Not only are you most likely being invited to lots of holiday parties, this is a time of year when we inevitably have a few more restaurant meals than normal. I know. We had three restaurant dinners this week as part of an extended celebration of my husband’s birthday. Whew!
Restaurants meals don’t have to be belly busters if you can exercise a teensie amount of restraint, add a little common sense as well as garnering a little info that will save your waistline.
Almost without fail, restaurant food is worse than anything you would make at home. I have relatives who have worked in the restaurant industry for much of their lives. They warn me of giant plastic bags of slushy pseudo food that is passed off as “homemade” (nuked in their kitchen, more likely) and of course, we all know that these processed foods are packed with high fructose corn syrup, trans fatty acid, sugar and more.
If you finding yourself eating in restaurants more than once every couple of weeks, here are a few tips that will help keep you healthy:
- Read the menu. This seems like a no-brainer, but all chains and many home-grown restaurants now include calorie counts. Many note healthy, heart healthy and low calorie options.
- Avoid buffets like the plague. This goes without saying. It’s so easy and so tempting to pile up your plate with way more food than you need. I like to ask myself: “Do I need this or do I want it?” The answer is that I rarely “need” to eat something I am eying, I just want it.
- Ask what is fresh prepared. Stick with plain grilled meats and spurn things like “chicken cordon bleu” that most likely comes from one of the plastic nuking bags.
- Ask for what you want—and offer to pay. If you don’t want the gravy, say so. Dressing on the side. Fine. Triple veggies instead of French fries—sure! You probably won’t be charged extra, but it’s nice to offer.
- Share. My husband and I recently ate a restaurant that had exquisite prime rib. I admit, I am a sucker for prime rib. But the smallest portion on the menu was 12 ounces. Yikes! That is more than double what I can or should eat. We asked if we could share, each got a salad and enjoyed a lovely meal that was exactly what we wanted. Some restaurants charge for sharing. That’s OK with me.
- Skip the bread basket. I really don’t need to say this. It’s good, but not necessary.
- Eat salad first. That helps fill you up much better than bread and it’s healthy if you avoid creamy dressings, added meat, cheese and croutons.
- Box it up. If you ordered the 10-ounce sirloin, ask the server to box half of it without ever putting it on your plate. Slice it on top of your lunch salad the next day!
- Skip dessert. If you just can’t resist, share. One of my favorite restaurants now has dessert “shots,” served in a shot glass: key lime or cheesecake or chocolate mousse. They’re just a couple of bites and that’s about all I want anyway.
The holidays don’t have to be health destructive if you just make the smart choices.
