How To Eat Healthy When Going Out
Healthier choices when eating/drinking out
Eating out should not be stressful, it should be an enjoyable social experience to share with friends and family etc., but it can be hard to reign in the calories when you frequently go out and there is a plethora of glorious food available to tempt your pallet! Here are 6 ways to help:
Most of us love indulging in our fancy drinks. Lattes and the tailored beverages are indisputably delicious, however all those added sweeteners make them a high calorie, highly caffeinated and unnecessary sugar danger zone. A venti white chocolate mocha for example can have 74 grams of sugar and 510 calories…and that’s without the whipped cream! Instead, try to go for a tall size, ask for unsweetened or half sweet, without whip and add cinnamon instead of extra milk/cream or sprinkling of chocolate.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get!
Don’t be afraid to ask for adjustments to you plate. Most restaurants are normally happy to assist. If you have an order that comes with fries for example, you can ask for baked potato fries, the house salad, or even half and half. Fries may be cooked with trans fats, so baked sweet potato fries which despite having more sugar, are lower in carbs, calories, offer more vitamin A and fiber than white potatoes.
Sometimes a salad can come swimming in dressing. It all depends on how it is made, but generally a healthy oil based dressing is the better option. Some cream/cheese based dressings can really pack on those calories without you even realizing. Either ask for a moderate amount of dressing initially, so the salad is just lightly covered or ask for it on the side, so you can monitor the portion
Lemon…aid
Ask your wait staff for some lemon to add to your table water. This will aid your health by encouraging digestion, bile and loosening toxins in your digestive tract. Lemon can help to relieve symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, burping, and bloating. It is also packed with many nutrients – it is a rich source of calcium, potassium, vitamin C and pectin fiber, contains traces of iron and vitamin A and has antibacterial properties.
Better than sliced bread?
We all need something to nibble on before our delicious meals arrive, but you can cut out that white bread, a carb that can rapidly spike blood sugar and insulin levels. Opt for items such as olives, which contain good fats and will help keep hunger at bay.
Skip dessert for a coffee
My all time favorite tip! Whenever I went out, I HAD to have dessert…however, if you feel you really have had enough to eat, then ordering a coffee or specialty coffee (again minus the whip!) can be a great substitute to that high calorie, sugary final course. You will not feel uncomfortably stuffed, but rounds off that dinner nicely without feeling left out!
Going out to eat and drink is all to do with making informed and educated choices without restricting yourself. Look after that body…you only have one ☺
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