Food options at Ohana's dinner for Type 1 Diabetic

[iloveallthingsdisney]

Is there anything that at Type 1 diabetic can eat at the dinner at Ohana's or is everything marinated in sugar or glazed? Has anyone had the kitchen prepare their foods here with out the added sugar? Thanks!

 

[jcano]

Is there anything that at Type 1 diabetic can eat at the dinner at Ohana's or is everything marinated in sugar or glazed? Has anyone had the kitchen prepare their foods here with out the added sugar? Thanks!

Dd has Type 1. Not sure why you can't have anything with sugar. Do you avoid all carbs? Starches can raise your bg just as much as sugars.
We just figured carbs and gave insulin as usual. Now Celiac on the other hand......

 

[dsneygirl]

Dd has Type 1. Not sure why you can't have anything with sugar. Do you avoid all carbs? Starches can raise your bg just as much as sugars.
We just figured carbs and gave insulin as usual. Now Celiac on the other hand......

I think the beef, turkey and pork were fairly plain just seasoned a little. So very low carb. For chicken wings I would just use my calorie king and bolus as usual (pump). bread I weigh and go as usual.

 

[iloveallthingsdisney]

Dd has Type 1. Not sure why you can't have anything with sugar. Do you avoid all carbs? Starches can raise your bg just as much as sugars.
We just figured carbs and gave insulin as usual. Now Celiac on the other hand......

Sure a small amount of sugar is fine but if every protein (chicken, shrimp, pork, steak) are all soaked in a sugary glaze or marinade, that will definitely limit what my husband can eat. Just wondering if there were any meats there that were prepared without some type of sugary coating. I know they also serve coconut bread, banana bread pudding and noodles which are all things that he would either pass on or eat a very small amount of. I'm just trying to figure out if there is anything that he can eat in a decent quantity. I'd hate for him to just be sitting there with a few bites of food while everyone else in the family is enjoying lots of yummy foods!

 

[jcano]

Sure a small amount of sugar is fine but if every protein (chicken, shrimp, pork, steak) are all soaked in a sugary glaze or marinade, that will definitely limit what my husband can eat. Just wondering if there were any meats there that were prepared without some type of sugary coating. I know they also serve coconut bread, banana bread pudding and noodles which are all things that he would either pass on or eat a very small amount of. I'm just trying to figure out if there is anything that he can eat in a decent quantity. I'd hate for him to just be sitting there with a few bites of food while everyone else in the family is enjoying lots of yummy foods!

Must be a difference in endocrinologist training then and now. When my dd was diagnosed 8 years ago we were taught no food was off limit due to Type 1. We just figure how many carbs. Multiply by her carb ratio and give insulin to cover. She eats whatever she wants (especially on vacation) - that is gluten free.

 

[Talking Hands]

You can put on the reservation he is diabetic and request that the meats not be marinated in the sugary marinade or you can carb count, bolus and enjoy the meal

 

[Donut23]

I agree with the note above.

When we make our reservations we always note I am a diabetic. In the case of Ohana (and others) but especially Ohana; the chef actually came out and went through his menu with me with suggestions of lower carb/sugar options. He actually made a low sugar replica of one if his more popular sauces.

This was a couple of years ago.

First thing I did when I got home was to write a letter about his gratuitous service.

In my personal experience, it is not tremendously unusual to speak with a chef if you need a little extra guidance with the menu.

 

[iloveallthingsdisney]

Thanks so much for everyone's input!!

 

[WheeledTraveler]

At TS restaurants you'll have no problem getting plain meat or meat with low-carb sauces/rubs. Most CS locations will also have some option that should work for him.

The one warning about notifying restaurants that your husband is diabetic is that some will then try to push him towards some of the "sugar-free" items, especially for desserts, that have just as many carbs as the regular ones. Parents have reported that a few servers have refused to serve their kids with type 1 diabetes normal desserts, even when the parent said it was not a problem. It may be less of an issue when it's an adult with type 1 diabetes, but it's something to watch out for, both in case he wants treats and because so many "sugar-free" options aren't any lower-carb.

 

[iloveallthingsdisney]

At TS restaurants you'll have no problem getting plain meat or meat with low-carb sauces/rubs. Most CS locations will also have some option that should work for him.

