Taco Bell Protein Bowls

We don't love fast food, but there are certainly times it's handy. I heard about these protein bowls from Taco Bell so we decided to give them a try leaving off the high-carb ingredients. Samuel had this for the first time yesterday and his BG spiked really badly. Another low-carb mom suggested that we leave off the avocado ranch sauce, so we gave it another try today and it worked beautifully!

Here was our order:

 

Chicken Protein Bowl: no beans, no rice, no avocado ranch: extra chicken and sour cream. I ordered 1 crunchy taco and dumped the insides into his Protein Bowl and tossed the shell. 

 

Restaurant Recon

I'm taking the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings for the first time today. I'm doing reconnaissance work before we leave to figure out what to order. I find if I don't do this ahead of time I get stressed at the restaurant and the kids get impatient. 

Carb counting definitely isn't the safest way to go, but if we've not been to a restaurant before it at least gives me a baseline to start with. 

Wish us luck! 🍗 🍀🤞

Edited to add: I'm taking our own G. Hughes wing sauce and ranch dressing to be safe.

New Diner for Breakfast

We tried a new diner for breakfast today. I ordered the kids ham, bacon, sausage, and cheddar omelettes and Samuel had tomato in his. Right after I ordered I realized I didn't verify if they make their omelettes from scratch with cracked eggs so I quickly found our waitress to confirm that they do use fresh eggs. Whew!  This is the biggest omelette I've ever seen - probably 4 eggs and a huge amount of cheddar cheese ~ it was easily 1 lb!

The reason for the fresh, cracked eggs?  A lot of restaurants, particularly diner-type restaurants, have a trick to make omelettes light and fluffy.  The trick?  Pancake batter!  They mix pancake batter in with eggs to make the omelette light and airy.  But this can wreak havoc on a diabetics blood sugar, especially when they're not expecting it!  So, always ask to be sure!

When in Doubt; TEST!

Smart kiddo testing his soda and salad dressing for sugar. Diet soda was fine, but the Italian dressing was full of sugar. I anticipated it and bolused extra, but good to know for sure. He's avoiding big globs of it. (Using a Diastix to test.)

Protein-led Lunch

Took my kiddos out for lunch today to a restaurant we trust.  They know us pretty well, but I still clarify our dietary needs when I order.
🧒🏼 T1 son had a 3 egg omelet loaded with bacon, sausage and ham. NO onions. (Logging and careful testing helped us determine onions are like glucose to him, so we avoid.) His diet soda is always tested to make sure the waitress didn't make a mistake.
👧🏼 Non-D daughter had a cheeseburger, no bun, veggies on the side, and a salad.

Happy kiddos and great blood sugar.

First Watch Cafe

I stumbled upon First Watch around lunchtime one day and decided to give it a try.  The menu was primarily breakfast, waffles/pancakes, omelets and sandwiches. And fresh squeezed juices looked really popular.

When I sat down my waiter asked if wanted coffee.  Yes, please!  He poured for me and left the carafe on the table.  I love pouring my own coffee when I want.  A pet peeve of mine at restaurants is having my coffee topped off - it totally messes with my creamer to sweetener ratio!  One note... the restaurant only offered sugar in the raw and stevia in the raw. I use Splenda in my coffee and fortunately had some in my purse.

I ordered The Works omelet - bacon, sausage, ham, grilled onions, mushrooms and 2 different cheeses, with fresh tomatoes and sour cream on top. My side was a simple dressed greens salad.  It also came with toast, and as a side note, they offered Udi's gluten free bread for no additional charge.  I went ahead and ordered it to try it. I didn't eat it all to keep my meal low carb, but it was quite good! (If Samuel had been with me, I wouldn't have ordered it. I think it was 12 carbs and some T1's might be able to dose for that, but it's not something I would have tried.) The waiter also asked if I ordered the gluten free bread because of an allergy or just preference - I love an educated staff!

As I was winding down, the waiter brought me a fresh pot of coffee (despite only drinking half of mine) and asked if I wanted a to-go cup. 😍

This was a lovely little restaurant with great service. I'll definitely be back!

Kids being kids!

Kids having fun, eating foods they like, and maintaining normal blood sugar aren't mutually exclusive.

