Tips for Dining Out

We all know that it is completely impractical to avoid dining out or eating at restaurants. Whether it's a birthday party, family dinner, or just a special occasion, eating out is a part of our lives.  Eating healthy while you're "out and about" is an extremely difficult task, but one we must all face at some point or another, so here are my top four tips for going out.

1)  Plan ahead.  The interent and smart phones make it extremely easy to plan ahead and look up a restaurant's nutrional menu before you even go out.  If you know where you plan to eat, get online and check out that restaurant's nutrional guide.  You may be pretty surprised at what you find.  Even if you do not know in advance where you're going, you can use your phone to look it up or even ask for a nutrional guide at the restaurant.  Most places are more than willing to provide you with this, so don't be afraid to ask. Then all you have to do is follow through and order what you planned (that's the hardest part for me LOL)

2) When ordering ask questions and be specific.  Ask about how certain foods are prepared and what comes with your meal.  Try to order foods baked, grilled or broiled, and stay away from things that are fried or breaded.  You can also ask your server to replace things like french fries with a salad or veggie instead.  Just be sure the veggies are cooked WITHOUT butter or oil, and watch out for salad dressing, which bring us to...

3) Dressings.  Everyone thinks salad is always healthy, but surprise!  It's not.  Yes lettuce and veggies are great, but additional calories, fat and sodium are often hiding in that little thing we call dressing.  Avoid anything creamy or fatty.  Stick to vinegrettes or even substitute salsa to avoid dressing altogether.

4) Simply cut back.  Often times restaurant portions are WAY bigger than what we should be eating.  Even by just cutting back to a smaller portion and taking left overs to-go, you can really help yourself quite a bit.


Luckily we don't eat out all too often, but those are just the main ones I have used in the past and will TRY to be using in the future. I know it's a little embarrassing to ask a lot of questions and take more time ordering than anyone else, but it's worth to feel good about what you ate and feel good leaving the restaurant.

Here is a link to Reader's Digest's Top 20 Tips: http://www.rd.com/health/eat-smart-when-dining-out-20-tips/  Definitely worth checking out, especially if you eat out regularly.