Is it hard to eat out and still eat healthy? That used to be the case, but many restaurants are offering more menu choices and accommodate many preferences. Most restaurants offer gluten gree (gf) or vegan (v) choices, or can easily prepare menu items to accommodate those preferences. Making a healthy choice, however, depends on us making the decision on what we are going to order to meet our health goals.
So what makes something a healthy choice? Here are a few guidelines to follow when we want to request a few changes for our menu choice:
- Avoid the breaded and fried items. They are not the healthiest choice and add many extra calories without adding nutritional value.
- Request a vegetable instead of potato or rice. While white potatoes and rice do have some nutritional benefit, they are nothing compared to broccoli, asparagus or even a sweet potato.
- Ask for a side salad instead of soup. Now not all soups are bad. Broth-based soups like French Onion or vegetable, are a healthier choice than cream based soups, but the sodium content of soups is usually very high. Salad offers us leafy greens (the nutrition power-house) as well as other vegetables, giving us a lower calorie option packed with nutrients.
- Choose the smaller portion if two sizes are offered. If a smaller portion is not offered, request a take home container when ordering, and put half of the entrée into it when the meal is served. When the extra food is not right in front of us, we won’t eat it.
- Request a fruit based dessert if you choose to have dessert.
By making these simple changes the next time we eat out, we will save calories and boost our nutritional intake for the meal. Let’s try it and see if we don’t feel better on our way home!
