Just because you are watching your calorie and fat intake does not mean you have to shun all restaurants and fast food places. Although cooking at home allows you to better control your food's ingredients and calorie content, eating out is fun, convenient and sometimes unavoidable. Employ specific techniques to stay on track when dining away from home.
Avoid Entrees
Instead of an oversized entrée, order an appetizer as your main meal. Make sure it is an appetizer appropriate for one, or share it if necessary. Look for appetizers that contain vegetables and minimize cheese and fried components.
Kid's Meal
A salad may not satisfy your cravings for a fast food burger and fries. Indulge your cravings by ordering a kid-sized meal. At McDonalds, for example, a quarter-pounder with cheese and medium fries contains 890 calories and 45g of fat. If you choose a cheeseburger happy meal with a small fries you will take in 500 calories. Stick to water, diet soda or unsweetened tea as your drink--even the kid-sized 12 oz. soda contains an additional 140 calories and non nutrition.
Beware the Salad
Fast food and restaurant salads appear to be healthy options, but often include cheese, eggs, dressings and nuts that make the healthy greens a fat and calorie overload. The Subway BMT salad with ranch dressing contains 490 calories and 41g of fat--almost as many as the quarter-pounder meal--points out Marie Claire Magazine. Worse yet, the Ruby Tuesday Carolina Chicken Salad contains 1,300 calories and 72g of fat. In that salad, 275 calories comes from the dressing alone. A salad may be a good restaurant option if you order an olive oil-based dressing on the side and use only a teaspoon or two. Avoid extra cheese, fried meats, sugared nuts and bacon as toppings.
Order Soup
Have a clear, broth-based soup as an appetizer to help satisfy your appetite before you primary meal. A study published in the journal "Appetite" in November 2007 found that subjects who ate soup before their lunch took in 20 percent fewer calories during the overall meal than subjects who just ate their main meal. Chicken noodle, wonton, minestrone or vegetable make good choices.
Buzz Words
Learn to spot higher calorie appetizers and entrees when you read the menu. Words like fried, au gratin, crispy, pan-fried, sautéed and stuffed indicate added fats and higher calories notes the American Heart Association. At Italian restaurants, pastas with alfredo, cream or pink sauces are usually higher in fat than marinara or tomato versions. When the menu describes an item as fricasseed, creamed, buttered, basted or served in gravy, steer clear as well. Words like steamed, broiled, baked, grilled, poached or seared usually indicate healthier preparations. Remember, however, restaurants almost always add extra oil to items--even grilled varieties--so ask your server to have the chef leave off any sauces or added fats.
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