Calorie Confidential

How to stay healthy eating restaurant food

Restaurant meals will probably always be a little richer than what you would make at home. Here are some ways to make healthier choices when dining out.

• When you get to a restaurant, ask for nutrition information before you order.
• Ask yourself: How frequently do you eat food away from home? The more often, the more you need to make healthy choices.
• Ask for a doggy bag: If you’re trying to lose weight, set aside half or nearly half your meal right when it’s served.
• Don't be afraid to request food the way you want it: ask for dressings, sauces, gravy, butter and mayonnaise on the side.
• “I’ll start with the salad, please.” Research shows that you consume fewer calories when you begin your meal with soup (not cream-based), or salad (with lower-fat dressings). If you partially fill up on foods packed with nutrition, you're less likely to overeat on the stuff that may not be so good.
• Look for cooking terms: Order baked, roasted, poached, grilled, broiled or steamed.
• Beware of battered, fried, or in sauces of butter, alfredo, cream, rich cheese, rose, Bearnaise, Hollandaise or pot pies, hash and creamy casseroles. They are synonyms for one thing: fat.
• Hold the salt: Soups and cold cut sandwiches are often high in sodium, as is restaurant prepared rice.
• Beware liquid calories: Instead of choosing pop, alcohol or designer coffee, opt for real juice, milk and especially water.
• Parents don’t want unhappy, unruly children at a restaurant. Chances are if you give them pop, a chicken fingers and fries, they’ll be happy and behave. Nutritionists worry children will associate junk food with having a good time. Not so bad when you're only eating out occasionally. When you dine out twice a week (the average), it heavily influences their attitudes to food.
• While kids' meals might offer milk or veggies, the main dish is often deep fried. And they’re pretty much the same from restaurant to restaurant. For any kid regularly eating out, it’s hard to eat healthy. Instead of pop, let them have chocolate milk. Stick to skim milk if your child's over two years of age. At least they’ll get some calcium. If you order juice, dilute it with some water to cut down on sugar content. Also, try to get some steamed veggies with their dishes, and cut down on the fries.

Posted on November 7, 2007
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