Low Carb eating in England

jrose1982

Today my mind is wondering to my vacation plans. I'm going to England in May and thinking over a strategy to stay roughly within the parameters of my diet, without the agony of tracking everything (that just won't work while I'm on vacation). It has me wondering about how the English do it. I'm sure for eating at home we have the same basic strategies - eat plants and animals, use oil and other fats, etc. But I'll be eating at restaurants and, in the US, I know which restaurants I can eat at. I have strategies for figuring out what to order (i.e. I know I can get a hamburger without a bun and a salad at most US restaurants).

So, do you live in England? Are you on a low-carb diet? Please share your strategies for not overdoing it at restaurants or eating on-the-go.

Thanks

middlehaitch

UK and USA are very similar in diet so you can follow your regular eating out plan quite easily.
I never have a problem going between Canada, USA, and the UK.
I find the USA the hardest as the portions are bigger, and there seems to be more fried, and hand food. ( hand food = a meal wrapped in some bread product so it can be eaten without cutlery).
Just my experience, h.

jrose1982

middlehaitch wrote: »

UK and USA are very similar in diet so you can follow your regular eating out plan quite easily.
I never have a problem going between Canada, USA, and the UK.
I find the USA the hardest as the portions are bigger, and there seems to be more fried, and hand food. ( hand food = a meal wrapped in some bread product so it can be eaten without cutlery).
Just my experience, h.

Thanks for replying. That's good to know.

phgr79

I live in the UK and when I eat out I usually order a mixed grill, eat the meat, eggs, peas and leave the chips.

KarenJanine

You wont have trouble dining out in the UK. In most restaurants you'll be able to order grilled steak, burgers, chicken or fish and substitute the chips for a side salad or steamed veggies.

Here are some links to a few high street chain restaurants that you will find in most large towns/cities:
http://www.nandos.co.uk/restaurantmenu/mains
http://www.giraffe.net/classic/menus
http://www.gbk.co.uk/menu
http://www.chiquito.co.uk/menus

lolly715

I'm not strictly low carb but reduced carbs - still around 30-40% carbs. But either way, I find it much easier here than when I've been in the US. Particularly if you're only going to the large cities like London, there is so much food variety that you won't have a problem finding lower carb options on almost all menus. And you can always ask for substitutions, salad instead of chips/fries is a very common one.

Also don't forget that most of our grocery stores have a "food to go" section, you can pick up some nice salads for a quick meal instead of always being in restaurants.

jrose1982

You guys are awesome. Thank you so much!

lola_zzz

I think everything is pretty much covered. But I would warn you to watch out for certain restaurants like GBK (whose burgers can incredibly calorific. This is a good article - http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/20/17-horrifying-calorie-facts-about-your-favourite-restaurants-4733223/. Also, look on this website for chain restaurant vouchers (http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/restaurant-vouchers.html), may save you a few quid!

chunkytfg

KarenJanine wrote: »

You wont have trouble dining out in the UK. In most restaurants you'll be able to order grilled steak, burgers, chicken or fish and substitute the chips for a side salad or steamed veggies.

Here are some links to a few high street chain restaurants that you will find in most large towns/cities:
http://www.nandos.co.uk/restaurantmenu/mains
http://www.giraffe.net/classic/menus
http://www.gbk.co.uk/menu
http://www.chiquito.co.uk/menus

Nando's is a good shout as you the ordering system literally lets you build your meal from the chicken up. Works very well with low carb diets. And as has been pointed out just order things how your want them. Most restaurants that are above the fast food level will be able to prepare meat how you want it and substitute fries for veg/salad.

FredDoyle

Just go to Morrison's and get some bacon and eggs for breaky.