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Review: Park Hotel Falkirk (First Meal Using Fiasp)

Friday night's dinner was at one of our usual haunts... The Park Hotel, Falkirk. The Park Hotel offers 2 courses for £14 or 3 courses for £16 and the menu changes almost every day. They always have the same staples such as Steak Pie, Lasagne, Fish and Chips etc and then a few other different things.

We hadn't booked but managed to get a table straight away - it was very quiet for a Friday evening but I suppose that has to be expected on 20th January.

I'm still a tad wary since my diagnosis of ordering "draught" fizzy drinks in case they don't give me 'diet' when I ask for it so I opted for a Diet Irn Bru as it comes in a can.

For my starter I chose the Salsa Nachos. I was that hungry that I ate them as soon as they arrived at the table without taking a picture - I had been checking my background insulin (Levemir) in the afternoon so had nothing to eat from breakfast (around 8am) and this was now around 6.30pm. This was my first meal using Fiasp insulin instead of Novorapid. I had been finding Novorapid a bit 'slow' and the wait time before meals was really driving me insane. As I was eating out, I waited until the starter arrived and then 'guessed' a dose. The Nachos were alright - nothing special - but as I always say, you shouldn't expect the best food ever when you're eating off a 3 for £16 menu. The Nachos comprised of Tortilla Chips, Salsa, Sour Cream and Cheese Sauce. Just the right amount for a wee starter. The only thing that would have made them better would have been some jalapenos for a wee bit of a 'kick' and maybe some real cheese instead of the cheese sauce but overall, it was an alright starter. It was served really quickly - the starters were on our table about 2 minutes after we placed our order. The service is always very quick at The Park which when you're starving is appreciated!

For my main course I chose something 'new' on their menu - Shin of Beef. This came with Creamy Mash, Seasonal Vegetables and Red Wine Jus. Again, I waited until the food arrived before I injected my Fiasp (even though the service is fast, I guess as a diabetic you can never be sure when the food will actually arrive so best to wait until it arrives even though it will affect blood glucose levels). The presentation was nice (see picture below). The only thing I will say is that it could have been warmer. Sadly, I didn't get to enjoy my main as my work 'on-call' phone rang just as I had injected my insulin so I had to deal with someone calling in sick and trying to arrange cover etc all whilst realising that I had just injected this 'new' faster-acting insulin that I didn't know how would affect my body and trying to take mouthfuls of food to avoid any lows whilst trying to deal with making phone calls and texts. My work phone really does pick it's moments!! Prior to diagnosis I wouldn't have bothered but when eating is time sensitive, it can be a bit of a pain when I have to deal with something in the middle of injecting/eating etc. Anyway, the main was decent. The meat was lovely and soft and it was just the right portion size. 



Here's where I highlight that yes, I am diabetic BUT I can still eat puddings! Although I've only been diagnosed about 5 weeks, it really annoys me when people think I can't eat sweet things being diabetic. As long as I count the carbs and inject enough insulin to cover it I can eat whatever I want! So... I ordered a MASSIVE Biscoff Sundae! You'll see it in the picture below. It was amazing! The only thing is the sundae incurs a £1.50 supplement on the menu but I really did enjoy it. Insulin-wise, I just used the Carbs and Cals app to find out the carbs for the equivalent amount of ice-cream and it seemed to work. Something I have noticed is that since my diagnosis and being on insulin I've been able to eat more - I would normally only manage about half of a sundae like this but I actually managed every single bit of it 😀



So The Park Hotel is quick,cheap, decent food and definitely great value for money. Don't go here if you're looking for the best food you've ever tasted but if you're looking for tasty homemade food at a decent price and a quick meal with easy parking then it's the place to go! The two of us had 3 courses each and 1 soft drink each (and the extra charge for my sundae) and the total was £37.70. Was it the best food ever? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Will we be back? Absolutely! Well Done The Park Hotel for doing what you do best!

Oh and for those wondering about the change from Novorapid to Fiasp - I certainly did notice a difference. For a 3 course meal out where I injected immediately before eating (apart from the main when the work phone went) the peaks on my Libre certainly weren't as 'spikey' which is why I changed so I am pleased with that!




























































































































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