Eating healthy does not mean you have to ban all restaurant dining. Many menus now offer dishes that are lower in fat and calories. Arm yourself with strategies that can help you navigate a restaurant menu and avoid dietary landmines. Preplanning and smart ordering makes healthy eating out possible.
Significance
Restaurant meals contain 60 percent more calories than meals prepared at home reported "USA Today" in October 2006. Even seemingly healthy options, such as salads, can be diet busters when you add nuts, bacon, eggs, avocado and creamy dressings. Restaurants want their food to taste good and seem like a great bargain, so you keep coming back. As a result the food contains high amounts of fat, salt and added sugars and you are often served gargantuan portions.
Reading the Menu
When perusing the menu, look for dishes composed of broiled, roasted or grilled chicken breast or fish. Avoid entrees with sausage, cream sauces and fatty cuts of meat such as prime rib or brisket. Meats such as tenderloin, flank steak and sirloin are leaner choices. Words such as au gratin, braised, confit and scalloped most likely mean the dish has added fat in the form of cheese and butter. Opt for baked potatoes or steamed vegetables over french fries, onion rings or creamed spinach.
Strategies
When you go to a restaurant, plan in advance to order just two of the following: a drink, appetizer, entrée and dessert. Many restaurants post their menus and nutritional information online. Plan your order in advance to help you resist temptation. Order salads without fried toppings and ask for dressings on the side -- using only a teaspoon or two for your actual meal. Request that the server not bring a bread or chip basket to the table. If you do order an appetizer, choose a salad or a broth-based soup which can help make you feel full and eat less of your main meal. Opt to split desserts with your dining partners, or ask for fresh fruit as a low-calorie sweet ending. Learn to eyeball portion sizes -- an adequate serving of protein is about the size of a deck of cards, a serving of pasta is the size of a light bulb and a 1/2 cup of starch fits into a cupcake wrapper.
Sample Orders
At Italian restaurants, choose pasta with marinara sauce, minestrone soup and garden salads. For Mexican dining, chicken, shrimp or vegetable fajitas with corn tortillas and no cheese or sour cream can be a healthy choice. At Chinese restaurants, ask for brown rice and stir fried chicken with vegetables. Order the sauce on the side and use just a few teaspoons worth. For a diner-style restaurant, try grilled chicken breast or fish with a baked potato topped with fresh herbs, salt and pepper with a cup of vegetable soup.
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