Eating out with diabetes

Most of us experience times when we eat food outside the home. Whether it’s grabbing a quick lunch on the go, getting a takeaway, or dining in a restaurant for a special occasion. Having diabetes shouldn’t stop you from enjoying these experiences.

However, changes to eating routine, unknown ingredients and carbohydrates in food, often generous portion sizes – these are just a handful of some of the issues which eating out can present and are worth thinking about.

Whether you have diabetes or not, these tips can help you keep the balance right when eating out and about.

On this page:

Portion sizes
Making healthy choices
Lunch
Healthy snack choices
Takeaways
Parties
High street menu guide
Carb counting
Changes to meal timings

Portion sizes

We've all had a meal in a restaurant that either seems really huge, or really small when it arrives on the table. Judging portion sizes can be tricky at the best of times and made even harder when you're not preparing the dish yourself.

If you're concerned about overeating or not having the right balance of foods, read our advice on portion sizes.

Making healthy choices

Not only are so many options on a menu tempting, there's also the added disadvantage of not knowing exactly how the food has been prepared or what's gone into a meal. With a little knowledge, you can enjoy eating out as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Physical activity is also important to remember. If you can, plan a brisk walk before or after the meal – it will help keep your blood sugar levels stable and help you manage your weight.

This information below could help you make healthier choices when you’re out and about.

Lunch

Switch meal deals that include sugary drinks for sugar free option. Plain water is best.
Watch those ‘super-sized’ triple decker sandwiches. They can contain as many as 700Kcal, which is around a third of your recommended daily intake.
Go for sandwiches made with wholegrain bread or wholemeal wraps.
Choose filling sandwiches or pre-packed salads with lean protein such as chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, beans, lentils and seeds.

Healthy snack choices

Vegetable crudités and fruit can help you meet your five-a-day target.
Unsweetened yoghurts are a good choice as they’re a good source of protein and an easy way to add bone-strengthening calcium.
Swap crisps for sugar-and-salt-free popcorn.
A handful of unsalted nuts or a packet of raisins or other dried fruit is a great snack at break time.
Choose fruit loaf or crumpets for an occasional treat instead of muffins, cookies, flapjacks and ‘healthy’ cake bars, which are higher in sugar, fat, saturated fat and calories.
Check the label on juice drinks and smoothies for added sugar. Smoothies and juices are often high in free-sugars so limit intake to 150ml a day.

Takeaways

Fish and chips

Order a smaller portion and remove the batter from the fish.
Go for thick-cut chips – the thicker the chip the less fat it absorbs during cooking.

Burger and chips

Try the lean or veggie option and leave out the cheese and mayonnaise.
Or go ‘bun-less’ for a lower carb option and order more salad – but watch the dressing.
You can ask for extra lettuce, tomatoes and gherkins, too.

Pizza

Choose portion sizes and toppings carefully.
Thin bases, sharing a pizza with a friend and filling up on extra side salad can help manage portion sizes.

Indian

Go for tandoori and tikka options as these are baked and lower in fat.
Dhal is rich in fibre because of the lentils and pulses but can still be quite oily. Try sharing a portion.
Choose boiled or steamed rice rather than pilau or fried rice. Fill your plate with lots of salad and a portion of unsweetened yogurt, then add the rice to the remaining space on the plate. You will find there is less room for it, yet you’re still having a full plate of food.
Choose wholemeal chapatti or roti rather than naan bread. Naans are often very large; they’re made with low-fibre white flour and may have a lot of butter which is high in saturated fat.
Watch out for the extras you order, such as poppadoms and naan breads. If you do choose naan bread, tear just a small piece off and place it flat on your plate rather than on top of other food.
Share rich foods, such as kulfi, with a friend. Use a teaspoon, rather than a dessert spoon, so your bites are smaller, and your pudding lasts longer.
If there is a choice of starters, think about which ones might be better for you. Soups, vegetable sticks with dips, olives, undressed salads, chicken tikka or grilled fish are generally healthier choices than spring rolls, samosas and pakoras.

Chinese, Thai and Malaysian

Go for broth-based soups as a starter, or a refreshing Thai salad rather than spring rolls or satays. Ask for any dressings or dips to be served on the side.
Choose steamed or fragrant basmati rice, rather than fried rice.
Steamed or stir-fried vegetables are a filling and healthy side dish.

Find out how to make your own healthier versions of takeaways at home. 

It’s party time!

Whether it’s a wedding, dinner or birthday party, food plays an important part in celebrations. If you’re hosting the occasion, you can make sure there are plenty of healthy and tasty options on the table, whether it’s for adults or children.

