Any low sodium options at restaurants?

susie3g

If you are watching out for your sodium intake, what can you eat at a restaurant? I am having the hardest time finding anything that isn't loaded with sodium. If I get salads, then the dressings are still really high in sodium. Gravies, sauces, ALL of it is loaded with the stuff. The weekends are my time off from the kitchen and our time to be out away from the house for awhile. Please help!

SinomenJen

Its varies place by place. If you know where you are headed, try jumping on line and seeing if they have nutrition facts listed, then plan around that. It is extremely difficult when you are going out to eat, I typically try to make really low sodium choices for the other meals of the day, and balance it out the best I can. :sad: I love salty stuff but for me it is health related, so I try, don't always succeed, but I try. :grumble:

knra_grl

get your dressings and sauces on the side so that you can control how much you eat - have grilled meat (opt for lean cuts) with baked or mashed potato and a side of veg which are usually steamed

susie3g

Yeah, that is what I'm doing now.. going through the restaurant's websites online. I'm getting lots of answers like "Does not include salad dressing" but then they don't have the salad dressings listed. Grr. I need to do this for both weight and health purposes. I'm borderline hypertensive. Generally, we only eat one meal a day on the weekends, a late lunch. I know that's bad, but anyways, I just need for one meal to be around 1200 - 1300 calories, but low sodium. That's a tough one. Lol .

lisabinco

I hear you! Too much sodium is the main reason we don't go out to eat much anymore. :-( I feel soooo much better when I keep my sodium levels under 1500 mg/day and it's done wonders for my blood pressure. Hubby and I have a few select restaurants that are flexible and willing to substitute for me. We tend to stick to those when we do go out.
Here's my strategies:
I always get my dressings on the side. I tend to eat less dressing that way.
Sometimes I've planned ahead (especially when traveling) and bring my own quality balsamic with me. When eating at really nice places, I ask for some balsamic and they will bring out a nice cruet; it's usually good quality at a nice restaurant.
I always ask that the chef or cook not add any additional salt that isn't already in the food.
I usually look online at the restaurant's menu and nutritional information (if it's available) and make my choices ahead of time to help steer myself from the higher sodium dishes.
I order several sides of vegetables (steamed or grilled with minimal oil, if possible) without any seasonings on them. Sometimes just a baked potato will work; just forego the junk that comes with it -- that's where the calories and sodium is anyway.
When I know I will be eating out, I plan ahead. I will do super-low sodium intake the day before, like under 700 mg/day, so that the extra sodium will not affect me as badly as normal (swollen eyes, higher blood pressure, water retention, et al).
When we do try new restaurants, I will normally eat something somewhat filling beforehand, so I am not hungry when I arrive; that way, if there is little for me to eat there, I am still full enough to enjoy the outing. If there are things for me to eat there, I order them and take the bulk of it home for later.
I read reviews on Yelp (and other websites) to see if people comment on the food with regard to sodium. We found a great Mexican restaurant this way, based on some reviewers complaining (!) because the food wasn't salty enough. That's a good sign to me, so we were pleasantly surprised. I made sure to let the chef know, verbally and in writing and in an online review, that I really enjoyed their food. It's really hard to find a good Mexican restaurant that isn't sodium-laden with every dish!

In our area, we have a HuHot Mongolian Grill that provides the nutritional information (at the restaurant and online) for everything they serve. I can see which sauces are low sodium (or gluten-free or vegetarian or non-dairy) beforehand. So far the food has always been fresh, the variety is good, and they cater to all sorts of food allergy issues. It's not a fancy eatery, but it is one place we can eat out together, hubby and I.
We also frequent Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill which also provides nutritional information (online) for their foods. I can see which items are lower in sodium and order accordingly. While not perfect, and in fact some of their foods are really loaded with sodium, I can get a tasty meal and not have to suffer the consequences too badly the next day.

One last thing I do is write or e-mail the restaurant (or comment online) and let them know if their food was too salty, or they were flexible with dishes to suit me, or offer a suggestion (or two) for making their food with less sodium. If we don't let them know, they will continue pouring salt into everything. Most restaurants actually respond, too. Some (like Olive Garden) just say thanks but too bad for you, and some are more open to suggestion.

You are not alone! If we keep letting restaurants hear us, they will respond.

susie3g

I hear you! Too much sodium is the main reason we don't go out to eat much anymore. :-( I feel soooo much better when I keep my sodium levels under 1500 mg/day and it's done wonders for my blood pressure. Hubby and I have a few select restaurants that are flexible and willing to substitute for me. We tend to stick to those when we do go out.
Here's my strategies:
I always get my dressings on the side. I tend to eat less dressing that way.
Sometimes I've planned ahead (especially when traveling) and bring my own quality balsamic with me. When eating at really nice places, I ask for some balsamic and they will bring out a nice cruet; it's usually good quality at a nice restaurant.
I always ask that the chef or cook not add any additional salt that isn't already in the food.
I usually look online at the restaurant's menu and nutritional information (if it's available) and make my choices ahead of time to help steer myself from the higher sodium dishes.
I order several sides of vegetables (steamed or grilled with minimal oil, if possible) without any seasonings on them. Sometimes just a baked potato will work; just forego the junk that comes with it -- that's where the calories and sodium is anyway.
When I know I will be eating out, I plan ahead. I will do super-low sodium intake the day before, like under 700 mg/day, so that the extra sodium will not affect me as badly as normal (swollen eyes, higher blood pressure, water retention, et al).
When we do try new restaurants, I will normally eat something somewhat filling beforehand, so I am not hungry when I arrive; that way, if there is little for me to eat there, I am still full enough to enjoy the outing. If there are things for me to eat there, I order them and take the bulk of it home for later.
I read reviews on Yelp (and other websites) to see if people comment on the food with regard to sodium. We found a great Mexican restaurant this way, based on some reviewers complaining (!) because the food wasn't salty enough. That's a good sign to me, so we were pleasantly surprised. I made sure to let the chef know, verbally and in writing and in an online review, that I really enjoyed their food. It's really hard to find a good Mexican restaurant that isn't sodium-laden with every dish!

In our area, we have a HuHot Mongolian Grill that provides the nutritional information (at the restaurant and online) for everything they serve. I can see which sauces are low sodium (or gluten-free or vegetarian or non-dairy) beforehand. So far the food has always been fresh, the variety is good, and they cater to all sorts of food allergy issues. It's not a fancy eatery, but it is one place we can eat out together, hubby and I.
We also frequent Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill which also provides nutritional information (online) for their foods. I can see which items are lower in sodium and order accordingly. While not perfect, and in fact some of their foods are really loaded with sodium, I can get a tasty meal and not have to suffer the consequences too badly the next day.

One last thing I do is write or e-mail the restaurant (or comment online) and let them know if their food was too salty, or they were flexible with dishes to suit me, or offer a suggestion (or two) for making their food with less sodium. If we don't let them know, they will continue pouring salt into everything. Most restaurants actually respond, too. Some (like Olive Garden) just say thanks but too bad for you, and some are more open to suggestion.

You are not alone! If we keep letting restaurants hear us, they will respond.

Thank you so much! That is a huge help!

susie3g

LOOK WHAT I JUST FOUND! What do you guys/gals think about this?

http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/