Good news! My endocrinologist told me that my blood sugar is stable and that I no longer have to fax her my numbers each week. I'll next see her in about three weeks and we'll then see if I can start using less insulin.
Meantime, I'm still navigating the "real world" of eating as a diabetic. By real world, I mean eating in those places where I have less control, like restaurants and parties. I've been doing pretty well, but I still get annoyed when I encounter unpleasant surprises.
Last week, for example, my husband and I decided to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, which is a small Indonesian place in Hell's Kitchen. I know their menu pretty well and was confident that there would be some diabetes-friendly dishes on it. I figured I'd get my old stand-by: grilled satay chicken, with the sauce on the side and no rice. However, when I got to the restaurant I felt like trying something new so I ordered the chicken with vegetables and black bean sauce. I looked forward to having a healthy stir fry with plenty of veggies and protein-rich beans.
What the menu DIDN'T say, though, is that the chicken pieces are breaded and fried ... and that the "veggies" consist of onions and small pepper flakes. Needless to say, I was annoyed. I suppose I should've stayed with what I know, but at the same time, I trust that the menu is going to give an accurate description of the dish. Other dishes were listed as being fried or breaded and this was not.
I didn't want to send it back because it wasn't as if they messed up my order, so I ate a few bites (it was tasty, if not really healthy) and gave the rest to my husband. I then ordered a salad with tofu, cucumbers and carrots. This was safe, I thought; I mean, it was basically a standard salad, right?
Wrong. Again, the tofu pieces were fried and there were crumbled bits of something starchy in the dish (pork rinds, I think?). So now I had to pick these things out before I got to enjoy the salad. It was fine, but not the most satisfying meal. I ended up having cheese and yogurt when I came home. I don't fault the restaurant at all. I just wish they'd included more details on their menu.
As a diabetic, I'm learning that I really have to take care of myself, especially at restaurants. I've made a point to ask for things on the side or for certain items to be left out of dishes, but I realize that I also have to ask specifically how dishes are prepared.
Meantime, I attended a party this past weekend so I got to see what it was like dealing with a big, catered event. It wasn't bad at all. My friend suggested that I bring my own snacks since he was basically having hero sandwiches, so I brought some hummus, pita, yogurt and cheese. But it turned out that I didn't even really need to eat that. I had salad, pickled veggies, fruits and even a sandwich; I just removed the meat and didn't eat the bread. Later, a large tray of cookies was placed on our table, but it didn't bother me. I thought that I'd crave them, especially with them being right in my face, but I had some coffee and was good to go. Plus, bees kept hovering over the treats so they quickly became unappetizing.
as each day goes on, being diabetic is becoming more of a norm for me. Eventually, I'll be able to eat how I'm supposed to without having to think about it so much.
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