Just curious: what's your go-to choice when menus have nothing you'd want to eat?
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Thanks OP, for asking this question. I struggle fairly often to find good options at restaurants. I think the reasons are the same as you and others have listed: don't want to be the difficult one, eating out is more for social reasons, etc. I end up at a lot of diners/chains mainly bc friends/family don't want to spend a ton of money, and I don't always love my options, especially if most of what's offered is either super-high calorie or just a dinner salad. And honestly, I feel a little self-conscious if I just get a small salad and everyone else gets something giant. I finish so much earlier than everyone else and am basically just sitting around watching them eat. (I know, that's a psychological factor I have to work on.) Regardless, it's been good to read other's ideas.1
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Sometimes the best thing to eat — brace yourself — is nothing. I had a business breakfast this morning at a place that had zero vegan options. Everyone ordered, I said “I’ll stick with coffee” and no one in the group batted an eye. The end.8
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Sometimes the best thing to eat — brace yourself — is nothing. I had a business breakfast this morning at a place that had zero vegan options. Everyone ordered, I said “I’ll stick with coffee” and no one in the group batted an eye. The end.
Yep! Coffee + Nothing (or a tiny dressingless salad and coffee) is always an option for me. Having that coffee in front of me generally puts everyone at ease. Then I eat what I choose to eat at home.
And I’m not an anti salad dressings freak, I’ve just never had a salad dressing out that is worth the calories compared to what I whip up at home.
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I can totally relate, OP. I don't eat out often anymore but I sometimes find myself in your exact situation in a restaurant. I eat plenty at home, but I do like to prepare it myself and weigh/measure everything.
My go-to in a diner is three eggs over medium and tomato slices. I leave two yolks on the plate and eat around them. Add fruit or veg if it's available. This lets me eat socially without piling on the mystery calories.
In a dinner situation when there are not many appealing lower calorie meals, I'll choose salad with vinegar, a grilled chicken breast, or peel and eat shrimp. Shrimp always saves the day.
When I do get an average entree I will request a to go box when I order so I can pack up half of the meal before I even begin eating.
I'll usually order coffee instead of cocktails.0 -
It's hard to find a place that doesn't at least have a salad with grilled chicken.1
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I'm not picky but am on a fairly restricted diet due to illness. I generally go for the fish option in those situations but obviously that won't work for vegetarians.
I find most restaurants are willing to be flexible ;eg if the dish includes a sauce which contains ingredients I can't eat, most will omit the sauce or offer a different one, ditto vegetables.0 -
If I’m not very hungry I will get a coffee. If I am hungry I will get the dessert after coffee. Ice cream as dinner is my favorite. I don’t keep sweets in the house so it’s a treat and an 800 cal ice cream is more exciting than 1200 of an unappealing whatever.2
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Sometimes the best thing to eat — brace yourself — is nothing. I had a business breakfast this morning at a place that had zero vegan options. Everyone ordered, I said “I’ll stick with coffee” and no one in the group batted an eye. The end.
I have celiac disease and am a vegetarian. I feel you. Not all places are celiac friendly, so yup. I've sat there many times with just a beverage.3 -
Just a regular chicken salad with either ginger or vinegar-based dressing. I season the chicken in salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder and add lots of bell peppers and celery to the lettuce. NEVER get tired of eating this!1
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comptonelizabeth wrote: »I'm not picky but am on a fairly restricted diet due to illness. I generally go for the fish option in those situations but obviously that won't work for vegetarians.
I find most restaurants are willing to be flexible ;eg if the dish includes a sauce which contains ingredients I can't eat, most will omit the sauce or offer a different one, ditto vegetables.
This is a good point. I think many people don't realize how flexible some restaurants can be, at least here in the US. It doesn't hurt to ask, politely. (And of course tip well if the server is especially helpful.)
I've gone to restaurants with friends where there was literally nothing on the regular menu I could eat, as a vegetarian. (Usual case was when traveling, and it was a really special treat for those friends to visit a particular steak or seafood place for one meal in a distant city.)
I can't think of a time when I explained that, asked the server if there was anything they could do for me, and didn't end up eating something reasonable, and sometimes even something amazing.
I call it "throwing myself on the mercy of the server". It's worth a try.
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Hi, all. I've been on maintenance for almost 3 years, using MFP for 6. We eat out a lot, and sometimes there is nothing on the menu that I would eat. (I've become a picky eater and am very health conscious ... almost vegetarian/vegan, but not quite.) I always check the menu online beforehand, so if there is NOTHING, I will pre-eat and then have a side salad. If there is a Caesar, I order it without croutons, some extra Parmesan, and dressing on the side, with broiled salmon shrimp on top. I am very satisfied with that. I have found similar things when it is a more ethnic restaurant. I don't feel at all deprived when the menu is one that doesn't work. Years ago, I would have been frustrated about this, but for a long time I have been pretty happy with my food choices, and the way I relate to food for the past bunch of years. But I was just curious as to what others do when they have this situation?