On Saturday, the kids and I were gone for about 7 hours.  We went to the library. Then to the park. Then we took a break to go to McDonald's (with some slight modifications to be low carb). Then we headed back to the park for another 2 hours of play.  Finally we headed to a sno-cone stand that serves truly sugar-free sno-cones.

Super, super happy kids, being carefree, yet maintaining really good blood sugar control.  Win-win-win.

Pre-Flight Meal

I'm at the airport having a pre-flight meal at Chili's.  I ordered a 1/2 pound guacamole burger, no bun.  It came topped with provolone cheese, a side of guacamole, a spicy lime aioli sauce, sauteed peppers and onions, and pickled jalapenos.  I'd definitely get it again.

Oh, yeah, and a glass of wine, despite being 11am.  No judgement allowed. 

When in Miami... Eat Seafood

It wasn't until I was looking through pics for this post did I realize that when I was in Miami last week, I had seafood for almost every single meal.  Even breakfast. 🙊  So, if you're not a seafood lover, you'll probably want to skip this post.

Here were some of my absolute favorite meals in and around Miami...

The night I arrived I just ate at my hotel (Embassy Suites).  I find most of the restaurants to be really good.

This was a shrimp cocktail with an avocado cocktail sauce (yum!)...

And a spinach artichoke dip that I ate with my turkey club below...

My meal was a turkey club sandwich, no bread.  It had gouda cheese, a fried egg, and bacon which was more like pork belly.  A few asparagus and strawberries on the side.

My breakfast each morning at the hotel looked something like this (remember to ask for omelets to be made from cracked eggs!)...

Let's see... ok, I went up to Ft. Lauderdale and just hung out at the beach one day.  Getting hungry for lunch, I Yelp'd "restaurants near me" and found a gem right in front of me, ocean view, with outdoor seating.  Score!  Started off with a shrimp cocktail.

Then had an awesome blackened grouper sandwich (no bread), served with slaw and a very fresh side salad topped with a new-to-me almond from Spain called Marcona almonds.  They're really delicious and I found them at Whole Foods down there.

One morning I left really early to head to Key West for the day.  In Marathon, FL, right before you get to the 7 mile bridge, there is a restaurant called The Stuffed Pig.  It has an adorable patio hidden behind the building.  I had their 3 egg omelet with lobster, crab and baby shrimp.  It was LOADED with seafood!.  It must have been great fuel, because it was so hot and there was so much walking, I really didn't feel like eating until the drive home.

Which lead me here.  Next up was a fantastic, relaxing oceanside restaurant in Key Largo.  Lobster, steamed mussels, grilled shrimp, grilled scallops, stone crab claws.  Side of grilled zucchini and squash.

Oh, and a cup of conch vegetable soup.  A few potatoes, but chunky so easy to avoid.

And a cup of lobster bisque that was really unique... it had a bit of a curry taste to it.

Ask locals where they go!  That got me to this fantastic Columbian restaurant.  I honestly couldn't tell what I was ordering... I mean I knew it was swai, but not how it would be prepared other than broiled.  This had to be one of the simplest, yet most delicious preparations of fish I've ever had.  It's a very large swai filet broiled in some sort of broth/butter sauce with cooked onion and pepper.  

This day I was in Boca Raton and was at yet another oceanside restaurant with impeccable views, food and service.  This was grilled scallops, shrimp and the catch of the day, which was mahi mahi.  My sides were grilled asparagus and riced cauliflower, which is the first time I can recall finding riced cauli at a restaurant.

So the one thing I haven't mentioned so far is fantastic Cuban coffee.  It is crazy strong and out of this world.  There are specifically 2 drinks I loved.  Hopefully I get these right...

Colada = it's a Cuban espresso made a very specific way, served in a small container (equivalent to 6 strong shots of espresso) meant to be shared and you get little thimble-sized cups (demitasses) to sip from. Or you down the whole thing like me.  A few locals freaked a bit at the amount I drank. 🤣

Cortadito = basically a colada, but topped with steamed milk, which dilutes its potency a bit.

In Miami, they will almost always add a good amount of sugar when they make either, but I learned you can ask for no sugar and then add your sugar-free sweetener of choice!  

At the airport, waiting at my gate to fly home with my farewell Cuban coffee... 

a colada AND a cortadito...... all for ME!

