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When you must cope with diabetes or any modified food plan,
there are sorts of things that can sabotage a meal plan. This
can be especially true for those times you must eat away from
home, where you can encounter things like:
- delay in eating time
- hidden fats
- impatient people behind you in line
- massive-sized portions
- tempting cafeteria dessert displays
- uncertainty about food preparation methods and ingredients
- vending machine temptations
Delays can wreck havoc with your best-laid meal plans, and,
if your blood glucose gets low because of eating delays, with
your health as well.
When you know there will be a delay (like when you normally have
lunch at noon and know it'll be an hour or more later than that
when you'll get the chance to eat), consider doing a food plan
reversal: Eat your next snack at your usual meal time and eat
your meal instead of the later snack.
Life is unpredictable. Because it's impossible to know in
advance when some delays can occur, always carry some form of
easy-to-eat carbohydrate with you. You can carry crackers, dried
fruit, or pretzels in a purse or attaché. Delays can happen in
traffic as well as in restaurants. Get in the habit of being
prepared for almost any eventuality.
If you eat out often, learn about the healthy selections on your
favorite restaurant menus. This is especially important for fast
foods where the standard fare is foods that are fried and high
in sodium. Knowing what you'll order in advance will help you
avoid unwise decisions made in haste because you don't want to
hold up the line.
Your best choices at fast food restaurants are:
- Broiled or grilled chicken or fish sandwiches
- Pizza or sandwiches with vegetables
- Plain hamburger or roast beef sandwiches
- Salad bar offerings -- as long as you avoid
mayonnaise-based pasta salads or fatty toppings like cheese
or bacon
- Sandwiches on whole wheat breads without dressing or
sauces
Many fast food restaurants now post the nutritional
content of their menu items, usually both on their Web sites
and on site. If such information is not in view at the
restaurant, ask the manager for a copy of the report.
When you are eating at a restaurant that serves huge
portions and are dining with a friend, you can overcome the
temptation to eat too much if you agree to split the entrée.
Ask for an extra plate so you can divide the main course
once it arrives. As long as you stick with a dressing that's
low in fat, you should eat be able to have your own salad.
If you're dining alone, avoid the temptation of eating it
all by asking for a "doggie bag" when the meal is served.
Divide the food between the plate and the carryout
container. Treat your meal like it's a
two-for-the-price-of-one selection.
Most cafeterias display desserts first. It's difficult to
walk by those delicious-looking choices when you're hungry.
On those occasions where you find you must yield to
temptation and have a dessert, forget those rules about
cleaning up your plate and only eat a portion of it. Even if
it isn't practical to take some of it home with you, it's
still more practical to waste some of the dessert than to
eat it all. If you and your dietician have allowed for
sweets in your food plan, you can usually eat dessert as
long as you make the appropriate allowances for the extra
carbohydrates, fat, and calories.
The healthier alternative is to know in advance that once
you make your way past those dessert selections, the wiser
steamed vegetable and salad choices are only a few steps
away.
When in doubt, ask how a food is prepared. Most restaurants
will accommodate special requests. Ask for plain baked
potato and season it yourself. Make sure your server
understands to communicate to the chef that you're on a
special diet. (If you have a hankering for mashed potatoes,
see if they can be prepared without salt, butter, and cream
but with skim milk instead; it's not unusual for restaurant
mashed potatoes to have several tablespoons of butter in
them in addition to heavy cream!) Ask for sauces and salad
dressing on the side.
Become proactive. Your health is at stake.
If you aren't able to select low-fat or fat-free salad
dressings when eating out, order your dressing on the side
and dip the end of your fork into the dressing before
picking up the salad. Every bite will still taste good and
you'll be surprised how much dressing will be leftover when
you're done!
Source:
Michelle Jones
Copyright © 2006 Pamela Rice Hahn
All Rights Reserved.
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