Eating out in restaurants can be a tricky proposition with Type 1 Diabetes. While it is a great treat, it is difficult to know exactly how the food is prepared. A dish of pasta at home and a dish of pasta at a restaurant can have wildly different carb counts. Luckily, it has gotten a lot easier lately, with restaurants frequently posting their nutritional information online, or ready to supply the info at the table. Here are a few tips and resources we’ve discovered for eating out:
Research first: more and more, it is becoming easier to find carb counts online for restaurants. Glancing at the kids menu online can prepare you for what to expect.
Arrive early: You may need to wait for a table, and then for your server. And you will have to wait for the food – so give yourselves time. When we find ourselves short on time, we just ask that the kid’s meal be brought first, as soon as it is ready.
Avoid Fountain Drinks: Diet sodas are not always! Because of the way fountain soda systems are hooked up, we have found that diet sodas from a fountain can frequently spike our son’s blood sugar. We usually order an iced tea and sweeten it with Splenda at the table. We have also brought Crystal Light To Go Packs and mixed his own drink from his water glass. Sometimes a waiter will give us a surprised look, but that is easily remedied with a quick explanation.
Restaurant Effect: No matter how accurately we have measured restaurant food – our son was always high after eating. We soon started adding a little insulin on top of his food carb count, just for being restaurant food. We generally add one more option (15 grams worth) of insulin to counter this effect.
Keep a Journal: If you frequent certain restaurants, keeping a journal of the meal and it’s effect on blood sugar can be very helpful for next time. Remember to record your child’s blood sugar from the next morning as well. We find with some restaurants that our son needs additional insulin overnight to help with digestion as well.
Carry a Scale: We carry a pocket-sized scale (purchased off Amazon.com) to aid in calculating carbs once the meal has arrived.
Calorie King: This book has proved indispensible to us on many occasions: http://www.amazon.com/CalorieKing-Calorie-Carbohydrate-Counter-2010/dp/1930448279/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277828182&sr=8-1
Collapsible measuring cups: http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-5-Piece-Collapsible-Measuring/dp/B0016KOH1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1277828274&sr=8-1
Restaurants are not off-limits with diabetes, it just takes a little more care, and be prepared to use a lot more insulin!
