Dining Out without Pigging Out!

Dining Out Guide

Stay with your healthy lifestylet without depriving yourself — savour every dining experience with these sure-fire strategies. Many people have trouble keeping to a healthy, nutritious diet when they go to a restaurant. Don't give in --eating out is no excuse to fall off the wagon! Don't say that eating healthfully at restaurants is too expensive either -- you can go to any chain restaurant and still stick to your plan. You can go about your normal life and still stay on track. The key to success is implementing a few new habits to arm you against temptation and self-sabotage in any situation.

Know your enemies. It goes without saying that you should try and pick the healthiest restaurant possible, but if this isn't an option, identify ahead of time what things at the restaurant could throw you off your diet. Eliminate or address them in advance. If there is a restaurant that has a certain unhealthy food you know you can't resist, like the best French fries in town, pick another place. There's always another restaurant. If you can't go healthy, go for variety so that if your kids are hell-bent on pizza, you might still be able to get salad, chicken, or fish.

Practice control. Remember, willpower is way overrated, and you cannot eat what isn't there. If you are eating at a place that serves bread or chips on the table, ask the server not to bring them.

Get support. If you are with friends and they want the nachos supreme, recruit them to help you out. Make your friends aware that you are watching what you eat, and ask them to help you resist. Have them keep the chips away from you, on the other side of the table, and tell them not to let you have any, no matter what.

Ask your server. Educate yourself about the food so that you can make healthy choices. How is the food cooked, what's used in the preparation, what comes on the side -- these are all things you want to know now that you are eating right.

Make substitutions. Order the chicken fajita, but instead of the Mexican rice and refried beans, ask for a salad on the side. Ask for grilled vegetables instead of a baked potato or French fries. Switch the hash browns for sliced tomatoes. You get the idea -- this stuff will take a little extra thought at ?rst, but in no time it'll be second nature.

Modify the menu. If you have scoured the menu and there are no healthy options, you can usually create your own by requesting a few changes in the preparation of your food. Ask if you can have your ?sh grilled instead of breaded; ask if you can have Dijon mustard sauce on the chicken instead of cream sauce; ask for the salad dressing on the side; get your omelette with egg whites; ask for the chef to use a small amount of olive oil.

Hold the condiments. A healthy chicken salad that would be 300 calories can quickly double if a fatty dressing is added to it. A burger can have up to 200 calories just from the ketchup you eat with it. Ask for your turkey sandwich with mustard instead of mayo.

Watch your portions. The portions we get in restaurants are for the most part completely out of control. Make sure you don't go overboard just because there's more food on your plate than you need. Share an entrée with a friend, or ask the server to put half your meal in a doggy bag before he even brings it to the table so that you can save it for lunch the next day.

Fill up on fibre. Eat as many veggies and as much salad as you can (as long as the dressing is on the side!), because this will make you feel more full and keep you from overeating other, more fattening foods.

Don't feel guilty. Stop eating if you are full and leave the food on your plate. Ask the server to take away your plate. If you have to get extreme, you can even destroy the food by dumping salt all over it--get creative about empowering yourself to beat temptation before it beats you.

Be social. There are exceptions, of course, but in general dining out should be a pleasurable experience that revolves around more than just food. Sit back, relax, enjoy the company, eat slowly, and savor the whole experience.

The Best (Better) Restaurant Options

Find the healthiest options on any menu and stay on target.

Mexican: Choose chicken, beef, or shrimp fajitas with black beans or salad on the side instead of rice; carne asada (steak with onions and peppers); shrimp diablo (this is grilled with garlic butter -- ask them to go easy on that); grilled fish tacos (with one corn tortilla rather than two); taco and tostada salads with chicken, beef, or shrimp for protein (don't eat the taco bowl). Get everything à la carte. Don't get the rice and only eat the beans if they are not refried.

Chinese: Any dish that isn't breaded and deep-fried. Avoid rice and noodles. Try and steer clear of sugar sauces like sweet and sour. Opt for kung pao chicken (light on the peanuts), beef and broccoli dishes, shrimp and snow peas, garlic chicken, Mongolian beef steak, or dishes that have meat and a vegetable. Ask for the chef to go easy on the oil.

Thai: Any of the satay dishes (chicken, shrimp, beef, or tofu), any protein or vegetable stir-fry, steamed ?sh, chicken or beef lettuce rolls. Avoid fatty coconut milk curries, noodles, and rice.

American: Hamburgers (without bread or on a whole-grain bun), turkey dogs, meat chili, veggie soups, kosher turkey bacon, white meat turkey burgers, white meat chicken, egg whites. Eat the toppings off your pizza, but don't eat the dough.

Indian: Choose chicken, lamb, beef, or shrimp tikka (grilled marinated meat skewers); any of the veggie dishes such as bhagan bharta (whipped eggplant), saag paneer (spinach with cheese), aloo gobi (marinated steamed cauli?ower), vegetable jalfrezi (mixed vegetables). Avoid curries, rice, and naan bread.

Sushi: Stick to sashimi. Order your favorite rolls as hand rolls with no rice. You can do this with almost any roll.

Italian: Any chicken or fish dish, beef carpaccio, any salad (always with the dressing on the side). Avoid heavy, creamy, and sugary sauces, and don't get pasta.

French: Any steak, chicken, or fish dish; any salad (always with the dressing on the side). Avoid rich, creamy, and sugary sauces, and don't get potatoes.

Breakfast: Any egg dish with egg whites if possible, low-fat cottage cheese, sugar-free yogurt with berries, turkey bacon, smoked salmon. Avoid waffles, pancakes, bagels, muffins, doughnuts, and other pastries.

Never forget that restaurant food tastes great for a reason. Hidden Salt and Fat.

Compare any restaurant item with a properly prepared home made version and homemade will always win. Ever wonder what fast food will do to your meal plan? How bad are those little cheat days? Well, you will be in for a shocker! Get the full details on the actual calories, grams of carbohydrates, fat and protein in those tasty items from your favorite fast food restaurants! Email me your favorite spot and I’ll try to add it for you.

 

Don't forget to take a look at Rose Parr's recipes for healthy eating solutions.