Low Carb in... Orlando, FL

My most recent work trip took me to Orlando, FL.  I had beautiful weather the whole time and lots of great low carb food. Here are a few of my favorites (or ones I remembered to take pics of).

This is actually on the way to Orlando via a layover at Charlotte Douglas Airport.  There's a great BBQ restaurant there.  Smoked turkey, green beans, tomatoes cucumber salad...

A great grilled salmon salad with pecans, pears, bacon, and an avocado ranch dressing.  The pears were a bit sweet so I just had one...

When I travel I mostly stay at Hilton hotels (points, baby!) and particularly Embassy Suites because the stay includes a really good breakfast...

This Chicken Florentine and mixed grilled veggies was amazing!...

Another reason I love Embassy Suites is because every night between 5:30 - 7:30 they have an "Evening Reception" included with your stay.  Free snacks, wine, beer and mixed drinks for 2 hours.  Yes please!  Depending on the hotel location, some are more low carb friendly than others.  This one is Orlando was great.  Here were some of my snacks...

Grilled chicken house salad with feta, vinaigrette dressing and French onion soup, no croutons...

Simple blackened salmon and grilled veggies...

My co-worker and I went to this fantastic Korean BBQ restaurant.  I love being able to order a variety of meats and cook it how I like it.  And I love all the sides on the table. We had... Ribeye, Beef Bulgogi, Marinated Pork, Shrimp, and Steamed Egg Bowl.  A few pics...

Meatball sub, minus the sub, topped with marinara and melted cheese.  My waiter though ordering like this was genius! 😂
Roasted asparagus, zucchini, and peppers...

On my way home and another layover in Charlotte.  This time I went to Bad Daddy's Burger Bar.  They have lots of great burgers or you can build your own.  This is one has Monterey jack cheese, 3 pieces jalapeno bacon(!), 3 pieces of Maplewood smoked bacon and baconnaise.  No bun of course.  I was stuffed, but it was awesome!...

Low Carb in Nashville, TN

I was just in Nashville, TN for a week and found it an easy city to stay low carb in.  I ate in nice restaurants, bar-type restaurants, my hotel restaurant, mall restaurants and even a gas station when I was in a pinch.  All of them offered something I could eat.

I also drank a lot of coffee from a lot of coffee shops and every single one of them had sugar-free syrups/sweetener and didn't bat an eye when I asked for my latte be made with heavy cream or half and half.

Here are a few of my favorites...

Grilled Salmon with pureed butternut squash and charred brussel sprouts.

Some days I work from secure facilities where I have to be metal detected and have bags searched.  I dislike having to leave just to go through that process again.  So I always take LC snacks in so I don't have to leave.  I also had jerky, but forgot to take a pic.

Seafood stuffed tilapia with grilled shrimp and a cream lobster sauce.  It was amazing!

Hotel room service of beef brisket chili with no beans.  Topped with cheddar cheese and dill sour cream.

My hotel had an omelet bar.  I watched the person in front of me get theirs made and the egg mixture clearly had some sort of batter in it.  This is a restaurant trick to make omelets light and fluffy. And full of hidden wheat and carbs.  I asked for my omelet to be made with fresh cracked eggs, which the cook had handy right at his station.  Sausage, bacon, pepper, tomato omelet - yummy.

My co-worker and I checked out a winery where we got a block of gouda to go with our wine.  Great light snack.

Grilled chicken sandwich - no bun - topped with melted gouda and aioli.

I had some really good coffee in Nashville.  This was one of the prettiest from a coffee shop in the Gulch.

I went to a cool restaurant downtown that made me a craft whiskey sour that I asked to not be sweet. The bartender did a great job - beautiful and tasty.

And at that same cool restaurant, I got a delicious salad with strawberries, pecans, feta, red onions, and blackened salmon.

Over-easy eggs with chipotle sauce, lots o' bacon and sausage.

This day I was driving in a 3 vehicle caravan and we only had a few minutes to stop for lunch.  Look what I found at a rural gas station in TN!  Pepperoni, cheese, almonds, and a hard boiled egg.  Add a diet soda and I'm all set.  Score!

Grilled chicken smothered in cheese and mushrooms and southern style green beans.

I had a great time in Nashville.  Every time I travel, I'm convinced more and more that staying LC can be easy peasy!  Happy travels!