This isn't something I do very often, so don't really have or need a regular solution.
Don't quite understand why you'd choose to go somewhere with a menu you don't like though. Are we missing something here? Also it seems it isn't taking you by surprise, as you check the menu online beforehand, so you already know it isn't the ideal place to go. Please explain.1 -
Hi, all. I've been on maintenance for almost 3 years, using MFP for 6. We eat out a lot, and sometimes there is nothing on the menu that I would eat. (I've become a picky eater and am very health conscious ... almost vegetarian/vegan, but not quite.) I always check the menu online beforehand, so if there is NOTHING, I will pre-eat and then have a side salad. If there is a Caesar, I order it without croutons, some extra Parmesan, and dressing on the side, with broiled salmon shrimp on top. I am very satisfied with that. I have found similar things when it is a more ethnic restaurant. I don't feel at all deprived when the menu is one that doesn't work. Years ago, I would have been frustrated about this, but for a long time I have been pretty happy with my food choices, and the way I relate to food for the past bunch of years. But I was just curious as to what others do when they have this situation?
This isn't something I do very often, so don't really have or need a regular solution.
Don't quite understand why you'd choose to go somewhere with a menu you don't like though. Are we missing something here? Also it seems it isn't taking you by surprise, as you check the menu online beforehand, so you already know it isn't the ideal place to go. Please explain.
She did:I go out with groups a lot. The motivation is more social in these cases than gustatory. However, I'm a vegetarian, and some of my friends are picky meatarians. Restaurant choice is a balancing act, and I don't enjoy being the difficult one, so I'll go pretty much anywhere others want to. (There are a few chains I argue against, as they're a veggie wasteland.) On quite a few casual dining menus, many obvious vegetarian choices are super-carb'n'cheese-fests (an acre of pasta alfredo or mac'n'cheese, or grilled cheese sandwich, say). Now, I don't especially limit carbs or cheese, but I also don't always want to spend 1800 calories on them and not feel satisfied.
Usually, my strategy is to order several sides (a lot of places will do a plate with all the vegetable sides on it), or to de-construct a sandwich (I like a Rueben without the meat ), or just have a big salad, adding a side of cottage cheese for protein if necessary.
Naturally, if I'm going out by myself or with one or two more food-flexible people, and the point is dining pleasure, then I'm going to lobby for restaurants with delicious vegetarian choices.
Hi! I'm the OP. After reading some posts, I realized that I didn't say I was curious as to what people did, although perfectly satisfied with how I work this out for me. What I also didn't really make clear was that this was only when out with more than a friend or my husband, where restaurant choices are easier. Like @AnnPT77, I do what I mentioned in the original post only when it involves 3+ other people. Also like @AnnPT77, I am in groups often and I feel that if I am the one who is close to vegetarian/vegan and all the others want to go to a certain restaurant, I don't feel right making an issue and I have found ways to make do. I also agree that grilled cheese or vegetarian cheese-type entrees offered in lots of places are just too high cal or too carb-loaded for me to eat comfortably. This is also true going to other people's houses for dinner. I find a way to make it work and I don't want the hostess to have to bend over backwards to accommodate me if she is having a bunch of people over. Hope this clarifies things and thanks @AnnPT77, because you expressed it far better than I did!
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I'm not sure how I feel about this. Yet another boring salad with grilled chicken doesn't really fit the 'things I want to eat' category, lol. I don't care for most restaurant salads.
I've been in this situation and I just had soup. Once we went to Friendly's (same, not my choice) and the only thing within my calories in the menu was a salad too... so I had that (low fat dressing on the side and no nuts for me).
That being said, some places really don't have many options unfortunately... so if possible and if I know ahead that I don't want to waste calories on something I don't want, I eat something before.0 -
If there's nothing I want, I don't order anything other than water. It doesn't bother me to be around others eating. I spent a lot of childhood/teenage years eating with people where I either liked none of the food or was too poor to pay.0
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eyelikesharx wrote: »Just a regular chicken salad with either ginger or vinegar-based dressing. I season the chicken in salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder and add lots of bell peppers and celery to the lettuce. NEVER get tired of eating this!
How do you do this in a restaurant? I'm a little confused.
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If I have to eat at a restaurant that I'm not really thrilled about (it happens more often than you'd think because of work functions) then I just try to make the least calorie-offensive meal choice possible.
