
You have obviously never been to India. Goat is served everywhere, but you wouldn't eat it if you took a walk down the shopping street and saw the goats tied up outside the butchers ready to have their throats cut.
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I have indeed been to India! 18 years ago on a 6 month backpack through Asia. Probably ate it without realising: as you'll know, India is a bit more laissez faire on product information. I was talking more about my vicinity.

Varanasi was extraordinary. That whole industry on the burning ghats: guy takes a polaroid photo of male family standing behind the corpse, guy sells a shroud, another guy lets you use a bit of holy flame to light the pyre, corpse burning while kids play cricket nearby.

The guys selling samosas and chai at every station were briliant but I still remember one kid who got on the train and didn't understand why I as a backpacker didn't want to buy the nicely carved set of table legs he was trying to sell me!
 
Last edited:
It's amazingly hard to avoid carbs eating out.
Indian and chinese will have flour and sugar in the sauces.

If you are lucky, a decent indian will use gram flour, which is at least lower GI.
Go for a dry fried, rather than a wet sauce.
You'll then need to watch out for potato as the filler.
The sides are out, they are all carb heavy.
So is rice, so you need to order several mains, or accept you don't eat a lot.

Chinese, you are really onto a loser, you need to ensure it's not in a sauce, and then it's not in a batter.
Same applies to the sides.

Although, if it comes on a stick, either indian or chinese normally works. (See above re batter though)
Kebabs/Chicken satay etc
Ask for any sauce as a side, rather than poured over it on the plate.

Italian, the most carby meals anywhere.
If you pass on the pizza, the pasta, you can have a salad with the dressing.
But go for the oil, rather than the sweet dressings.

Deep fried crickets are ok, but can be floured before they're fried in some places.
Try snails instead, with a nice garlic butter.
 
walnut_face said:
https://www.turtlebay.co.uk/
A chain of 'west indian' style restaurants. Goat curry is great
They do an awesome Pimms made with Ginger Beer - sadly a no-no for me now

Fish restaurants can be a fairly safe bet
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The goat curry sounds good, but
'Marinated goat cooked in curry spices, scotch bonnet, sweet potatoes, citrus juice & ginger. Served with sweet onion chutney & Caribbean dumplings'

Sweet potato, dumplings, sweet chutney?
Too high carb for some.
 
douglas99 said:
The goat curry sounds good, but
'Marinated goat cooked in curry spices, scotch bonnet, sweet potatoes, citrus juice & ginger. Served with sweet onion chutney & Caribbean dumplings'

Sweet potato, dumplings, sweet chutney?
Too high carb for some.
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The Onion chutney and dumpling are separate, and the sweet potato sufficiently large enough to avoid. I only have it once or twice a year, and last time out was 1 mmol high after 1½hrs, but then we all respond differently, even ourselves!
 
AndBreathe said:
In many genres "goat" is actually mutton. My local butcher sells goat (and rabbit), albeit frozen, due to the modest demand.
Click to expand...
Rabbit is lovely, but my neighbour's kid is getting suspicious about why the hutch ends up empty so often.
 
walnut_face said:
The Onion chutney and dumpling are separate, and the sweet potato sufficiently large enough to avoid. I only have it once or twice a year, and last time out was 1 mmol high after 1½hrs, but then we all respond differently, even ourselves!
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I'd be more than happy with the curry with the Caribbean Slaw and sweet potato fries, (or maybe the Beach Salad if I was watching the calories).
 
Hotpepper20000 said:
I live in Canada so it wouldn't be something you'd expect here.
Goes to prove anything is better when deep fried. Even crickets.
Click to expand...

Some Scottish chippies have tested that theory to the limit!

There's a shop up the road from me that does deep-fried Mars bars (not kidding, I walk past it every day).

Now, there's a question for the D community: to what extent is the high glycaemic load of simple carbohydrates moderated/mitigated by throwing it into a fryer with lots of batter on it? And some brown sauce.

Next time a student comes along and asks for assistance on a D related project, run that one past them. Someone will get their PhD by answering that question.

And for the LCHFs and keeping with the vaguely Scottish theme, do google "scoobie snack". Forget Paris, Rome, New York, you've honestly not lived till you've been for a few beers in Glasgow and finished it off with a scoobie from the Maggie just outside the Botanics. Full breakfast in a bun, leave out the bun and tattie scone according to your tastes!
 


I've drunk in many a bar in Glasgow.
And yes, the food can be interesting afterwards.
 
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