Swap mayonnaise with unsweetened plain yoghurt in dressings or salads, like coleslaw or potato salad.
Serve plenty of crunchy vegetables and an exotic fruit salad.
Cut smaller slices of birthday cake.
If the occasion is a buffet, look at what’s on the table before you choose. Then, make one trip, filling your plate with healthy options, before heading back for dessert.
If you choose a dessert, keep an eye on your portion size. It’s fine to enjoy a sweet treat now and again, but it can be easy to eat too much.
If it’s a cocktail party, with only nibbles, make sure you eat a small healthy and balanced meal before you go.
Fill yourself up with foods that are lower in calories and higher in fibre, such as fresh vegetables, salads, and fruit.
Keep an eye on crispy fried snacks, like crisps, Bombay mix, gathia and sev. They can be high in fat and salt.

High street menu guide

It's often difficult to estimate the carb or calorie content of a meal choice from a restaurant, cafe or shop.  

As part of our Food Upfront Campaign, we called upon the UK government and food industry to make nutritional labelling clear, consistent and compulsory. This has helped people living with diabetes to make informed food choices when they’re eating out.  

Restaurants, cafes and take-aways who employ more than 250 people have to display the calorie content on their menus as a legal requirement.  

If you have type 1 diabetes it’s important to know the carb content in a serving of food or drink, so you can adjust how much insulin you need.  

Our list below includes popular chains who have provided the calorie content per serving. They've also included the carbohydrate, sugar, fat and salt content in each serving.  This information can make it easier to understand how the food or drink on the menu could impact your individual diabetes goal.  

Simply click the relevant link to explore the menu and find out the nutritional information you need.

Please note that we are not endorsing any particular establishment or food choice. We have consciously included all types of outlets for your reference, so that you can make healthier choices. As always, we promote a healthy, balanced diet as part of your diabetes management.  

Coffee shop menus:

Fast food outlets:

Juice bars

Boost Juice Bars
Fuel Juice Bars (PDF)

Restaurants

Carb counting

If you carb count and feel confident about the amount of carbs in your meal, you will be able to adjust your insulin to match the carb content.

However, estimating the carbs in a restaurant meal may be more difficult than normal as you won’t know exactly how the dish is prepared. If you can’t accurately assess the carb content, try to underestimate when eating out and about to avoid hypos. This is particularly important if you’re drinking alcohol while you’re out as this can lower blood glucose levels.

There are some great apps around which you can download to help estimate the carb content of your food. Check the nutritional info available on the restaurant website – if it isn’t available, don’t be shy about asking your waiter or waitress. They are quite used to this, as many people have specific dietary requirements.

“Avoid soft drinks from pumps. Too many times have I been given a full sugar drink by mistake. Choose bottled drinks so you can see the label and make sure it’s sugar free.” Claire

Changes to meal timings

Meals out often involve a change to your usual routine, especially in respect of meal times and eating may take place over a longer period of time. If you’re on a flexible insulin regime, or an insulin pump, varying your meal times may be easier as you can delay your insulin before you eat. However, if you’re on twice-daily insulin injections, and eating lunch later than usual, your situation might be a little different.

You may need to eat a carb-containing snack before you go out or have a bread roll or other form of carb as soon as you arrive – this will help to avoid having a hypo. If you’re having an evening meal later than usual, it may be possible to simply delay the timing of your evening insulin.

If you’re ordering more than one course, it may be advisable to inject separately for every course once the food has arrived on the table, especially if the courses are far apart and contain more than 30g of carbs.

Eating food outside the home means you may eat foods that are higher in fat than foods you normally have. Fat slows down the absorption of carbs into the blood stream, which means dishes such as pizza, curry and fried fish and chips may take hours to affect your blood glucose levels. This can mean that when you administer your bolus insulin, it may have finished working before all the carbohydrate has been absorbed.

It can also result in a hypo on a full stomach, as the insulin you’ve injected is absorbed faster than the carbs in your meal. You may need to alter how you give your insulin, such as by splitting your insulin injection. Talk to your healthcare team about how to adjust your dose.

“I have to decide when the best time to inject is as I can’t guarantee how long the meal will take to arrive. It’s good to be aware of extra sugars and carbs in restaurant food – drinks in particular can be full of sugar.” Andrea

Bon Appétit

With a little extra thought and planning, eating in restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars shouldn’t stop you from enjoying yourself. If you’re living with diabetes, or know someone who is, it’s a question of thinking about what type of meal is being eaten, how much and what it contains which may impact the foods you choose to eat.

If you check your glucose levels, checking regularly is important to help you know what your glucose levels are and how to manage them.

Talk to us about diabetes