Eating Healthy at Restaurants

If you’re trying to incorporate more healthy foods into your diet or trying to lose those last 5 pounds, you know that it takes planning and effort to make it work. It can be hard enough to get to the store, buy the healthy foods and then cook them yourself, but what do you do when you have no part in how your food is prepared? Eating out can be a challenge to even the most health conscious but you CAN find ways to incorporate a meal out at a restaurant into a healthy diet. Here are some tips to make the most of the choices on the menu:

Drinks
Before you reach for your first forkful of food, you can consume almost 300 calories in alcohol, sweet tea, or soda. This doesn’t mean that you have to forego having a drink on a special occasion, but maybe while you are aiming to lose weight it means that these drinks are consumed less often. Even then, you can choose lighter drinks like a 6 oz. red wine, a 6 oz. bloody mary, or a 12 oz. light beer. If you are not tempted by alcohol, it is still important to pay attention to what other drinks you consume and in what portions. Sometimes a glass of soda can hold 20 oz. of soda or 250 calories of pure sugar! So what would be a better choice? Diet soda would be better than regular soda calorically but you could be even healthier and choose water with a fresh squeezed lemon or an unsweetened ice tea. Water may not sound too exciting but it is essential to be well hydrated when working out, and it will save you calories for your actual dinner. On top of that, regularly ordering water over another drink can put quite a bit of cash in your wallet.

Appetizer
Appetizers can be tempting especially when you’re really hungry. Look for appetizers that are more vegetable based instead of cream based like a dip. Instead of ordering a spinach artichoke dip, try ordering something like bruschetta and split it with a friend. A salad would be a great choice for an appetizer and many even come with your meal. The thing to remember about salads though is that not all salads are healthy. I know this can be surprising, but sometimes you would be better off eating a hamburger than a salad when the salad is covered with cheese and full fat dressing. For an appetizer, look for a salad that is basically lettuce or spinach with vegetables like tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and carrots. Then choose an oil based dressing like an olive oil and vinegar dressing unless the restaurant happens to have a light ranch or other light cream based dressing. Even then, ordering your dressing on the side can be a huge calorie saver. By dipping your fork in the dressing and then spearing a piece of your salad, you will truly taste the salad and the leaves won’t be swimming in dressing.

Entrée
This is the most substantial part of the meal so you want to make sure that the choice you make is a good one. The key words to look out for are fried, battered, creamed, and cheesy. These are often the things that add to the high calorie and fat content of many dishes. You have to remember that most restaurants are not looking out for your health – they just want it to taste good so you will come back and eat some more. This doesn’t mean that you have to eat something really tasteless though. Good options are a vegetable based soup, a grilled or broiled piece of meat or sandwich, vegetable side dishes over starchy ones, and salads if you haven’t had one as an appetizer. Even then, it is often a good idea to ask how the food is prepared and most restaurants are willing to accommodate your needs if you have a different preference. Vegetables at steakhouses can be smothered with butter making it a less healthy side dish, but you can ask for your portion to be prepared without butter.
Portions are another big thing to remember when eating out. Did you know that the correct serving size for pasta is ½ cup? The serving of pasta at most Italian restaurants is at least 6 of those! Remember that just because it is served to you, you don’t have to eat it. Cut your entrée in half and pack up half of it before you even begin eating. You will still have a substantial amount to eat and you will even have a meal for the next day.

Dessert
This is a hard one… many times there is just not a “healthy” dessert on the menu. Occasionally you can find fresh fruit with frozen yogurt but most often the desserts are pretty decadent. Instead of ordering your own dessert, see if someone else or even two others will split it with you. Often a few bites after a big meal are all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you think you can pass up dessert all together, you could just order a coffee if the rest of the table is set on indulging.

A few last tips. . .
When you know where you’re going to go ahead of time, why not check out the restaurant’s website? Many restaurants now list their nutrition facts online and these can be a great place to figure out what you want to eat at your next meal. You may be surprised to find that something you thought was really healthy is packed with fat (could they possibly add butter to it?) or that something you avoided isn’t actually too bad for you. Lastly, remember that it’s okay to indulge every once in a while as long as you don’t make it a regular habit. If you do go overboard one night, just get back on track the next day. You can even cut 100 calories out of your diet and kick up the exercise a notch (even just 10 extra minutes of cardio) for the next 3 days and you will be back on track with a healthy eating plan.