When we found out we were pregnant again, we were scheduled to take a trip to visit with good friends in the US. We had planned this trip for months, and it was on. We figured it would be ok, I just couldn’t ride any of the rollercoasters, and we bought groceries for lunches to mitigate our eating out while at the theme park central to our stay.
What made it even worse, and rather humorous, and kind of made us giggle and make jokes was, Well, we were meeting the gang in, of all places, Hershey, PA.
Yeah. Pregnant, Diabetic tired girl in the Chocolate capital of North America, at a theme park, filled with awesome rides she can’t get on, and awesome food she can’t have. Oh boy…
I was seeing good friends, and decided to make the best of it, and it was an amazing, exhausting, family-friendly trip. My son loved the kiddie rides, and we had a great time catching up with people we love so very much. We discovered my two year-old travels really well, and we had no melt downs in the park, or problems driving for long distances. All in all, a success, and not one motion sickness, preggo mama on the side of the road with first-trimester heaveys.
*Fistpump*
Let me tell you though, the air when you get out of the car at the Hershey theme park parking lot smells like chocolate. Everywhere you go, there are reminders of chocolate. There is a place called Chocolate World that sells reams and reams of chocolate. And here I was, not able to partake in the orgy of stuffing my face with the wonderful, creamy, stress-reducing, mood-altering goodness. People were hauling suitcases of the stuff back to their cars! Suitcases!! Yoi.
I was a good girl, and only nibbled on samples of said chocolate, and did pick up some sugar-free Reese’s Peanut butter Cups as a treat. I did have some ice cream one day, and a few kettle chips (from the gynormous bag my hubby bought), but I didn’t indulge in humongous amounts of bad-for-me foods.
It was a triumph of epic proportions. I love chocolate, and it was sometimes difficult not to break down and just have some.
What was harder than resisting the Hershey sugary goodness, in fact, was simply eating while we were travelling in the US. We had lots of groceries for snacks and lunches (mmm picnic lunch stuffs!), and that was a saving grace. But sometimes, you just gotta eat out when you’re travelling, and breakfast and dinner was usually in a restaurant.
Nowhere else were we reminded of the differences from Canada food guidelines and restaurants than sitting down to a meal with our friends, or while en route there and back. There were several times I had to literally waste most of the food on my plate in order to eat my proper carb portion and not overindulge, or order all sides.
Portions were enormous. Nutritional information was not readily available. Everything was swimming in butter, or so salty my hubby and I were taken aback at the tastes. We were amazed at the lack of vegetables and lean protein on menus, and the lack of understanding about Diabetic needs. I asked for a side of whole wheat toast, thinking I would get two slices of bread. I got six. SIX! I asked for skim milk for my coffee. “What’s that?” one waitress asked. With one supper, I asked what the veggie of the day was. The Waiter said “potatoes and corn”. Seriously? I looked it up afterwards. There are some beliefs in the US that potato is considered a vegetable serving. Corn I can understand. But potatoes?
Yeah, seriously.
But that wasn’t the cake topper (there I go with the cake again). For breakfast, our group reserved the big room in the breakfast buffet at the hotel we stayed at. The food looked good, I had lots of choices like eggs and bacon and sugar-free, low fat yogurt, as well as fruit and such. I figured we would be safe to have everyone eat ok there, and be healthy.
My son loved the scrambled eggs, and he’s not normally a scrambled egg kind of kid. We shrugged it off. They’re eggs, right? He wants to eat ‘em now, we won’t argue. They’re good for him. I had eggs as well, they are a good source of protein, and even with some milk that was likely mixed in, would be ok on my ratings. That, plus a half-slice of rye toast, and some bacon, and I was proud of myself. I did have a sip of my son’s orange juice one day, but that was because the bite of rye toast had gone down the wrong way, and my water was empty. *hork*
But, both days we ate there, I spiked after breakfast. Hard spike. Over 10 mmol/L. We were mystified. I re-did my counting, we went over the meal, and couldn’t see where the problem was. I scratched my head, and Hubby was concerned. I thought it might be the rye toast, but half a slice was well under my carb counts. We looked at the yogurt. Possible, but not likely. Was there anything else? Nope. A true mystery.
So, the day we were checking out, we ate at the restaurant nearby instead. I ordered my son a side of scrambled eggs. (read: heaping plate!) and he wouldn’t touch them. He was happier with the dollar pancakes he thought were super awesome as hats (read: sticky toddler).
Puzzled, I figured maybe there was something in the eggs at the buffet that made him like them more, like a spice.So, when I got back to the hotel, I asked the restaurant staff if they could tell me the ingredients in their scrambled eggs.
What they came back with nearly floored me. Literally, I had to shake my head and do a “really?” at the waitress who, after reading the ingredient list, was mystified as well.
There was sugar in the eggs. Liquid sugar.
Apparently, the eggs come in large bags, already mixed. All the cook has to do is open one corner, like a milk bag, and pour the mixture into the bin skillet, and cook them. The ingredients were: eggs, milk, liquid sugar, gelatine, colour, and spices. No wonder my son liked them so much! I couldn’t taste the sugar in them at all, neither could Hubby, but I like pepper on my eggs, and that may have masked the sweetness. Hubby didn’t eat enough of them to really notice, he said.
There was the reason I likely spiked. A hidden, nasty little surprise for Diabetics like me, assuming that eggs would be a safe bet, and finding out that they were not.
It reminded me how important it is to have information about what you are eating at your fingertips to make healthy, informed choices. In Canada, nutrition information must be provided at point of sale. This has saved us on so many occasions. I can safely eat at McDonalds, because their tray placemats have all the nutrition information on them, and you can ask for it at the counter! (BTW, their salads are great.)
Despite that, the trip was great, and my levels, for the most part, were regular. It is possible to travel with Diabetes, but depending on where you go, be prepared to ask a lot of questions, and be the customer every waiter hates when you demand special preparation and servings.
As a rule, here is what I say. If in doubt, ask, or leave it out.
