African and Caribbean Eating Away from Home: Making healthy when you eat out
Eating away from home has become a part of many people s lifestyle. Although we may pack our own meals to eat at work, we often eat at restaurants, or buy food from take-out counters, vending machines, and grocery or corner stores. Making healthy when we eat away from home can help to manage diabetes and delay the onset of its complications. getting the right balance and portion size Canada s Guide contains four major food groups: Vegetables and fruit Grain products Milk and alternatives Meat and alternatives. Choosing foods from all the food groups ensures that your body gets all the nutrients it needs. When planning a balanced meal, have at least 3 of the 4 food groups from Canada s Guide. When planning a snack, have at least 1 or 2 of the 4 food groups. The Plate method can help you get the right balance when you plan your meals. fruit Vegetables at least 2 kinds milk grains and starches potato, pasta, rice, roti, plantain meat and alternatives fish, lean meat, chicken, beans, lentils Photo Credit: Michael Alberstat
Check your portion sizes s eaten away from home are often served in portions that are too large. Use the Handy Portion guide to keep your portion sizes in check. If the serving size is larger or smaller than your usual portion, you will need to adjust the portion size, your insulin, or your physical activity to keep your blood glucose levels stable. In a restaurant, you can ask for your leftovers to be packed, share your entrée with someone else, or request for half portions. Handy Portion Guide grains and starches/fruits Choose an amount the size of your fist for fruit, grains and starches. Vegetables Choose as much as you can hold in both hands. meat and alternatives Choose an amount the size of the palm of your hand and the thickness of your little finger. fat Limit fat to an amount the size of the tip of your thumb. milk and alternatives Drink 250 ml (8 oz) of low-fat milk or have ¾ cup (175 ml) of yogurt with a meal.
Packing meals to take with you Packing meals to take with you is the best option. Bring healthy food from home with you, such as a lunch container filled with one quarter of brown rice and peas, one quarter of lean meat and one half of cooked vegetables; or sandwiches on whole grain breads, nuts, fruits, and washed, pre-cut vegetables. You can also take cooked vegetables, such as lightly blanched zucchini, small white or sweet potatoes, or a colourful blend of red and white kidney beans, black beans, chick peas, and corn. Lightly season with olive oil and lemon juice or simply enjoy the natural flavours! Watching your s while away from home Carbohydrates raise your blood glucose. To manage diabetes, you need to know how much is in your meal or snack. This is also important to watch when you are away from home. If you are on insulin, speak to your healthcare team about planning your meals and insulin adjustments. General guidelines on The amount of you need depends on your age and weight. It also depends on how active you are. Talk to the dietitian on your health care team to see what amount is right for you. In this chart, 1 choice = 15 grams of s. General guideline Women Men: In a meal In a snack 3 to 4 1 to 2 4 to 5 1 to 2
How to read the nutrition facts In restaurants, ask the server for a copy of the nutrition information for the foods on the menu. This table below appears on packaged foods. Nutrition information from restaurants may not follow the format below; however, these are elements that you may want to look for: 1. Look at the serving size. Compare this to the amount that you plan to eat. If you plan to eat more or less than the suggested serving size, adjust the numbers accordingly. 2. Look at the amount of in the serving. Fibre is included in this number. 3. fibre does not raise your blood glucose, so subtract the fibre from the. Example: 36g 6g fibre = 30g of available. Nutrition Facts Per 90 g serving (2 slices) amount % Daily Value Calories 170 Fat 2.7 g 4 % Saturated 0.5 g + Trans 0 g 5 % Cholesterol 0 mg Sodium 200 mg 8 % Carbohydrate 36 g 13 % Fibre 6 g 24 % Sugars 3 g Sugar Alcohols (Polyols) 0 g Protein 8 g Vitamin A 1 % Vitamin C 0 % Calcium 2 % Iron 16 % 4. Look at the amount of sugar alcohol. Some sweet foods, such as candies, chewing gum, chocolates, cookies, and ice cream, contain sugar alcohols. Common sugar alcohols are sorbitol, lacitol and xylitol. Our bodies do not absorb or use sugar alcohols well, so not much is converted to. Up to 10 grams per day of sugar alcohols are considered safe. If you are taking rapid acting insulin, you do not have to count the in sugar alcohol when calculating your insulin dose.
What should my blood glucose be before and after meals? For most people: Before meals 4 to 7 mmol/l 2 hours after the start of the meal 5 to 10 mmol/l If your blood glucose is going too high after meals, ask yourself: Are my meals balanced? Did I include some protein and fat? Am I eating too many s? Am I getting enough exercise? Should I talk to my healthcare team about changing my medications? Learn more about how to make, refer to Paving Your Path to Diabetes Management: Basic Carbohydrate Counting and The Glycemic Index, http://www.diabetesgps.ca/en/paving-your-path. Try to eat on time Your meals should be spaced 4 to 6 hours apart. If your meal will be earlier or later than usual, you may need to adjust your insulin or change the timing of a snack. This will avoid having a high or low blood glucose level. Don t skip meals or snacks if they are part of your meal plan. Planning your menu away from home Many restaurants have put their menus and nutrition information online. That means you can plan what you will order and check how much you are getting. To help you get started, look at these sample menus for a person spending one full day away from home. Then, use the blank planning charts to create your own menu.
