You are on the right track with your diet and exercise program when, all of a sudden, in comes the text message that makes you dread the day: an invitation to eat out. Just before you get frustrated, or get obsessed about what not to eat, read these tips on what to do in these situations.
Life is too short to refuse a nice time relaxing and sharing with friends. Moreover, food is meant to be eaten. How much of what is the key to everything. Do not pass out the opportunity to discover new dishes, and new ways to eat!
1. Always read the menu first
Whether the restaurant posts the calorie content of meals or not, you can still get a pretty good idea on what to get just by looking at how things are cooked. “Deep fried” and “breaded” items often mean more calories and fat than steamed or baked foods. Still, read ahead. You may be surprised to learn that the popularly known “go-to” diet dish may contain more calories, fat, carbs or sodium than a steak and baked potato meal. Read, and be prepared.
2. Explore your flavors
Make eating worth it. Think about the flavors that you are aiming to taste, and use sauces and seasonings to your benefit. Sometimes it is the General Tso sauce that you crave, not necessarily the fried chicken that lurks beneath it. Hence, order a packet of sauce or salad dressing of your desired flavor and dip veggie sticks, cherry tomatoes, and even your healthier main course in them.
3. Watch those appetizers
People falsely claim that appetizers are a better choice than a main course. Several diet blogs disagree. Appetizers can wreak havoc on any caloric budget by offering super rich foods that won’t fill you up, at a super high caloric rate, higher priced, and not even worth eating at times.
Here are three of the most calorically dense appetizers typically offered in restaurants:
• The average blooming’ onion dish- Fat: 160 grams/ Calories: 1948/ Sodium: 4,085 mgs
• Fried calamari and vegetables- Fat:109 grams/ Calories: 1,650/Sodium: 4,170 mgs
• Chili Cheese Nachos- Fat: 87 grams/Calories: 1,420/Sodium: 3,970 mgs
Safe appetizers
• guacamole- 3oz for 110 calories
• pico de gallo-1/4 cup, 25 calories
• avocado slices-100g for 160 calories
• avocado toast with egg- approximately 350 calories
4. Share, share, share!
A burger is a burger. Yet, 1/3 of a burger, is not a burger, but just a third of one. Same goes with everything else: an order of fries, a dessert, a slice of bread, and even the packed of butter or jelly on the table. You can eat anything; you just do not need to eat it all. Split and share. Split and take half home. Split and have the rest for lunch at another time.
Here is a cool trick: Cut a burger in four pieces and enjoy each one dipping them in mustard, hot sauce, or even a veggie dip. It is fun to eat, and you an even skip the bread if you want. By the time you get to your second piece, you would be getting fuller. Get a healthy drink with your meal, and you will feel great.
5. Forget those smoothies
Seriously. If you will consume over 600 calories in a meal, why drink it? People erroneously think that the idea behind a smoothie is to smooth out calories by disguising food as a drink. People do not realize that the only difference between a smoothie and a milkshake is the type of binding source used. Eat if you must; do not bother with “replacements” that do not even work.
6. Meat is not the enemy
A nice steak, a baked piece of chicken, baked fish, or even lightly breaded shrimp are not off limits in a typical, healthy diet. Combine one of these with a nice salad (toppings on the side), or even a baked potato or mashed potatoes and corn make for a wonderfully, well-balanced meal.
Here is a breakdown:
Shrimp:
Most shrimp servings run at around 300 calories
o Lightly breaded -around 300 calories
o Scampi- 288
o Tempura- 40 calories per shrimp
o Cocktail- 20 calories per shrimp, with sauce
Steaks:
Also served as
o steak tips- 310 calories per cup, with gravy
o pepper steak (Chinese)- 220 per cup
o steak fajitas- 570 calories per platter, no tortilla
o steak tartare-500 per cup
o T-bone steak-400 calories for a 6oz thick steak
Chicken:
o breaded, fried wing- 320 per 4 wing serving (big ones)
o breaded, fried breast- 212 calories
o breaded, fried thigh- 150-180 calories
o baked breast- around 184 calories
o bbq chicken-if baked, add about 100 calories to the typical piece of chicken
Baked side items:
• baked potato with butter: approx. 325 calories
• baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon: average of 380 calories
• asparagus spears, grilled: 50 calories
• corn on the cob, with butter: 155 calories
• green beans, spinach and kale- around 160 per cup, baked with butter
• Key lesson: No need to deprave yourself from a little bit of butter, after all!
7. Ask for soda (fizzy) water with lots of lemon slices, rather than diet soda.
Sometimes the sweet compound in the diet soda makes you feel hungry. You can also try a mocktail of fizzy water and fruit juices to start off your meal right.
8. Add eggs, hot sauce, salsa, or avocados to your meal.
They are healthy, filling, low in calories, and add a ton of flavor to your main meal.
9. Enjoy a soup before the main meal.
If you choose the right one, you can get great, filling flavors that will help you curb calories later on.
Popular, low-calorie soups
o miso- 60 calories per cup, no noodles
o clear-25 calories per cup
o tortilla soup 240 calories per cup
o Mexican chicken soup- approximately 300 calories per bowl
Key lesson: Soups fill you up, are low in calories (if you choose the right one) and will extend your eating time while making you eat less during main course.
10. Salad is not always your friend.
Beware of the “boutique” salads with lots of strange toppings that they offer as salad entrees. Those may pack up a lot of unnecessary calories.
Popular choices for side salads
tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, onions, dash of cheese and salad dressing: Approximately 300 calories
coleslaw- 4oz for 140 calories
Eating out does not have to be punishing, limiting, or frustrating. It is not about the food, but about sharing and exploring new ways to eat. Good, healthy eating is a lifetime choice; it is a lifestyle. Make the most out of the best choices, and enjoy yourself.
