Healthy Eating – Make Better Choices when Eating Out
Author: Shannon Miller Lifestyle
Healthy eating is important, whether you are eating at home or you are eating out at a cafe or restaurant.
But eating away from home takes a certain amount of control out of your meal.
Though you cannot control many things about food preparation in a restaurant situation, you can control some things about your meal and the way it is prepared.
Here are a couple of SML-approved sites that help you find your best possibility for a healthy meal when eating out.
- the Choose My Plate, U.S. Government site on eating out.
- Healthy Dining Finder, which also has a mobile app.
Generally, eating out means a higher fat and higher sodium content. Fat and sodium add a lot of flavor cheaply, and they improve shelf or counter-life of foods. So, in general, you will not want to add butter and salt to your foods. There should be plenty already in there.
Menu items to avoid:
- Fried
- Smothered
- Breaded
- Alfredo or butter sauce
- Caesar dressing
- Marbled (when speaking of meats, this means a higher fat content)
- Super-sized
Healthy Eating Menu items to select from:
- Baked
- Grilled
- Blackened
- Broiled
- Steamed
- Red or marinara sauce
- Vinegar-based dressing
- Olive oil
- Sirloin
- Breast of
- White fish
- Light-sized
When ordering food, here is the “Best Case Scenario” for Healthy Eating.
- Order a soup first. Choose a soup that is broth or tomato based, not white or cream based.
- Ask the server to not bring the chips or bread that is usually offered before the meal.
- Don’t bother with (consume the extra calories in) an appetizer.
- Choose an entrée using the terms listed for the Healthier Menu items, above.
- Split the entrée with someone at the table, or ask the server to put half of it in a to-go box before it even comes to the table.
- If you want a glass of wine, have one, do not indulge in the entire bottle.
- If you want a dessert, have the table decide on one dessert and then split it among you and your table companions. You only need a spoon or two of the dessert to enjoy it without pain.