Feeling isolated: help with light meals out and when staying at friends
SamandaIndia
Posts: 1,577 Member
I am staying with a friend who is a real foodie. Me, I am on very low sugar for medical reasons so LCHF diet. When we have dinners that's easy: meat and veg or salad. However, I feel like such an imposing pain in the butt- having to ask what is in the sauce, have it on the side, ask for no root vegetables (there goes the soup she made) etc. Then lunch my friends want sandwiches and I look ridiculous scraping the fillings out. Fortunately at xmas markets I can eat the brattwurst sausage and skip the roll which is tidier than the sandwich fiasco. I thought about a pie for lunch and just eat the inside, but I checked and they had added sugar to the gravy. I went away and got some prawns from M&S and ate them whilst they had gourmet pie, chips and root veggies. I am thinking maybe Nandos chicken, if they do something not crumbed. Any ideas? They try to be accomodating but I feel like a demanding freak and want it to find ways to make it easier to blend in. Any one else struggling??
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Nandos is a pretty good suggestion actually. Why not? And just be up front about your way of eating. Can it be you who selects where to go?0
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I have been upfront but we are all bewildered as to what to do. I can select, but I am struggling to think of options. Pub meals are too big for lunch, given we eat big dinners at her place. We did that one day then snacked at night. Some sandwich places do salads but it is near freezing out there. Did a kebab and ate the filling one day. I carry emergency nuts in case they are grazing on sweet treats at market and I get muchies. Delighted to hear other ideas.0
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Any turkish restaurant? Lots of meat options if you're into that, and many mezze are good LCHF stuff too. In fact you could order big trays of mezze all round for everyone to share and some meat dishes on the side. Usually this comes with bread on the side, which "they" can have.
Or a good korean restaurant where you can grill bulgogi right at the table: everyone has something to do, "they" can have the rice and you the salad, savoury pancake and the bulgogi with condiments: that you wrap in lettuce and then eat. Delicious and everyone can have their fix.
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Oh, shabu shabu at a Japanese grill is another one of such social meals0
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Nandos is a good option. Most Mexican places do burrito bowls/taco salads now. Sushi restaurants are also great if you like sashimi. Pret A Manger is awesome because it lists the nutritional values of it's food on the packaging. Cafe Nero does the same. Even pubs will often have options like a ploughman's lunch or ham and eggs (just skip the chips and bread).
Eating out is never going to be a perfect scenario, so you need to just make the best choices you can.0 -
In my experience, there are precious few Low Carb options at Pret a Manger, but perhaps I haven't looked hard enough.0
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Thanks lodro and bluefish86. Turkish, mexican and korean are great ideas. Will look at cafe nero and pret a manager - just assumed coffee n sandwiches there only.0
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In my experience, there are precious few Low Carb options at Pret a Manger, but perhaps I haven't looked hard enough.
Check out their protein pots & salads...
Their egg & spinach has 2.4g, and their smoked salmon & egg protein pots has 1.3g per serving.
The tuna nicoise has 4g without dressing or 6.5g with dressing.
Crayfish and avocado has 2.5g without dressing, 4.8g with dressing.
Admittedly, their vegan/vegetarian options seem to be much more limited.
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bluefish86 wrote: »In my experience, there are precious few Low Carb options at Pret a Manger, but perhaps I haven't looked hard enough.
Check out their protein pots & salads...
Their egg & spinach has 2.4g, and their smoked salmon & egg protein pots has 1.3g per serving.
The tuna nicoise has 4g without dressing or 6.5g with dressing.
Crayfish and avocado has 2.5g without dressing, 4.8g with dressing.
Admittedly, their vegan/vegetarian options seem to be much more limited.
Crayfish, yum!!0 -
I know it feels really weird, but I doubt they are judging you as you are low sugar for medical reasons rather than because you want life to be awkward! I mean, if you were diabetic (are you? not sure from your post), then they would fully understand the need for caution. I bet they are just feeling bad because they don't know what to feed you. I feel a bit the same when I go out with my friends, but because I don't have any medical issues, I just eat what I can from the menu and if I go over my carb goal, I don't stress too much.
I often eat out of M&S deli as well - chicken, salami, mozzarella, feta etc. M&S also do quite plain salad bowls that you can empty some deli products into as well.
Pork scratchings are good and M&S does pork crackling in its deli aisle, cut really thin and super crispy it's better than pork scratchings imo.
