Eating Healthy Food At A Restaurant
If you and your family love to eat at restaurants, you may think that this lifestyle is not good for a healthy diet. In many cases, you would be correct. It is, however, quite possible to stick to a healthy diet while occasionally enjoying a restaurant meal. You simply need to learn a little bit about nutrition, which will allow you to make the correct food choices to stay healthy, active, mentally stable and happy.
It's a good idea to start by ignoring the drinks section of the menu. Beer and other alcoholic beverages have many empty calories, which do your body no good. The exception to this rule when it comes to alcohol is wine, especially red wine, which can be fine if you have a single glass and can actually help prevent heart disease for some patients.
Also skip over the appetizer menu, unless it's a side salad. Most restaurant appetisers are high-fat foods, which can make you crave more of the same. Some examples are potato skins, nachos, mozzarella sticks and chicken wings. Instead, simply focus on your main course or, if you must indulge, share a single serving with the entire table of people.
When choosing your main dish, it is of course important that you look at the ingredients of the dish. Avoid anything with fatty meats or cream-based sauces, and don't order the onion rings, fries or baked potato. Rather order a side dish of vegetables, or ask for the main course alone.
Remember too that portion control is everything. Order off the lunch menu whenever you can, and ask for a doggie bag right away. To avoid being tempted to eat the whole main course, split it in two and bag one half.
After the meal, skip dessert. Again, you can share a single desert with the entire table if you feel compelled to order something, or split your portion in half. Many fancy desserts in restaurants have more calories than your entire meal, so keep this in mind before you flag down the waitress to put in an order! On special occasions, you can cheat a little, but you should learn to resist temptation in order to stick to healthy eating.
Mike Devoran runs DietHealthFitness, where you'll find a wealth of information on healthy living.
Published October 8th, 2007
Filed in Health