• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Holiday Restaurants

Rachox

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
17,624
Location
Oxford
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I've been doing OK planning low carb menus at home since my Type 2 diagnosis in May. But next week I'm on holiday. We have some restaurants prebooked in the evenings (It's Center Parcs in school holidays so prebooking is vital to ensure a table!). Most restaurants are proving fairly easy to select low carb meals, burgers with salad in place of buns, steak and chips with salad instead of chips, Bella Italia does spiralized veggies in place of spaghetti, however I'm stuck with Las Iguanas a South American/tapas style restaurant. They have no nutritional info on their website and email response has been poor. They promised me a calorie (!) count on a few things if I picked some off the menu! I sent some choices and reiterated that it was carbs not calories I needed to know, but they haven't replied :banghead:
I'd really like to share in a tapas style meal with my family as we have done in the past, but fear I'm going to end up having their steak meal. Here's a link to the menu, if anyone could help with anything they think might be suitable choices. I normally tolerate around 20-30g of carbs for my evening meal. TIA
https://www.iguanas.co.uk/restaurants/reading
 
Well they seem to be into corn, broad beens and guacamole so you won't starve. An alternative approach might be to enjoy that meal with your family by ordering whatever and not eating too much of the troublesome bread products. There are occasions when diabetes can take a back seat. It doesn't have to be often and shouldn't ruin a rare moment by being too picky.

One example I can remember was when a niece proudly showed me what she had made at school today and wanted me to try it. It was a large flour casing with mince in it (a mince pie like you have at Christmas). I started the mantra about being a diabetic but when I saw the disappointment on her face I just scoffed it and praised it. Actually, it was very nice indeed.
 
Sounds silly but last night I had a few bites of hubbies egg burger and I ordered a side of sliced avocado. Imagine that!! I wasn't really hungry at all so it worked out well.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
Well they seem to be into corn, broad beens and guacamole so you won't starve. An alternative approach might be to enjoy that meal with your family by ordering whatever and not eating too much of the troublesome bread products. There are occasions when diabetes can take a back seat. It doesn't have to be often and shouldn't ruin a rare moment by being too picky.
Click to expand...

Maybe I should loosen my grip a little on just that one night! It'll be the last night before driving home so I may not get to do my two hours post meal test, so I won't know if it spikes me!
 
Kristin251 said:
Sounds silly but last night I had a few bites of hubbies egg burger and I ordered a side of sliced avocado. Imagine that!! I wasn't really hungry at all so it worked out well.
Click to expand...

I will be hungry! Especially if I have to watch my family tucking in! My husband is a human dustbin, so any carby bits I leave won't go to waste!
 
Tapas is one of our 'go to' meals out (the other one is carvery). I've had some very nice low carb tapas meals in our local tapas restaurant - I just am very careful when ordering and avoid all the bread, rice and potato dishes. The waitress seems really chuffed when I ask for her advice about avoiding carbs and has been incredibly helpful in telling me about hidden carbs - she really earns her tips.

Enjoy your meal. :)
 
Chook said:
Tapas is one of our 'go to' meals out (the other one is carvery). I've had some very nice low carb tapas meals in our local tapas restaurant - I just am very careful when ordering and avoid all the bread, rice and potato dishes. The waitress seems really chuffed when I ask for her advice about avoiding carbs and has been incredibly helpful in telling me about hidden carbs - she really earns her tips.

Enjoy your meal. :)
Click to expand...
The bits that worry me are the sauces and dressings! I'm hoping the waiters will be more willing to help me out than the 'contact us' website response I got! Oh and we are having a carvery for the Sunday lunch, not worried at all by that meal!
 
Rachox said:
I will be hungry! Especially if I have to watch my family tucking in! My husband is a human dustbin, so any carby bits I leave won't go to waste!
Click to expand...
You could make a deal with him. If you can pick some low carb from his plate then he can pick the high carb from yours. Just enjoy it.
 
Rachox said:
The bits that worry me are the sauces and dressings! I'm hoping the waiters will be more willing to help me out than the 'contact us' website response I got! Oh and we are having a carvery for the Sunday lunch, not worried at all by that meal!
Click to expand...