The one warning about notifying restaurants that your husband is diabetic is that some will then try to push him towards some of the "sugar-free" items, especially for desserts, that have just as many carbs as the regular ones. Parents have reported that a few servers have refused to serve their kids with type 1 diabetes normal desserts, even when the parent said it was not a problem. It may be less of an issue when it's an adult with type 1 diabetes, but it's something to watch out for, both in case he wants treats and because so many "sugar-free" options aren't any lower-carb.

Thanks for the tip! He would rather eat more of meat and bread than any type of dessert, anyway so we'll probably tell them to skip it.

 

[Talking Hands]

At TS restaurants you'll have no problem getting plain meat or meat with low-carb sauces/rubs. Most CS locations will also have some option that should work for him.

The one warning about notifying restaurants that your husband is diabetic is that some will then try to push him towards some of the "sugar-free" items, especially for desserts, that have just as many carbs as the regular ones. Parents have reported that a few servers have refused to serve their kids with type 1 diabetes normal desserts, even when the parent said it was not a problem. It may be less of an issue when it's an adult with type 1 diabetes, but it's something to watch out for, both in case he wants treats and because so many "sugar-free" options aren't any lower-carb.

I actually had this issue DCL a few years back. I ordered a dessert that was not sugar free and the maître de asked me if I was sure that was what I wanted. I was served it but they wanted to make sure that I really wanted this high sugar item. Well it was a chocolate trio and I took one bite of each item and that was it. I just wanted a taste and was satisfied with that. One of my table mates also ordered it and said he would have shared had he known I only wanted a taste of each

 

[Talking Hands]

Thanks for the tip! He would rather eat more of meat and bread than any type of dessert, anyway so we'll probably tell them to skip it.

Also so many of the sugar free options are made with sugar alcohols and cause tummy troubles besides being high in carbs. Dealing with type one has completely changed since I was first diagnosed. Now we count carbs and eat pretty much whatever food we want when before we did exchanges and if it wasn't on the list we didn't eat it.

 

[dsneygirl]

Must be a difference in endocrinologist training then and now. When my dd was diagnosed 8 years ago we were taught no food was off limit due to Type 1. We just figure how many carbs. Multiply by her carb ratio and give insulin to cover. She eats whatever she wants (especially on vacation) - that is gluten free.

Definitely a change in attitudes. My son was only 14 months at dx (he's 2 now) and we say the only thing he can't have is poison.

At both WDW/DCL I never noted diabetic on any ADRs because I only ordered what I felt comfortable managing. brought my scale and Calorie King everywhere.

 

[buffettgirl]

the biggest issue for us at most of the restaurants, isn't that the foods have a lot of sugar, it's that they are all so high in fat. And the fat kicks blood sugars through the roof hours later.

And I ditto the others about deserts and the low-sugar/sugar free items.

Thanks for the tip! He would rather eat more of meat and bread than any type of dessert, anyway so we'll probably tell them to skip it.

And bread has carbs Lots, and lots of simple sugars.

 

[iloveallthingsdisney]

the biggest issue for us at most of the restaurants, isn't that the foods have a lot of sugar, it's that they are all so high in fat. And the fat kicks blood sugars through the roof hours later.

And I ditto the others about deserts and the low-sugar/sugar free items.



And bread has carbs Lots, and lots of simple sugars.

There is the option of choosing things like grilled shrimp and chicken. Yes, I realize bread has lots of carbs! My point was he will always choose bread over a dessert if given a choice.

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

Must be a difference in endocrinologist training then and now. When my dd was diagnosed 8 years ago we were taught no food was off limit due to Type 1. We just figure how many carbs. Multiply by her carb ratio and give insulin to cover. She eats whatever she wants (especially on vacation) - that is gluten free.

It may be a difference in a doctor's preference/training or it may be personal preference. I am a T1, and I do the vast majority of my control by following a low-carb lifestyle. I have insulin for times I need or want to cover extra carbs, but after doing tons of research I believe cutting out excess insulin by cutting out excess carbs is the best, healthiest way to go (for diabetics and non-diabetics alike!). Others go about their treatment differently.