Caesar and other salads are quite good at a number of places eg pizza express if you're out and about.0 -
Totaloblivia thankyou. I will check out pork crackling and a little more M&S! No diabeties, thankfully! I agree they are more concerned than judgemental. We are all feeling bad as even I am struggling to feed me when out for light meals or at a friends. Starting to get home sorted but this is new. Lamb chops with mint gravy, broccoli, spinach & cauliflower tonight. Eggs, bacon and left over veg for breckie tomorrow.
Appreciate the responses. Very helpful0 -
If you are in Canada at all, Tim Horton's has an amazing Caesar salad with lots of cheese and bacon and a very yummy dressing (Renee's) with lots of fat and not much sugar. Hold the croutons - which is what I do since I have to be gluten free and low carb. May not help with where you are situated now with friends & all, but for another time...0
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Thanks @ canadjineh. I will be in Canada later in the year so I will keep that in mind.0
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bluefish86 wrote: »In my experience, there are precious few Low Carb options at Pret a Manger, but perhaps I haven't looked hard enough.
Check out their protein pots & salads...
Their egg & spinach has 2.4g, and their smoked salmon & egg protein pots has 1.3g per serving.
The tuna nicoise has 4g without dressing or 6.5g with dressing.
Crayfish and avocado has 2.5g without dressing, 4.8g with dressing.
Admittedly, their vegan/vegetarian options seem to be much more limited.
@bluefish86: I am at the airport and dining on crayfish at a Pret A Manger as I wait for flight. I would have otherwise walked past. Many thanks for my yummy lunch suggestion.0 -
SamandaIndia wrote: »bluefish86 wrote: »In my experience, there are precious few Low Carb options at Pret a Manger, but perhaps I haven't looked hard enough.
Check out their protein pots & salads...
Their egg & spinach has 2.4g, and their smoked salmon & egg protein pots has 1.3g per serving.
The tuna nicoise has 4g without dressing or 6.5g with dressing.
Crayfish and avocado has 2.5g without dressing, 4.8g with dressing.
Admittedly, their vegan/vegetarian options seem to be much more limited.
@bluefish86: I am at the airport and dining on crayfish at a Pret A Manger as I wait for flight. I would have otherwise walked past. Many thanks for my yummy lunch suggestion.
No worries!
I've only recently discovered Pret after living in the UK for over a year... it's now my go-to spot for convenience food. They also give their unsold food to charity which I think is awesome!
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Just curious- where are all you folks? The places you're talking about are unfamiliar to a small-town Pennsylvania, US girl.0
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In the UK @ChoiceNotChance although here in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, we don't have pret a manger which is a shame! When I'm in London I love it!0
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That's what I expected. @totaloblivia - I vacationed in Ireland in October- didn't make it to Northern Ireland, though. Dying to see Giant's Causeway.0
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@ChoiceNotChance - Birmingham UK, visiting a good friend and Christmas markets. Back to home in Den Haag, The Netherlands tonight. I think Europe is sparkling and lovely at Christmas, even looks like Christmas cards. Aussie xmas tends to be hot!!0
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@ChoiceNotChance - I'm in the far western province of Canada (British Columbia) so I didn't recognize most of the food places mentioned earlier in the post too, lol. But then again, I don't know most of the ones from the US either. I tend to eat at Wendy's & Tim Hortons & Subway for 'fast food' and pick up quick stuff during my graveyard shift at 7-11 (They have devilled eggs and great cheesy, bacony salads for midnight dinners.)0
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I think the key is: to stop feeling bad about the fact that you need to customize things. Tell yourself, every time that you feel selfconcious, that it's ok to take care of yourself and put your health first. No matter where you are, it's possible to order meat with low carb veggies. Pick the root veggies out of the soup & praise the wonderful flavor of the soup (since your friend cooked it). Order the sandwich without bread. Order salad. Ask for cabbage instead of potato, etc. Focus on what you CAN have. Once you truly stop worrying about looking like a "pain in the rear", it gets a lot easier.
I recently went to a dinner party and as my diet became a discussion, my husbands aunt feel SO bad that I couldn't have so many things they were serving. She didn't "know" my diet because I didn't warn her in advance. What I could have?: slices of smoked duck & cheese as an appetizer. Sliced ham, green beans and a lovely salad for dinner. Dessert looked good, but wasn't one of my favorites, so I decided not to indulge. I asked her not to put the ham away and had a bit more ham when others are dessert lol. Everything was SO delicious & I didn't feel deprived. Once the host saw that I was truly happy & full, she seemed content too.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuyptkdfYaE
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