Breakfast Where: Self-packed breakfast to eat at work Time: 8 a.m. s Porridge plantain, cooked (2/3 cup) 2 30 Boiled egg, 1 0 0 Papaya, 1 cup cubed 1 15 Tea or coffee, black 0 0 Total 3 45g Lunch Where: XYZ Restaurant Time: 12 noon s Whole grain roti (2 pieces, 44 g each) 2 30 Chicken curry (2 ½ oz, 75 g) 0 0 Kale, cooked 0 0 Fresh fruit salad (½ cup, 125 ml) 1 15 Skim milk cappuccino (1 cup, 250 ml steamed milk) 1 15 Total 4 60g
Afternoon Snack Where: At work Time: 3 p.m. Low-fat plain yogurt (¾ cup, 175 ml) s 1 15 Blueberries (½ cup, 125 ml) ½ 7.5 Total 1 ½ 22.5g Dinner Where: At WXY Restaurant Time: 6p.m. s Brown rice and peas (2/3 cup, 150 ml) 2 30 Mixed vegetables (2 cups, 500 ml) 0 0 Jerk chicken (2 ½ oz, 75g) 0 0 Fresh fruit salad, 1 cup 2 30 Hot tea or coffee, black 0 0 Total 4 60g
Your Menus Breakfast Where: Time: s Total Morning Snack Where: Time: s Total Lunch Where: Time: s Total
Afternoon Snack Where: Time: s Total Dinner Where: Time: s Total Evening Snack Where: Time: s Total
6 Tips for healthier restaurant eating Check the boxes below for each tip that you currently follow and for each tip that would you like to start making a change to your current habits. 1. Make special requests Ask to have your meal prepared differently. For example, ask for baked instead of fried. You can also request no sugar or fat be added to your ordered items. Ask for extra vegetables instead of French fries. Control the amount of fat you eat by asking for salad dressings, toppings, and sauces on the side. Ask for half portions. Resist supersizing your meal even if it seems to be a bargain! The larger the portions, the more tempted you will be to eat more than you really need. At Western style restaurants, resist the bread and butter at the beginning, or ask for it to be removed.
2. Make substitutions Instead of having French fries French fries, hash browns, fried rice High-fat dressings such as sour cream, cheese, guacamole Creamy salad dressings or toppings such as bacon bits, croutons and cheese Cream soups High-salt, high-fat meats like ribs, wings, sausages, wieners, processed luncheon meats, salted fish, salted beef, salted ox and pig tails Sauces with high sodium (salt) content, such as soy sauce, gravy, brown sauce and ketchup High-fat desserts such as bread pudding, coconut pudding, rice pudding, rum cake, brandy snaps, peanut mousse and banana peanut cake Substitute with A portion of vegetables Whole grain breads, rice, pasta, barley, couscous, plain or sweet potatoes Salsa A low-fat dressing such as a vinaigrette or lemon juice Broth based or vegetable soups Lean meats, poultry without the skin, fish, eggs, low-fat cheese, tofu, soy products, legumes (such as lentils, chickpeas, beans) Low-sodium options. Or, have the sauce served on the side so that you control how much of it you eat. Fruit, low-fat yogurt, skim milk latte, or cappuccino
3. Check the cooking method Look at the menu for healthier cooking methods: baked, steamed, poached, roasted, or stir-fried. But be careful about stir-fried dishes with salty sauces such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauces and ketchup. One tablespoon (15 ml) of soy sauce adds over 900 mg of sodium! Look for dishes with tomato-based rather than cream-based sauces. If a menu item is unfamiliar to you, ask your dining room attendant about its ingredients and method of cooking. 4. Choose healthier beverages Ask for water, low-fat milk, sugar-free or diet drinks, clear tea, herbal tea or black coffee. Too much alcohol with a meal can make your blood glucose levels either too high or too low. Talk to your healthcare team about whether it is safe to drink alcohol, and how much. For more information, see Alcohol and Diabetes: Is alcohol a choice for me? http://www.diabetes.ca/files/cdaalcoholfinal.pdf
5. Don t overindulge at the buffet Walk around the buffet table and see what foods are offered. Note which foods appeal to you and which ones you can live without. Go through the buffet line only once for each course. If the buffet is too much temptation, order from the menu instead. For your main course, fill your plate using the Plate Method. If you like variety, take small amounts of each food you choose. Or, eat as if you are at a regular restaurant. Have one appetizer, such as a salad, one main course, and look for a healthy dessert option. 6. Pace yourself Eat slowly. Eating is a pleasure make it last! Stop when you feel full and satisfied. Your brain takes about 20 minutes to realize that your stomach is full. Drink water to avoid nibbling between courses. Learn more at diabetesgps.ca Just the Basics: Tips for Healthy Eating, Diabetes Prevention and Management http://www.diabetesgps.ca/en/just-the-basics Paving Your Path to Diabetes Management http://www.diabetesgps.ca/ en/paving-your-path
Glossary Blood glucose is the amount of glucose (sugar) present in the blood. Carbohydrate is one of the three main nutrients found in food. Starches, fruit, milk products, and some vegetables have s. Your body needs s for energy. Your body breaks them down into a sugar called glucose. Sugar alcohol is a type of that has a chemical structure that resembles to both sugar and alcohol. Common sugar alcohols are sorbitol, lacitol and xylitol. Our body does not absorb or use sugar alcohols well, so not much is converted to. Up to 10 grams per day of sugar alcohols are considered safe. Notes
611046 Diabetes GPS is a tool developed by the Canadian Diabetes Association diabetes.ca 1-800-BANTING (226-8464)