Low carbing in UK is a nightmare

WithoutSugar said:

Hello!

Do you find low carbing in UK extremely difficult?

In cafes in Spain, Italy, etc, you can have with your delicious coffee, seasoned olives, cheese, deli meats, nuts, and all other nice low carb things.

In UK, cafes are filled with carb bombs and nothing else.

In UK restaurants, you order a plate with meat and the meat is often a small portion, not enough to make you full. In salads, you get sugar ridden dressings and they almost never have olive oil! They don't serve cheese, they don't serve deli in pubs, eveything that has meat is ridiculously expensive and when you pay to get meat, you get it ridiculously lean! Also most cheeses are ridiculously sweet.

It's really struggling to do low carb in the UK, or is the place I am in?

Mediterranean is full of meat and veggies, while UK is only chips, sweet sauces, battered stuff, and pies!

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Nope.
French bread
Vol au vents
Paella
Pasta
Pizza
Kebabs
Chips/fries

It's a complete carb fest if the Brits are abroad.
Europe is awful.

If you are driving, go to Tesco, or other supermarket with hot meat cabinets - grab half a chicken, there will be ready to eat salad of various kinds, you can pick up ready to eat avocadoes maybe a tomato or two - they usually have a deli counter where you can find olives, cheese - cooked meat of all sorts if you don't want hot - a small bottle of salad dressing can be carried along with whatever you need to enjoy your meal - when I go off on holiday I take a metal bowl and a couple of plates and put into the bowl whatever I might need, and the largest plate acts as a lid. Admittedly I usually have a van and can pack a small table and folding chair so I can find some quiet spot to enjoy my meal, with a small stove to make a hot drink. I am a seasoned traveller and have often been the envy of passers by who spot me picnicking.

WithoutSugar said:

Hello!

Do you find low carbing in UK extremely difficult?

In cafes in Spain, Italy, etc, you can have with your delicious coffee, seasoned olives, cheese, deli meats, nuts, and all other nice low carb things.

In UK, cafes are filled with carb bombs and nothing else.

In UK restaurants, you order a plate with meat and the meat is often a small portion, not enough to make you full. In salads, you get sugar ridden dressings and they almost never have olive oil! They don't serve cheese, they don't serve deli in pubs, eveything that has meat is ridiculously expensive and when you pay to get meat, you get it ridiculously lean! Also most cheeses are ridiculously sweet.

It's really struggling to do low carb in the UK, or is the place I am in?

Mediterranean is full of meat and veggies, while UK is only chips, sweet sauces, battered stuff, and pies!

Click to expand...

Eating out is definitely problematic - it is very hard to order something that is not carb heavy, and I do resent ordering something that I am only going to eat half of. There are places, but they do need seeking out. A couple of places local to me offer healthy, low carb choices, though tend to be expensive. For me personally, a good option is a carvery, that way I can have all the veg I like, usually plenty of meat and I never feel I'm missing out.

Low carbing in the home is easy. We don't eat out often but when we do I look for something that isn't high carb and just don't eat any of the extras on the plate that are high carb. We spend about 6 weeks in Greece every year and eat out every evening and I usually find something on the menu that is mainly low carb and if it comes with high carb additions I just leave them or ask for them to be left off the plate.
Choices home and abroad are undoubtedly reduced, but haven't found it a major problem.

I know what you mean about carb heavy treats being pretty much the only option in some coffee shops etc, but I don't ever not have the snack of my choosing with my coffee. I buy a coffee, and eat the hard boiled egg or 25g serving of nuts or mini pepperami I have with me in my bag. Never yet have I been challenged.

In cafes or restaurants I order things like steak but with veg or salad to replace the chips, served without sauce thanks. Ham and eggs are always a good option - no chips, thanks, but could you please upgrade the salad garnish to fill the plate, up to the value of the chips I'm not having? Thanks!

I'll order coffee instead of pudding, and ask for it to be served at the same time as my companions' puddings (learned this the hard way the first time it was served AFTER everyone had had their pudding), or I'll splash out and have the cheeseboard - oh, actually instead of crackers and chutney, could I have a bit more cheese instead, up to the same value? Thanks!

