Nutritional health coach Holly Zoccolan has been supporting women for many years. One thing she’s often asked is, “What are your top healthy eating out tips?” The good news is there are steps you can take so you can dine out and enjoy your food without anxiety or guilt. Holly shares some ideas for you to try…
Being invited to a restaurant can feel daunting if you are trying to switch to a healthier way of eating. Faced with a menu full of tantalizing dishes and desserts can feel like torture when you are looking for healthy eating choices. Portion sizes can be larger than you’d serve at home and once it is on your plate, it can be very difficult to hold back!
Even though staying healthy when eating out can feel like a challenge, it needs to be part of your strategy to make sustainable change for the long-term. After all, eating out with friends and family is an important way to socialize, make deeper connections, and lift your mood. I’ve put together five healthy eating out tips so you can feel more at ease about going out to a restaurant.
1. Scan the menu before you go
A little bit of prep in advance prevents you from falling into your usual choice pattern when rushing to decide at the restaurant. Instead, you can arrive with a plan.
Healthy options to choose when eating out
When planning your healthy eating out choices, look for dishes containing modest portions of protein such as lean meat, white fish, tofu or legumes like beans and lentils. Lean protein helps you feel more satisfied.
Also, opt for sides of vegetables (not starches) to ensure you are getting a good amount of fiber and nutrients in your meal.
Understanding meal descriptions
When scanning meal descriptions, look for these words to help keep you on track:
- Grilled
- Steamed
- Baked
- Braised
- Seared
It may seem a little obvious, but it’s good to remind yourself to avoid dishes that have the following words in their descriptions:
- Fried
- Breaded
- Crispy
- Rich
- Creamy
- Cheesy
- Loaded
- Alfredo
2. Don’t starve before you go
This is an important healthy eating out tip and may be the total opposite of what you usually do. So many people will go all day without breakfast and a scant lunch to “save up” calories for the evening. This is an example of false accounting when it comes to nutrition.
Remember, if you starve yourself before you head out for a meal, you’ll be more likely to indulge, overeat, and choose the unhealthier alternatives.
Keeping meals balanced
The best way to avoid a meal-out binge is to make sure you have well-balanced meals before heading out. If you need a reminder, a good balanced meal includes:
- A higher proportion of healthy fats like olive oil and avocado
- A mixture of vegetables – try for the rainbow and get colorful
- Lean proteins such as fish, chicken, black beans, or lentils
3. Keep hydrated
Restaurant food often contains high levels of salt. This can make you thirsty, which is often mistaken for hunger. Thirst may also increase your alcohol consumption if there are alcoholic drinks on offer. So, make sure you keep drinking water or similar before and during your meal.
Think about increasing the amount of water you drink during the day. Then try to drink a large glass of water shortly before you go out
4. Ask for sauce and salad dressing on the side
Even when you succeed in ordering a modest portion of a lean meat, the sauce that comes with it may contain a surprising amount of sugar, fat, and calories. Salad dressings can easily contain more calories than the entire salad itself! From the menu description, it can be hard to understand if there is sauce or how it will be presented.
Talk to the restaurant staff
Before you order you can ask staff how the sauce arrives on the plate and if there is salad dressing. You can always ask for sauce on the side so you have control over how much, if any, of the sauce you add to your meal. Remember, it’s OK to ask for modifications to your meal to suit your needs.
Bring on the herbs and spices
Many of us are used to the tasty part of a meal being the sauce. Try tantalizing your tastebuds with mixed herbs and spices instead, such as paprika or whatever you fancy. If you talk to the server, the chef may add them to your dish if you want to avoid the sauce.
It’s good to know that adding herbs and spices to your meal is a great way to add flavor without the added blood sugar spike and calories.
5. Fancy dessert? Share it!
Making healthy choices when eating out doesn’t mean you are banished to a life without dessert or cocktails. If you fancy dessert when you go out for dinner, that is absolutely fine. A great way to enjoy the taste in a healthier way is to share a dessert with someone else. Eating half a portion instead of the full portion is a win-win situation, just choose your co-sharer carefully so you aren’t short-changed!
Final word
Remember to enjoy yourself when dining out and give yourself permission to do so guilt-free. Life is about sharing memories and good times with those closest to us – a dessert or a few glasses of wine once in a while doesn’t throw you off track.
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