Making Healthy Choices in a Restaurant.
Restaurant food is designed to look, smell and taste great, and that means our healthy eating plans can get forgotten. With Mother’s Day and Easter on their way restaurant visits may increase! And although it’s alway important to treat yourself you can follow some simples rules to ensure you make the best choices when eating out.
1. Get Your Miss Marple on!!!
These days, you can find healthy foods almost everywhere but we can tempted by enticing menu descriptions when we arrive at the restaurant and distracted by meeting and greeting friends and family.
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But most restaurants have their menus online along with the nutritional information for each dish. So, you can choose the destination with the healthiest options and go in with your meal choice already made.
2. Make a plan:
Make sure you stick to these simple guidelines - pit them on your phone if you need to.
Eat a light dinner if you ate a big lunch.
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Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the message from your stomach that you are no longer hungry. Fast eaters often are overeaters, while slow eaters tend to eat less and are still satisfied.
Pick a restaurant that involves a 10 or 15 minute walk. You'll get your meal and 30 minutes of physical activity. A brisk walk before a meal gives you time to chat and you’ll enjoy your meal even more. A stroll after will help your digestion.
3. Be Balanced
Quite often portion sizes in restaurants can be huge!! Practice visualising how much you would eat at home and try to eat only that much in the restaurant. You can always ask for a goodie bag…..
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When you order balance your meal by choosing a meal that includes all the different food groups such as lean protein foods, dairy, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Pick freshly made salads that give you "balance in a bowl." For example, salads with baked or grilled chicken, beans or seafood provide protein along with fibre and other nutrients. Ask for dressing on the side so you can control how much you put on.
Or go with a veggie option and include lettuce, tomato, avocado and onions.
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Round out your meal by ordering healthy side dishes, such as a side salad, baked potato or fruit.
4. Add Health to Your Meal
Focus on the healthy items you can add to your plate instead of only what foods to avoid. Look for whole-grain breads, pastas and sides; opt for foods with healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds; be sure to order lots of fruits and veggies; and go for lean meat, turkey, chicken or fish.
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5. Don't be Hangry
If you sit down starving you’ll scoff down several pieces of buttered bread before your main meal even arrives. If you're really hungry before you leave for the restaurant, nosh on a small snack such as a piece of fruit. Or, at the restaurant, order a cup of broth-based soup or small salad to stave off hunger.
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6. Read Between the Lines
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The way a dish is described on a menu can give you clues to how it's been prepared. Look for words including "grilled," "broiled" or "steamed," and avoid dishes with descriptions such as "fried," "breaded," "smothered," "rich" and "creamy."
7. Ask, Ask, Ask
Don't be afraid to ask your server to help you healthy-up your meal. You could ask for a salad in place of chips. You can also ask for items to be prepared with less oil or cheese, ask the server to take away the bread basket and serve salad with dressing on the side, and request a starter portion of a main meal.
You can even go American and order "off-menu" — for example, ask what vegetarian dish the chef can prepare for you or if it's possible to make grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. Many restaurants are happy to help.
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If you enjoy dining out, don't think you have to stop if you want to stay healthy. With some preparation and savvy substitutions, you can order meals that are as nutritious as the ones you prepare at home.
Lastly
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Remember you should always enjoy yourself and if there is a dish you really fancy have it! One meal won’t destroy your healthy eating efforts!
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As you can see all the photos in this blog post are from Fit Girl Factory social events - Fit Girls like to eat! We gotta grow muscle after all……
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