If you wondering how to eat healthy at restaurants, here are some healthy eating tips to help you sidestep common challenges when you dine out of the house.
Time is probably the most valuable commodity in this fast-paced world. Although you may enjoy most of your meals at home, 25% of the meals Americans eat are now at a restaurant.
Since restaurant patrons will likely continue to grow beyond the current 25%, developing healthy eating habits when dining at restaurants, will become more and more important.
As with the foods you eat at home, how healthy you eat in a restaurant boils down to the food choices you make. Any given dish can potentially be healthy or unhealthy, depending on a variety of factors, such as how the food was prepared, how much you eat, and so on.
Here are 7 healthy eating tips at restaurants when dining out:
1. Eat out where the menu offers options
• Choose meals that allow you to add vegetables, or healthier cuts of meat.
• Choose places like delicatessens, where you can choose a wrap over a large bun. This will reduce your calorie intake, and allow you to fill it with healthy veggies instead.
2. Stay away from fried foods
• Most restaurants will offer choices when it comes to side dishes. So skip the French fries or chips, and choose the baked potato (but go easy on the butter and sour cream). Better yet, choose a salad over the potato, provided the salad is prepared with a low-fat dressing.
• Choose grilled chicken over fried chicken, and you will reduce your caloric and fat content significantly.
3. Hold the mayo
• The old saying holds true, but it should be applied to more than just mayonnaise. For example, many cream sauces contain a lot of fat, so choose tomato-based sauces and salsa as healthier choices.
4. Say no to the salt shaker
- Adding salt to your food is usually asking for trouble. Many people with high blood pressure are literally sensitive to salt. If they add it to their food, the salt raises the blood pressure, sometimes a lot! Look into the many non-salt seasoning/spice options that you have available to improve the taste of foods. One simple example is to use garlic powder rather than garlic salt.
5. Pass on the liquid candy
• Sodas and pop, in particular, are high in sugar or fructose. These are just empty calories. Instead, choose water as this will cut approximately 100 calories per cup that you drink. Plus, it will save on your dining-out bill.
6. Portion control
• If you must consume foods of higher calorie or fat content, then moderation is key. Don’t pass on the pizza if you would like some, but just don’t eat a whole pizza either!
But even with pizza, choose a whole-grain, thin crust as a healthier option than a traditional crust.
7. Choose Healthier Desserts
• If you want to indulge in a dessert, choose lighter options such as yogurt parfaits over cheesecake, or just fresh fruit. Fast food restaurants have, for the most part, included these lighter choices in their menus. They are even offering things like apple slices. Fruit is naturally sweet – and good for you.
As you can see, going out for a meal does not have to mean high fat and high calorie. By following a few simple healthy eating tips, you can enjoy that sit-down meal with friends and family without feeling guilty later. And these tips help you form better habits for eating in general. You can still socialize and eat out at restaurants, but you can eat healthy when you do.
