Come on, just because you have Diabetes, it is indeed boring to think that you have to lead a hermit's life - stay away from the dazzling restaurants and social gatherings with friends, so that you do not indulge in eating the wrong food. Most of us love to party, go to restaurants. Of course, there is no harm in eating out. Only, if you have Diabetes, you have to be very alert about what you eat when you go for such social dos or visit restaurants with your family and friends. I, for one, has developed certain strategies which I am sharing with your here. They are suggestions which many of you maybe adopting if you are on a diet to lose weight too. Remember, eating out has the highest possibility of giving you indigestion or acidity and therefore it is detrimental to your Diabetes.
* Fellowships: Sometimes I am invited by social organisations like Rotary or attend seminars. Invariably, you have tea/coffee and biscuits before the start of such events. Ensure you avoid eating these. I look out for Black Coffee/Green Tea/Black Tea. Not available? I just skip it and sip into a glass of water
* Welcome Drinks: Particularly, at weddings, engagements and Birthdays or in high profile hotels when you holiday, you are served welcome drinks that invariably have very high content of sugar. Avoid them at any cost.
* Drinks: Partying often means social, if not habitual drinking. Stick to salted fresh lime soda/water. Nothing else will do. No wine, no hard liquor can be called safe - they are bound to affect your sugar levels. It is an effort in futility if you otherwise stick to your diet but indulge in hard drinks/wine even if it is once in a while. Believe me, once you have mind control, you will realise you are pretty fine with that Vitamin C laden lime drink.
* Soups: It is a good idea to start with a soup but the only problem is that most of the bases of soups are made of cornflour which is again not good for controlling your sugar levels. These are specially prevalent in Chinese soups where even noodles are sometimes included (made of maida, and therefore a no, no). Creamy soups contain milk/ milk cream. Tough na? Go in for clear soups.
* Starters: This is the most tempting part of a party and comes at a time when you are generally hungry. Sometimes, people get irritated that starters are not flowing in, in abundance. I take it as a blessing in disguise as it gives you an opportunity to eat lesser. Jokes apart, most of these starters are wheat-based or potato-based. I settle for a chicken or a fish tikka - mostly fish tikka as I have realised fish is more digestible at night than chicken. For vegetarians, pakodas (as they are made out of besan) is the best option, if available. Otherwise, salads, sprouts, peanuts, maybe at best cashewnuts. Mushroom based starters are very popular. However, it is very difficult to chew on mushroom pieces. You just tend to gulp them down - so these days I avoid, beside the fact that they are coated with cornflour. All starters must be had in very modest quantity and to be thoroughly chewed. Don't gulp your starters just because you are in amidst of a heated or interesting conversation. Don't over-indulge in your tikkas - having a large quantity of starters too is not good if you have Diabetes. Also, make your starters, the main meal.
* Main Course: This is where you can go totally awry with your choice so do intelligently choose what you eat. If your stomach is full because of starters, better to avoid the main meal completely. Otherwise, have it in very small quantities. Totally avoid rotis of all hues and rice of all hues. Avoid paneer and any milk-based dishes. I avoid salads too most of the time, as you know not the hands hat have gone into cutting it and hygienic conditions before they finally come to your table. You can have just a tablespoon or two of an array of dishes like Lasuni Palak, Bhindi, tawa vegetable, green peas based vegetable, fish curry, grilled or even fried fish. The problem is if you over stuff yourself, even if you have the right kind of food, your sugar levels will fluctuate. Most of the times party means eating beyond 9 p m and 10 p m and such late eating is not recommended for any person, whether a diabetic or not. The best is to eat at home and have a soup at parties. That's like really tough. I have yet to achieve that. But I know of one person and that is Seema Malhotra, who for fitness reasons, never indulges even an iota of party food since the last 25 years that I have known her. She will however attend social gatherings like weddings, birthdays and other functions and cheerfully mingle around but I have never ever seen her taking a plate. She is so joyous about herself and you can make out that it is her conscious decision to avoid this food and she is so confident and proud of it. I really, really admire her. In conclusion, eating at late hours is a very bad idea. So, the nation should switch over to early partying!
* Restaurants: If you go to a Udipi restaurant, best is to stick to Medu wada (it is made of udid dal) - nothing else will do as all other dishes have rice in it be it idli, dosa or uttappa. I love medu wadas so I am fine with it. if you are going to a dinner place, the same applies as mentioned in the `main course.' For Buffets, choose carefully - no dairy based dishes, no wheat, no white rice and of course no sugar. I have learnt to enjoy my food with these limitations and most importantly limitations in quantity too.
Eating only when hungry, chewing thoroughly while eating and eating without over-stuffing your stomach is the main key to deal with Diabetes.
Cheers!
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