 

[buffettgirl]

It may be a difference in a doctor's preference/training or it may be personal preference. I am a T1, and I do the vast majority of my control by following a low-carb lifestyle. I have insulin for times I need or want to cover extra carbs, but after doing tons of research I believe cutting out excess insulin by cutting out excess carbs is the best, healthiest way to go (for diabetics and non-diabetics alike!). Others go about their treatment differently.

I'm not denying that you might have great success eating a low carb diet, because it's certainly much easier to handle diabetes when you remove a lot of the carbs, but your body still needs insulin, and none of it is 'excess'. You still are taking insulin to cover your basal needs.

Providing the appropriate amount of insulin to cover both basal needs and food is no different than what a healthy person's own body does. It's not "excess" unless your body cannot process it as in Type 2 diabetes. But for type 1s that isn't the case. Your body uses insulin just fine. It just doesn't produce it.

For a person without diabetes, my pancreas starts producing insulin just on the mere thought of eating, but it also provides insulin all day long to fuel that same body. If I limit carbs, I get less insulin made. If I eat more carbs, I get more insulin. The only time it's an issue is if my body isn't using it properly.

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

I'm not denying that you might have great success eating a low carb diet, because it's certainly much easier to handle diabetes when you remove a lot of the carbs, but your body still needs insulin, and none of it is 'excess'. You still are taking insulin to cover your basal needs.

Providing the appropriate amount of insulin to cover both basal needs and food is no different than what a healthy person's own body does. It's not "excess" unless your body cannot process it as in Type 2 diabetes. But for type 1s that isn't the case. Your body uses insulin just fine. It just doesn't produce it.

For a person without diabetes, my pancreas starts producing insulin just on the mere thought of eating, but it also provides insulin all day long to fuel that same body. If I limit carbs, I get less insulin made. If I eat more carbs, I get more insulin. The only time it's an issue is if my body isn't using it properly.

Perhaps I didn't make my meaning clear. When I say "excess" insulin, I don't mean "more than needed to level my blood sugar based on the carbohydrates I have eaten." I mean "more than is healthy for many other aspects of the body." This includes fat storage and, from a growing body of evidence, potentially "feeding" cancer cells--things that are true whether the insulin is secreted by the pancreas or injected. Yes, if a person with a functioning pancreas eats 15 Poptarts, their body will produce enough insulin to level out the blood sugar. But that's going to have other consequences outside what is showing up on a glucose meter.

 

[buffettgirl]

Perhaps I didn't make my meaning clear. When I say "excess" insulin, I don't mean "more than needed to level my blood sugar based on the carbohydrates I have eaten." I mean "more than is healthy for many other aspects of the body." This includes fat storage and, from a growing body of evidence, potentially "feeding" cancer cells--things that are true whether the insulin is secreted by the pancreas or injected. Yes, if a person with a functioning pancreas eats 15 Poptarts, their body will produce enough insulin to level out the blood sugar. But that's going to have other consequences outside what is showing up on a glucose meter.

Thank you for making that clarification.

I get twitchy when people seem to hold the position that it is insulin itself that is bad, when it's not. It's probably because that's what the snake oil salesmen want us all to believe. And it's also what many doctors tell their patients with type 2; that they are somehow a failure if they have to take insulin. But we all know that people with type 1 cannot ever stop taking insulin, and if they do, it's because they really don't have type 1. *cough*Halle Berry*cough*.

But, it's really the food that people eat that is the problem. While we always say "my child can eat anything" no one really needs 15 pop tarts. And most people also understand that a low carb diet isn't generally recommended for normal sized children unless there is some other underlying reason.

 

[ttintagel]

Veteran T1 here. When I'm in a situation where my only choice at a meal is something which has more CHO in the portion everyone else is eating than I want to eat and cover with a bolus dose of Humalog (e.g. Taste of Thai peanut noodles, 100g CHO per package!) I just eat part of it.

That said, I've never been to a table service restaurant at WDW that wasn't willing to work with me in some way or another (I'm also vegetarian). I may not get something great, but a lot of the time it's as much about eating with the rest of the family in the great atmosphere as anything else.