Eating At Restaurants

Lesa1129

What do you guys order when you go out? We eat dinner out alot and it just confuses me to pieces now as to what to order. I sit there and look and think to myself well I can have a glass of water.

scubasuenc

One thing that helps if you go to chain restaurants is to look at their nutrition info on their web site or ask if they have a nutrition info menu. If I know where I'm going earlier in the day I will look online to see what the menu is. Even if they don't have nutrition info you can get an idea of what they have and do some research to make an estimate on how many calories a meal might have. I find it helps if I go in with a plan about what I can order and stay within my goals.

When I eat out at most restaurants is to only eat half of what is on the plate. The other half goes home for another meal. That helps make the portions more manageable as most restaurants serve too much food. If taking the other half home isn't an option then I usually order an appetizer and a salad.

Salads in restaurants can be tricky as they often have very high calorie/sugar dressings. Sometimes I will do a salad as a meal, but if you look at nutrition info it isn't always the best.

If there is a steak or grilled chicken that is often a good choice. If it comes with sides that are too high in calories ask if they can swap it out for steamed veggies or something more healthy. I've never run into a restaurant that won't do that.

For Chinese, Thai or other foods that tend to have lots of sauces, etc. I just try to do my best. Make sure the meat isn't fried (like General Tso's chicken) and the sauce isn't a sweet one. I also try to minimize the amount of rice I eat.

For Italian, I go for something like manacoti or lasagne rather than a simple pasta with sauce. While I love pasta, it doesn't love me, so I try to choose things that have less pasta in them.

Often when I'm planning to eat dinner out at a place where I don't know the menu well, I will 'save' up calories during the day to have a few more available for dinner. That way I don't feel guilty if dinner has more calories.

airangel59

Great response given. I eat out a lot and I pre plan/pre log the anticipated meal and then plan the rest of my day around that one meal.

If there are nutritional stats for that place, DEFINITELY look at the menu and stats ahead of time, if there aren't ..try to find another similar type place or meal in the database or another restaurants menu/stats (i.e I eat out Mexican once a month, local mom/pop place...NO stats..I use On the Border or another mexican place and just try to calculate as best as i can)

Also I've had them divide up and pack half before I'm served or when I order, I ask for a container and immediately split the meal before I have a chance to slowly devour the entire thing, lol. Be careful of those bread baskets and ask for dressing, butter, etc on the side.

I also bring my own condiments (salad dressing, low sugar ketchup, low fat mayo, spray butter), yes I'm probably a bit over the top but those things can add hundreds of cals/fat etc to your meal w/o you really being mindful of it.

Some places do have under 600 calorie meals and you can always ask your server to suggest something lower or cook something w/o extra sauces/butter etc.

Today for example, I went to Subway, I'm off Fri & Sat so will be eating lunches out both days, Applebees for Saturday. I will fill out my diary ahead of time so I know I won't go over and I'll have a better idea where I stand. It really is manageable when you go prepared.

bdubya55

Well the water is safe right Lesa?:laugh:

Good topic!

It's definitely a huge challenge. I love eating out!

I try and research my food choices online ahead of time whenever possible when eating out. My meter will tell me if the choices I've made were wise or not.

GlucernaBrand

I really like the book "What to Eat When You're Eating Out" by Hope Warshaw. When we can't find nutrition information for specific restaurants, this book has easy-to-follow guidelines and suggestions. ~Lynn /Glucerna

Lesa1129

Thanks, I just now ordered a hold on some of her books at library.

GlucernaBrand

Let me know what you think about them. ~Lynn /Glucerna

SharonNehring

I've been using an app called Healthy Out. You enter your dietary requirements and it tells you which restaurants have items meeting your needs. You can then select individual items to see cals, carbs, protein etc. Or you can look up a specific restaurant and check what they have. Larger chain restaurants will be included but smaller mom & pop places won't.

cathylopez1975

Wow! What good help! I second checking out nutritional information before you go out. If you have a choice on where you are going to eat, some types of food are easier to work with than others.

Something I do - don't think you have to eat things the way they are prepared. I ALWAYS order my salads without dressing (or dressing on the side) and cheese. I have my baked potato with the fixings on the side so I can put on what I want/need. I order my steaks and grilled fish/shrimp/chicken without the butter they add while and after cooking. I went to a Mexican food restaurant and didn't want all the stuff on a plate, so I just ordered "a la cart" one cheese enchilada (too many calories) and a side of black beans. You are paying for a service. You should be able to get it the way you want it!

I ate brisket tacos at a BBQ restaurant last night. I told them to heat the tortillas without the oil and not put sauce or cheese on the meat. I also ate 1/2 a small baked potato that I got all the stuff on the side. The leftovers came home with me. It was YUMMY!

Lesa1129

I remember potatoes.......:brokenheart:

bdubya55

:laugh:

Lesa1129

Picked up the library books today. Thanks for the tip, so far they are great.

MysteriousMerlin

If the restaurant has a menu, I look up the nutritional information (if available). If the info's not available, then I go with the closest item I can find in the database here, and try to plan out my meal ahead of time. I search other calorie counting websites too, to see if what's here is trustworthy.

I don't often go to restaurants without checking first, but I educated myself on the carb/fat/calorie count of several restaurant staples, like steaks, chicken breast, baked potatoes, etc. I always get my salads with dressing on the side, I usually avoid dips & sauces unless I'm sure of the nutritional info in that product (like ketchup or mustard). I get my meat unseasoned, and anything else unsalted.

I found a series of books too, called Eat This, Not That. The one about restaurants really helped me make better choices. I could still have a night out on the town, and not go crazy with calories.