Healthy Tips for Eating Out!

Salads

• Salads can be great as a meal when you add chicken, beef, or shrimp ( grilled, never fried)
• Always ask for the dressing on the side so you have control over the amount that goes on your salad ( a typical serving size for dressing is 2 TBSP)
• Go for a light dressing or vinaigrette (ex: light Italian, balsamic) as opposed to a heavy creamy dressing (ex: ranch, blue cheese, French).  By choosing a lighter dressing you cut back on calories and fat, but still get a great taste!

Sides/Appetizers

• In most cases all the choices are fried, high in fat and calories.
• Your best bet is to stay away from appetizers and save room for your meal.
• You will mostly likely find that you are stuffed by the time you finish the fried greasy appetizer and you have little to no room for your meal, but you will eat it any way. Appetizer= unnecessary, just extra money.

Sandwiches

• Always choose a wheat bread/roll over white when you can.
• Choosing a wrap or a pita is a smart choice!
• Condiments:

Mustard: is a better choice than mayonnaise because it is low in calories and in most cases fat free.

Mayonnaise: If you must use mayo, NEVER order extra. Mayonnaise is very high in fat (trans) and calories. Ask for light mayo or better yet ask for it on the side so you can control the portion.

Oil and Vinegar: Not a bad choice when you control the portion.

• Again grilled meats rather then fried will help you control the calories and fat.
• Ask for light meat or cheese, often times the amount of meat or cheese that you get is double some times triple the recommended portion.

Meals

• Meals that come with a side are great, as long as you make the best choice for your side. Skip the French fries and go for a baked potato, rice, side salad or vegetable.
• Again you want to avoid meals that are fried, go for baked, broiled or grilled.
• Be careful with pasta dishes they tend to always have a ton of cheese on them. Ask for them to go light on the cheese and check to see if they have any wheat pasta dishes.
• Also the portion size of these meals are usually huge, YOU DON’T HAVE TO EAT THE WHOLE THING! Try eating half and getting the rest to go, that way you get two sometimes even three meals for the price of one!!!! Sometimes it is a good idea to box up half before you even start eating to eliminate any temptation you may have to eat the whole thing.

Tags: Diet, Healthy Eating