I do have to ask for what I want, but I find if I do that, I'm happy because I don't have to leave anything carb heavy I'd rather not eat, and they're happy because they're not wondering why a finished-with plate's going back to the kitchen still full of chips or bread or potatoes. Since starting to order and eat using these means I've had no issues at all.

And in future if ever I find that a cafe or restaurant can't accommodate my requests - well, I'll smile sweetly and just not eat the chips or whatever my steak or fry-up automatically comes with - and maybe choose somewhere else to eat next time. No big deal.

I've just been out for a meal this evening (with co-workers who also volunteer for a well-known animal charity) for a 'Christmas doo'. I was able to get hold of the Christmas Menu a couple of weeks ago, decided there was little I would eat, being a low carb-er, and so phoned the pub/restaurant to speak with the manager about my options. I explained I was diabetic and ate low carb, wouldn't want a starter, would go for the Carvery (can choose own veg etc) but would have to forego the dessert nd the mince pies. So, as you can appreciate, I wasn't keen to pay the full price for the Christmas menu. The manager suggested I send in a recipe that I'd like and she would check with the chef if it could be made! I found a couple of recipes on the internet and sent them.

So, this evening, at the restaurant, I was sought out by the manager who told me they had made a Chocolate Mousse (one of the recipes I'd emailed them). I was actually fine watching the others eating their lovely-looking starters, enjoyed the food from the carvery and then for the dessert - it was FANTASTIC I was the only one having it and, when I spoke to the chef to thank him (although apparently it was the Head Chef who had made it) he put the half I didn't eat, plus some more from the kitchen, into a doggy bag for me.

Can you beat that???? Talk about above and beyond .... I was charged £6.00 for this dessert but got £2.00 discount off the Carvery as I had a loyalty card Glucose levels went from around 7.9 (after meat and veg) to 9.5 (Libre readings - which are reading higher than meter at that level, so probably up to around 8 on my meter and coming down nicely

I now have several portions in the fridge to enjoy over the next few days

So, as @Snapsy says, just ask to see if your requirements can be accommodated as there is a good chance they will be and they will be very happy to see that you have enjoyed your meal - plus enjoy the verbal recommendations to your friends Thanks, Snapsy Great minds think alike, eh?

Resurgam said:

If you are driving, go to Tesco, or other supermarket with hot meat cabinets - grab half a chicken, there will be ready to eat salad of various kinds, you can pick up ready to eat avocadoes maybe a tomato or two - they usually have a deli counter where you can find olives, cheese - cooked meat of all sorts if you don't want hot - a small bottle of salad dressing can be carried along with whatever you need to enjoy your meal - when I go off on holiday I take a metal bowl and a couple of plates and put into the bowl whatever I might need, and the largest plate acts as a lid. Admittedly I usually have a van and can pack a small table and folding chair so I can find some quiet spot to enjoy my meal, with a small stove to make a hot drink. I am a seasoned traveller and have often been the envy of passers by who spot me picnicking.

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Yum, I am at home but have eaten all the carbs I should today and am hungry-I have an avocado in the refrigerator and you just reminded me-thank you! (I will make roast chicken for tomorrow-I have frozen raw chicken in the freezer.) Problem solved for two days.

In Asia where we primarily feast on carbs and eat out for most meals...

I end up with the easy solution that works for me. The usual plate of 150-200g roast pork belly or mixed roast meat platter. 5 mmol 2 hours after meal

Wow, @Energize - what an amazing experience!

I disagree that its a nightmare.

I went out for my first Christmas lunch of the season yesterday and was able to eat pretty much what everyone else was eating, without drawing any attention to myself with special requests. When I'm socialising I like to blend in with my company and not be a difficult customer or an embarrassing friend

I passed on the bread rolls (and I wasn't the only one), chose a prawn and avocado starter and a full turkey main and simply offered my 3 roast potatoes to one of my companions. When they declined them, I left them on the side of the plate.

