Which do you guys think is the 'healthiest' restaurant out o

Katielou112

Hi,

My boyfriend and I are having a night out together come Saturday. He wants to go to the cinema but I generally never have snacks there, just a massive cup of Diet Coke lol. What I AM worried about however is the meal afterwards. My boyfriend loves my body and always says he'd hate to have a girlfriend who a pain to take out, like fussy or picky. I've been with him for over two years now and he fully supports me in everything I do but I still don't want to bore him, and I don't want to having a boring meal either!

So, on general menus overall which one of these restaurants do you think is the healthiest?

TGIs, Prezzo (leaning towards here), Ruby Tuesdays, Cafe Rouge, Nandos (could be ok if I had half a breast and a pita?), Carluccio's, Chimmy Changas, Las Iguanas, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Wagamamas orrrrrr Ask.

Thanks and sorry for the long list! xx

SooZ1138

What I like about Ruby Tuesdays is that you can fill up on their salad bar! They also list all of their healthier menu items.

lucycaz

PREZZO PREZZO PREZZO

Love the light options the goats cheese flat bread pizza is my fave and you get salad and dressining all for under 550 cals

Umm

Hola723

Applebee's has some really yummy meals for under 550 calories. I don't know if you have one near you or not, but I really like them.

Katielou112

Both good points, the thing about Ruby Tuesdays is I don't think I have the will power yet just to eat from the salad bar! Thanks for your tip though I never knew that about PREZZO's menu, I know my boyfriend's been dying to go back so that could well be the one. Does anyone know how fattening the chicken fajitas in chimmy's is? I LOVE that place x

aspen1377

I haven't heard of any of those restaurants besides Ruby Tuesdays...but heck...I'm from Nebraska The great thing is you are planning ahead and working out some good choices. Tomorrow is my 11th anniversary and we are going to dinner so I googled the restaurant menu and am working on what to choose as well....let us know how it goes!

stevwil41

I'm not really answering the "healthiest" question but I have another one for you:) How often do you and your boyfriend get a night out? If it's a treat and relatively rare then relax and eat what you want but watch your portions. Don't let worrying about food ruin your night. It's not worth it. You can't do that much damage if you watch your portions. You may have some water gain for a few days but it takes 3500 calories ontop of what you need to gain a single pound so what you see if you weigh yourself the next morning is mostly water.

If you go out 3 or 4 times a week then that approach doesn't work so well and you really do need to watch what you eat a bit more closely. Personally, I always do my research ahead of time when going to chain restaraunts. Most of them have their nutrition info online. I also saw a lady in another thread suggest getting a to go box with your meal and putting half of the meal in the box to take home before you take your first bite. I think that's a very good idea for portion control.

Enjoy your night out!

taso42

Some of those sound like they aren't chains. I would assume those to be the better choice, but it has more to do with quality than health.

ShapeUpSidney

In general I would avoid chain restaurants. They rarely have healthy items, with local, whole ingredients. For consistency and price, they tend to cut a lot of corners that a true chef never would. Just enjoy a nice restaurant, and pick a lean cut of meat that isnt drowning in a cream sauce. You'll be fine.

bjbixler

I personally LOVE Ruby Tuesday's. They have several healthy items on their menu (aside from the salad bar!!) Personally I like to get the petite sirloin or chicken bella with spaghetti squash and broccoli or zucchini.


Check out their nutritional content here:
http://www.rubytuesday.com/assets/menu/pdf/informational/nutrition.pdf

The "Fit & Trim" category is listed first and has SEVERAL options for you to choose from.

However, stevwil41 has a point. If you don't go out all that often, one night won't ruin your success. Most of all, Enjoy your date night!

fordster99

I haven't been to any of those restaurants but Ruby Tuesdays but the thing I love is that it has several meals and gives you the calorie content. I love their chicken and usually get mashed cauliflower and steam veggies on the side. I don't feel guilty either after I eat it because its under 500 calories for the entire meal. You can also add a salad bar to the meal for a fee.

Contrarian

Prezzo. Yummy and lots of options.

RaeN81

There is one surefire way that I have found to eat practically anywhere and eat anything I want on the menu (which I learned from other people on MFP). Ask the server to bring you a box at the same time as your meal comes and immediately take half of whatever you are eating and put it away for your lunch the next day (or your boyfriend!). Then eat the other half slowly and just enjoy your time out. It may seem a bit odd the first time but when that food is out of sight, you'd be surprised how little you miss it. Portions at restaurants are regularly what two or three people should eat at one sitting so you're saving your pocket book and your waistline.

annabellj

Both good points, the thing about Ruby Tuesdays is I don't think I have the will power yet just to eat from the salad bar! Thanks for your tip though I never knew that about PREZZO's menu, I know my boyfriend's been dying to go back so that could well be the one. Does anyone know how fattening the chicken fajitas in chimmy's is? I LOVE that place x

chicken fajitas are really healthy if you skip most of the extras. try to use only one tortilla, little cheese and a little sour cream or guac. the bad part of mexican is always the chips and salsa. you can eat a whole bowl and destroy your plan but if you can eat just a couple then i would go mex all the way!

firedragon064

Any restaurant can be healthy. It depends on what you choose to eat.
And you always can make special request.

Katielou112

We go out quite a lot, something we're trying to curb though because our overdrafts are getting mighty close to their limits lol! They are all chains btw sadly but a lot of them might be British based only I'm not sure. Thanks for all your help will post an update of where we went and what I ate! x