It was one of the sauces that our waitress identified as having cornflour as a thickener - I decided to have it anyway because the amount was minimal and the dish (all the dishes) were shared between two of us.
 
Rachox said:
I've been doing OK planning low carb menus at home since my Type 2 diagnosis in May. But next week I'm on holiday. We have some restaurants prebooked in the evenings (It's Center Parcs in school holidays so prebooking is vital to ensure a table!). Most restaurants are proving fairly easy to select low carb meals, burgers with salad in place of buns, steak and chips with salad instead of chips, Bella Italia does spiralized veggies in place of spaghetti, however I'm stuck with Las Iguanas a South American/tapas style restaurant. They have no nutritional info on their website and email response has been poor. They promised me a calorie (!) count on a few things if I picked some off the menu! I sent some choices and reiterated that it was carbs not calories I needed to know, but they haven't replied :banghead:
I'd really like to share in a tapas style meal with my family as we have done in the past, but fear I'm going to end up having their steak meal. Here's a link to the menu, if anyone could help with anything they think might be suitable choices. I normally tolerate around 20-30g of carbs for my evening meal. TIA
https://www.iguanas.co.uk/restaurants/reading
Click to expand...
I went to a tapas restaurant in the Lake District earlier this year and ordered a few fish dishes and veggie dishes can't remember what the veg one was but I ended up having a hypo as I overdosed on insulin which was not a lot of fun! So take care but above all else enjoy your holiday.
 
My advice is just relax a bit. This way of eating is for life. You can't spend the rest of your life depriving yourself every time you go away. Enjoy your holiday and your meal.
 
ringi said:
A walk before and afer a meal can allow a few more carbs for the same BG increase.
Click to expand...
There's lots of walking to be done at Center Parcs, including a long walk to the car park on the last night when we set off for home!
 
Last edited:
Ann1982 said:
I went to a tapas restaurant in the Lake District earlier this year and ordered a few fish dishes and veggie dishes can't remember what the veg one was but I ended up having a hypo as I overdosed on insulin which was not a lot of fun! So take care but above all else enjoy your holiday.
Click to expand...
Oh no! I hope you recovered quickly x
Being type 2 I'm worried about going high!
 
Well I've survived the first day food wise, we had lunch at Café Rouge, I had planned to have a three egg cheese and mushroom omelette and salad which I'd found on their on line menu, only when we got there the table menus didn't have the omelette! I cheekily asked if they'd do one for me anyway which they did. :happy: I just said I'm diabetic and have to plan my food carefully and explained I'd seen the omelette on line.
Dinner time we had take away, I chose crispy duck, ate all the duck, cucumber and spring onions, went very very sparingly with the duck and hoisin sauce and only had half of the pancakes. I had my usual strawberries and cream afterwards. I felt I'd taken a bit of a risk with this meal but my blood sugar was 5.4 before and 5.9 two hours after. Very chuffed that I appear to have made good judgements today :)

EDIT And finished with a blood sugar of 5.5 before bed. Night night!:hilarious:
 
Last edited:
Rachox said:
Well I've survived the first day food wise, we had lunch at Café Rouge, I had planned to have a three egg cheese and mushroom omelette and salad which I'd found on their on line menu, only when we got there the table menus didn't have the omelette! I cheekily asked if they'd do one for me anyway which they did. :happy: I just said I'm diabetic and have to plan my food carefully and explained I'd seen the omelette on line.
Dinner time we had take away, I chose crispy duck, ate all the duck, cucumber and spring onions, went very very sparingly with the duck and hoisin sauce and only had half of the pancakes. I had my usual strawberries and cream afterwards. I felt I'd taken a bit of a risk with this meal but my blood sugar was 5.4 before and 5.9 two hours after. Very chuffed that I appear to have made good judgements today :)
Click to expand...
That's great I would have gone for the duck too but I usually avoid the sauce as it tastes so sweet it must be packed with sugar.. good you can handle it.. Bet you enjoyed it too!
 
bulkbiker said:
That's great I would have gone for the duck too but I usually avoid the sauce as it tastes so sweet it must be packed with sugar.. good you can handle it.. Bet you enjoyed it too!
Click to expand...
I only put literally a smudge of sauce on each pancake! Thanks I did enjoy it!
 
Back
Top