While everyone else was tucking into Christmas pudding, cheesecake and other desserts, I chose coffee with cream and allowed myself a single mini homemade mince pie which came with the coffee. Just to be sociable....

I have to disagree. In the standard bar or cafe you normally find sandwiches, piadinas lookalike, pizza al taglio and berliners, croissants and other bakery products.

Snapsy said:

I know what you mean about carb heavy treats being pretty much the only option in some coffee shops etc, but I don't ever not have the snack of my choosing with my coffee. I buy a coffee, and eat the hard boiled egg or 25g serving of nuts or mini pepperami I have with me in my bag. Never yet have I been challenged.

In cafes or restaurants I order things like steak but with veg or salad to replace the chips, served without sauce thanks. Ham and eggs are always a good option - no chips, thanks, but could you please upgrade the salad garnish to fill the plate, up to the value of the chips I'm not having? Thanks!

I'll order coffee instead of pudding, and ask for it to be served at the same time as my companions' puddings (learned this the hard way the first time it was served AFTER everyone had had their pudding), or I'll splash out and have the cheeseboard - oh, actually instead of crackers and chutney, could I have a bit more cheese instead, up to the same value? Thanks!

I do have to ask for what I want, but I find if I do that, I'm happy because I don't have to leave anything carb heavy I'd rather not eat, and they're happy because they're not wondering why a finished-with plate's going back to the kitchen still full of chips or bread or potatoes. Since starting to order and eat using these means I've had no issues at all.

And in future if ever I find that a cafe or restaurant can't accommodate my requests - well, I'll smile sweetly and just not eat the chips or whatever my steak or fry-up automatically comes with - and maybe choose somewhere else to eat next time. No big deal.

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@Snapsy what I took from this message was that you carry an egg with you just styling it out coffee and an egg!!!
Great advice tho as always

Always got an egg with me, @Terryrhino . And this is what I've got for snacks and lunch today... I'm at work so in control of what's available. But the egg, pepperami and peanuts are the things I always have in my bag when I'm out and about.

I'm inclined to agree with the OP, @WithoutSugar . Most eateries want to pile our plates with cheap carbs to give the appearance of good value and eating low carb tends to mean having more expensive items off the menu. James' regular is "steak and chips, but without the chips and extra salad, please". I then feel obliged to have the pasta to keep the overall cost down. (Yuk!)
Wherever possible, we look out for Greek / Turkish / Middle Eastern cafes and restaurants. In these, you can go for the meze approach, lots of little dishes of the things you actually want.
Sally

I went to a buffet party the other night - the food was mostly beige. Pastry, breadcrumbs, battered items, breadsticks, biscuits, crisps all the way. I had had a snack before I left home (half an avocado) and had homemade curry and homemade cauliflower rice when I got home. No one batted an eyelid that I didn't have anything from the buffet. All was well.

If you live in the London area, and I do hope they expand into the regions
http://leonrestaurants.co.uk/ and their coffee is cheaper that the better known chains

Last night I had a carvery at the local pub, LL always brings me extra veg
For 'special' occasions we go for fish restaurants, and again I always find them very helpful eg Celery instead of crackers with cheese course.

I find France very carby, before you have ordered a basket of bread arrives, and of course it is obligatory to 'mop' the plate!

sally and james said:

James' regular is "steak and chips, but without the chips and extra salad, please". I then feel obliged to have the pasta to keep the overall cost down. (Yuk!)

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I know what you mean - when I have a(n expensive) steak I do tend to follow it with coffee. I'm not keen on what I'm having costing more than my husband's pie, chips, two pints and sticky toffee pudding! Ham and eggs gives me financial freedom to gorge on the cheeseboard.....

Where I work we went out for our Xmas meal the other day. As a menu choice I had the vegetable soup for starter, went for the sea bass as a main, and I have to say I had dessert (Tiramisu!) and a coffee. Levels the next morning weren't that outrageous either. I think its a case of where you go to eat.

The problem is that if you go for Italian they tend to be carb heavy and not high on protein. (pizza Express for example?)