What Can I Eat With Gestational Diabetes - Fast Food Series - IHOP

Can I Eat IHOP?

Carb heaven, right?! But is IHOP with gestational diabetes possible? A few months ago a mom said that she gave in and got pancakes at IHOP and was surprised that her reading was within range, so I looked into it!

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Obviously the 30g carb standard we've been following is out the window. Outside of the obvious low-carb items like eggs and meat, and the toppings IHOP offers, there are few menu items under 50g carbs. IHOP's menu is in PDF format, which is pretty unfriendly after using the customizable menus on fast food sites like McDonald's.

Craving Pancakes on Gestational Diabetes?

If you don't want to try your luck at IHOP, there are alternatives! Pretty much everyone knows about Kodiak Cakes as a good pancake/waffle during this diet. You can go to their website to find a store near you that stocks them, and they are widely found in Target. ABS Pancakes is also a good replacement with way less carbs, but must be ordered online. They average out to be $1 per pancake and you can use code ABSFIRST for 10% off. There are 13 different flavors between these two companies, so plenty to choose from!

Outside of those, there are plenty of pancake recipes online using almond flour or coconut flour. If that's not your jam, try making pancakes with 100% Stone Ground Wheat Flour. It is low glycemic and has better nutrition than white flour. I have yet to see this type of flour in Walmart, but keep an eye out anyway. For sure it can be found at a health food store, and probably the smaller grocery chains like Publix and Kroger.

The last option that I'm aware of is to try a fortified flour. These are commonly found, and just recently I was surprised to see one in Walmart. It was cheaper than other specialty flours like almond and coconut, and the carbs were quite reasonable with a considerable amount of protein and fiber!

IHOP with Gestational Diabetes

Breakfast

• 2 Original Buttermilk Pancakes have 38g carbs, 2g fiber and 8g protein. Is anyone else as shocked as I am?
• 2 Rooty Tooty Fresh-n-Fruity Pancakes without toppings are 39g carbs. Toppings are strawberries (13g), peaches (14g) and raspberries (18g).
• Signature Pancake Sliders: 49g carbs and 46g protein.
• Omelets are really good on protein, of course, but the carbs differ a lot so you should check to see if what you like is within range.
• Hashbrowns are 28g carbs.

Sides

• Choose Corn Tortillas over Flour because 2 corn tortillas (24g carbs) have half the carbs of 1 flour tortilla.
• For bread, the menu says these numbers include butter and jam/jelly. The English Muffin has the least amount of carbs at 25g, followed by Sourdough at 39g; white bread follows at 43g;  whole wheat has 52g, but whole wheat is low glycemic. You be the judge.
• Garlic Bread - 17g carbs.
• Fries - 41g carbs.
• Corned Beef Hash - 29g carbs, 17 g protein.

Soups

All are 20-30 carbs.

Lunch

• Caesar Grilled Salad: 32g carbs, 51g protein.
• The bacon/cheese/burger(s) are 39-40g carbs. When it comes to burgers just half the bun or nix it altogether.
• Hot & Spicy Wings with dressing: 29g carbs.
• Tilapia Florentine - 34g carbs, 43g protein.
• Smoked Sausage - 38g carbs, 23g protein.
• 40-50g carbs are Savory Pork Chop & T-Bone Steak meals and the Bacon Crusted Chicken with Red Potato Hash.
• Country Fried Steak with Country Gravy comes in at 49g carbs, but it has 28g protein.

Desserts

• Crepe and Ice Cream without filling or topping is 33g carbs!
• Ice Cream Sundae without topping is 30g carbs, and the Kids' version is half that!

Other Fast Food Series:
Chick-fil-A
Starbucks
Taco Bell
McDonald's

What's your favorite fast food joint right now and what works on their menu? Comment below!

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