These steps include:
- If you find yourself arriving earlier than your party or your reservation time, do not sit at the bar with cocktails before moving to your table to eat your meal
- Ask to be seated as soon as possible so you don't have to wait and become hungry to the point where you become hypoglycemic
- Ask for raw veggies without any dip. Some restaurants call these "crudits". This will allow you to nibble on something before you order.
- Check your blood glucose levels before you order. This will allow you to choose the appropriate level of carbohydrates to order with your meal.
- Hold off on administering your short-acting insulin until your waiter can give you a definite time of arrival for your food.
Should you order from the menu?
Regular menu items and "specials" are put assembled to encourage you to order a big meal. European chefs who now work in the US are consistently surprised about the size of portions expected in US meals compared to those in Europe. The amount of food put on eat plate is what amazes them the most. For the most part, when you order fish, meat or poultry in the US you're getting twice the amount of the recommended serving size. If you're wondering why there is an epidemic of obesity in the United States, you can start with portion sizes.
Going in with a strategy will help you make better decisions when ordering off the menu. Here are some tips to ordering off the menu:
- With portions being too large, plan to leave some of the food on the table or take it home. Another idea is to share your meal with someone else.
- Unless you have eight people in your party, do not order a bottle of wine. Diners will drink a whole bottle of wine if they order it. Plan on ordering single glasses of wine if you're going to drink some.
- A good number of appetizers (small ones) can be substituted for your meal
- If you're apprehensive about the size of your meal ask the wait staff about the portion size. Always ask if the food you're ordering is being cooked in butter or another saturated fat.
- Soup and salad meals can be filling, low in calories, low in carbs and most importantly, delicious.
- If you do order soups, order clear soups rather than cream soups.
- To help control the amount of salad dressings and sauces on your meal, order them on the side.
- It's better to order fish more often than meat. This is advantageous because you avoid the fat and gain the cholesterol lowering qualities of fish. However, stay away from fried fish. Broiled or baked is your best bet.
- Inform your server that you need to eat as soon as possible. If the restaurant is busy and your food will be delayed, ask them to bring some raw veggies to snack on while you wait for your meal.
To keep fat to a minimum, look for items that are blackened, bakes, broiled, cooked in its own juice, grilled or poached. Try to avoid items that are battered, buttered or include butter sauce, creamed or in cream sauce, deep-fried, escalloped, fried, golden brown, in a plum sauce, in cheese sauce, sauted, sweet and sour or with peanuts or cashews.
Remember that your salad dressing does make a difference. Blue cheese contains 52 calories per tablespoon while red-wine vinegar contains 2 calories. Your best bet is to go with clear salad dressings.
You should drink water more often than anything else with your meal. Lemon adds a little taste to the water if you do not enjoy water. You could go with unsweetened tea and add a sweetener that is approved for use by your doctor. Most restaurants carry the bigger brands like equal, sweet-n-low and splenda. If you want Stevia or any other natural sweetener you should bring your own packets with you.
Armed with these tips you should be able to keep your blood glucose in check and be able to fully enjoy your trip to the restaurant.