5 Tips for Eating Out

I LOVE eating out.  I love the atmosphere, trying new things, learning new flavor combinations, and not having to do the dishes ;).  We actually rarely eat out anymore, because it is so difficult with 3 wiggly kids, it is expensive and most importantly can be very unhealthy.  The good news is, many restaurants are trying to offer “better, healthier” options.  The bad news is,  those “better, healthier” options are often  still too high in sodium, calories, additives and their portions sizes are still waaaaay too big!  I am definitely a proponent of preparing most of our meals at home, but I know this isn’t always possible or even practical at times.  So here are 5 tips for eating out in a healthy way.

1. Choose to make fruits and veggies part your meal.  Ok, so I enjoy  french fries as much as the next gal,   but they can be very heavy in calories and are very low in nutritional value. Switch out the fries for healthier steamed veggies, a side salad or fruit.  This same idea can be applied to other high calorie sides such as rice, potatoes, (ps:potato salad doesn’t count as a salad) and pasta.   A side of veggies or fruit is more nutrient dense, can be just as satisfying and much, much easier on your waistline.   And when ordering you childrens’ meals, make these same choices for them too.  They may not have a weight problem or the same health concerns you do, but more fruits and veggies are good for them and more importantly you are teaching them how to make good food choices.  Food is not just about what tastes “good” it’s also about what is good for us.   Did you know that taste preference is learned?  Just as we are teaching our children to enjoy healthy fruits and vegetables, its never too late for us to learn to like them too.

2. Watch Portion sizes.  Portion sizes are out of control here in the U.S.  And sadly I don’t see that changing (towards the positive end) any time soon. Consumers want a deal and will see a smaller portion as a decrease in value.  Which I get, you know this girl loves a good value, but what we consider to be a “good value” now,  is anything but a good value when you consider the health, happiness and weight implications we will have to deal with in the future. To keep our portions under control, try only eating half your meal.  Some useful techniques are,  putting half of your meal in a to-go container when it comes to the table, splitting the meal with your meal compainon or working on gageing your hunger and stopping when you feel satisfied. This is beneficial because now you have saved you health and waistline,  and you have also saved some money because now you have a meal for another time!

3. Avoid fried food. I don’t really have to explain much with this one.  Frying adds lots of unnecessary calories, decreases nutritional value (can breakdown important micronutrients) and can increase oxidative stress/free radical formation in food and your body.  Not good…stay awya

4. Limit your sauces and dressings.  These additions can increase the tastiness of your meal, but they will also increase the calories too.  So try ordering them on the side, and using them sparingly.  There is no way you will need all the sauce they give you. One trick is dipping your fork into the sauce or dressing, then picking up the salad or entree bite.  This is helpful in two ways, it helps decrease your sauce/dressing use and also will help you slow down your eating pace.

5.  Don’t fool yourself .  This one, I would argue is the most important of the 5 tips.  I get a splurge, I do.  But the first step to lifestyle change is being truthful with yourself and understanding your own challenges. Very often, I hear people say “well, I am getting the_______because I have been really good/haven’t eaten all day/never get ____/am treating myself…etc. ”  But really they indulge in these “treat/splurge” foods on a regular basis. Meaning these treats are no longer treats, they are a regular part of your everyday diet. This is an emotional (sabotage) technique  people often use when trying to justify an emotional eating response and they are only tricking themselves (this article gives further insight into this).  This behavior leads to a negative emotional cycle (guilt/negative self-talk), which is detrimental to any lifestyle change.  It is also corrosive to our happiness.  To help us decide how often we should splurge,  I like the 90%/10% rule.  This means we should try our best to make good choices 90% of the time; here is what this looks like translated into numbers: if we have 3 meals a day/7days a week we should aim for 19 of those meals to benefit us nutritionally and emotionally and 2 of those meals can be in the splurges category.  Now, I know not many of us, me included,  only has 3 meals a day, we often have 3 meals and 2 snacks.  If this is the case we will have a total of  5  meals;snacks a day/7days a week , so you should aim for 31.5 meal/snacks  to be healthy and wholesome  and 3.5 of the meals/snacks can be splurgy in 1 week.  Ok, so I know our lives aren’t this exact (and if they are, we should be having another discussion), but this just gives you an idea of my idea of moderation.

So in a nutshell, here are the takeaways:  Have lots of fruits and vegetables, don’t fry them or drawn them in dressing, limit your portion sizes and above all don’t be too splurgy.  Got it?

My husband and went out to a Mexican restaurant the other day and we got fajitas to share.  The portions were huge, so we had enough left over for another full meal.  I didn’t feel like making traditional fajitas again,  so I got creative with a few ingredients I had in my kitchen.  I made it into a Fajita Rice Casserole.   Don’t forget the salad and avocado on the side to complete the meal.