Diabetic Recipes
"I'll have the catfish plate and a small soda please." The corner Mediterranean grocery/restaurant, Vine Ripe Market, always has great food. From gyro and skewered chicken to trout, tilapia, catfish, salmon, shrimp, lamb,all the yummy stuff you can't find at the local burger house.
The bubbly girl at the counter asks, "What kind of drink would you like?" I tell her I will have a diet soda. "Really!?" was the following shocked statement from her lips.
I guess she was expecting the usual call for Pepsi or some other flavored soda. I didn't know what to say. The possibility of explaining about my diabetes flashed into my head, or if I should just play it off as normal. It was a simple interaction, but it weighted on me for several minutes after. Did I react the right way? Should I have explained to her why I chose diet? Was it any of her business? Maybe next time I'll just roll with it and make light of my love for sugar-free drinks.
I tend to reserve my speech about having diabetes and my deliberate decisions on diet choices. I always fear that look of pitied concern/judgment to be flashed my way (whether intentionally or not). So on this day I just nodded and accepted my diet soda, shaking the cup to release all the excess carbonation that gets formulated in.
The catfish was yummy, along with the basmati rice, hummus, and salad. All washed down with my flagrantly chosen diet soda. Yes, I will be back for more and yes, diet soda will likely be added to the bill. Maybe next time I can get an informative word out otherwise.
I wonder, how would you react in my place?
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July 6th, 2008
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09-28-2007 4:09 PM EDT by Scott Marvel
Categories: Type 1 Type 2 Food Real Life
Tags: diet soda fish restaurant
Views: 1960
Categories: Type 1 Type 2 Food Real Life
Tags: diet soda fish restaurant
Views: 1960
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Scott lives an active life with type 1 diabetes. Aiming to stay on top of his unexpected diagnosis, he puts a strong foot forward to stay in control.
Living life in the sun and fulfilling his dreams, Scott tries to educate himself, and others, on the unquestionable possibilities of a life with type 1 diabetes.(Read More)
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I'd probably let it go--let her think whatever she wants.
This happens to me a lot. An older server trying to be sweet will say "Oh you don't need diet soda, you're so skinny". Sometimes I ignore it; sometimes I just say "I have diabetes." It's annoying that some people pick your diet choices as their small talk...and on top of that it opens the possiblity that they might not honor your request.
Good point. It is an irritating thought that you may get served regular soda, even when askiing for diet. I'd like to think I could taste the difference but my subconscious would most likely trick me because it loves the sugary stuff!
As much as I like the sweet tasting Soda's I am very leary about artificial sweeteners. There is so much written about them, and not all articles agree.So I usually ask for water with a slice of lemon. Not quite as satisying to my sweet tooth, but definitely safer.
I feel your concern about the artificial "stuff". I am a big water drinker and usually gravitate towards that when ordering at a restaurant.It may not hit the sweet tooth but it is satisfying in a purist kind of way.
My daughter has Type 1 and I have learned to tell the server that she has diabetes. In the past, she has been given regular soda which sent her BG number over 500 and I think it's because they think she doesn't need it since she's a kid. By the way, we sometimes carry reagent strips for urinalysis (Diastix), and dip the stick in the soda to see if it has sugar...you'd be surprised!
We used to do the same thing. People would get mad at my parents for ordering me diet pop.... There were so many times that they would SWEAR they brought out diet pop, but I can tell right away that it's not. So we carried strips to prove there was sugar in the pop. It saved my bloodsugars on more than one occassion. What really gets me is when I'm getting a diet pop and someone makes a comment and I say, well, I'm diabetic and they look and me and say "Should you really be drinking that then" I usually look at them and say, well, it has No Sugar, No carbohydrates... Yeah, I think I should be drinking it.
People just need to learn to butt out!
I know what you mean. Some people start to flap their gums about diabetes when it is clear they have no clue what they are talking about. That's a clever idea-to test the soda...pop...hehehe... whatever it is.
-Thanks for sharing!