Restaurant meals can be so calorie-heavy that part of my maintenance strategy is to only indulge at places that I really enjoy. Outside of those times, all other restaurant meals are 'utility' eating only.2 -
Thanks, everyone. I am the OP and it was nice to see that some others do what I do and understand that, in certain situations, there aren't really good options. Also nice to see that others really don't mind being at a restaurant that has nothing and that they either pre-eat, or make do with a small salad or even coffee or water.1
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I'm effectively a pescetarian when I eat out, so I'll default to a salad with not too much cheese and dressing on the sde, a grilled/broiled fish entree, or a salad with grilled/broiled fish on top. If there's a vegetarian broth-based soup, that's also a good option. BBQ places -- which several members of my family adore -- are really a pain, though; I usually hope there are enough veggies (no, not mac & cheese) to make up a plate.0
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I like food, and a wide variety of food, so choices in terms of something I would like - well, I don't recall that ever being an issue.
That being said, what CAN be an issue, is fitting said meal into my goals for the day. Typically, since I know about it in advance, I simply plan to make that my large meal of the day, and eat pretty lightly the rest of the day.
If that's not a great option, then I will load up on salad, or do a broiled/grilled fish of some variety assuming that's an option.0 -
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Like you I'm mostly vegan. We often eat ethnic food when we go out, so it's not a problem. (Actually a vegan pho at 210 calories is my go-to meal when I've gone off the rails and need to get back on track.) If I can't find something I'd want on the menu, I'll ask for a modification to something they already offer: a small pizza made without cheese, or fajitas with only veggies, hold the cheese and sour cream, whole beans instead of refried. I've also been known to make a meal on side dishes. I had one of the best meals of my life by asking for a dish of pasta made with whatever veggies they had on hand. I make sure to phrase it nicely and leave a big tip, and I ask the server to pass my thanks to the kitchen.1
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When I go out to eat these days..it is for something I want. I've also worked on not eating restaurant food that doesn't taste good like i expected. i.e. the limp soggy french fries served with a small burger last week. No more mindless and pointless eating.1
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funnily enough I had lunch with a friend yesterday for her birthday. At a Pizza and Pasta place (her birthday, her choice, as it should be).
She doesn't eat vegetables, neither does her daughter. They even managed to order pizzas without a sign of a vegetable on them
. So I went for the old Caesar Salad option (no croutons). It was almost the only thing on the menu that wasn't pizza or pasta. Caesar Salad is my go to when I'm somewhere with not many options. 0 -
sytchequeen wrote: »funnily enough I had lunch with a friend yesterday for her birthday. At a Pizza and Pasta place (her birthday, her choice, as it should be).
She doesn't eat vegetables, neither does her daughter. They even managed to order pizzas without a sign of a vegetable on them . So I went for the old Caesar Salad option (no croutons). It was almost the only thing on the menu that wasn't pizza or pasta. Caesar Salad is my go to when I'm somewhere with not many options.
I love pizzas with veggies piled on.
they are missing out! 3 -
Hey there, @sytchequeen. Caesar salad (no croutons, dressing on the side) with sometimes grilled salmon on top is also my go-to. It is ubiquitous and on almost every menu. Lately, tho', all the media stuff about Romaine and e coli has killed that option for me for a while. (I know, I know, but I'm just being cautious.) So now sometimes its harder to find things. But I agree with @LivingtheLeanDream. A thin crust pizza or flatbread (sometimes every whole grain or whole wheat) with tons of veggies, no cheese, and a balsamic glaze (yep, they will do that for you at a decent restaurant) is just plain delicious!!1
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I just ask what’s their best item in the menu or for recommendations.
I don’t go out too often (because I’m a college student with a small weekly budget) so if I do end up eating out to celebrate something or if I’m with my family, I try not to be so hard on myself with the food choices. Usually something with chicken, fish, or beef is fine with me. I haven’t come across any restaurant that doesn’t have those choices. Best of luck!0 -
I do not consider myself a picky eater, because I enjoy a huge variety of foods, but I'm pretty much the only person in my social circles who eats a plant-based diet so for some reason other people stress about what I can eat every time we go out. I don't really have a go-to option, I try to look up menus ahead of time so I don't take up too much time deciding at the table, but I almost always find something suitable without hassle. Sometimes it's an app as my main, sometimes it's a combination of side dishes, or asking for a simple modification (like a pasta dish without the chicken). If it's more of a traveling/fast-food situation I know to come prepared with snacks and protein bars in my purse, so I can eat a small side salad with everyone and quietly supplement before or after.0
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sytchequeen wrote: »
She doesn't eat vegetables, neither does her daughter. They even managed to order pizzas without a sign of a vegetable on them
good. i despise vegetables on pizza. meat and more meat. and sometimes i don't even do tomato sauce but a white sauce. even less veggies
also not all romaine is bad. eat local and you'll be fine
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