where is the best place to go out to eat?!?!?!

Anywhere. National chains will have their nutrition info online so you can research the best choices for you beforehand. If you're going local or somewhere that doesn't post those, stick to leaner meats, veggies, and less sauces, and do your best to guess what you've eaten.

Burger king, I hear they have great burgers.

i go to where ever i like best but will usually cut my meal in half and take the rest home. i would maybe not frequent buffets though if u have trouble sticking to one plate!

Applesbee's, Buffalo Wild Wings (the naked tenders), or yeah, sushi.

BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »

Applesbee's, Buffalo Wild Wings (the naked tenders), or yeah, sushi.

Being raised in the Buffalo area, Bdubbs offends me... yuck. :-P

Chipotle is awesome, and you can get a really good burrito bowl for under 400cals, although it does have a LOT of sodium, but... I don't care because it makes my mouth happy.

I second or third the sushi. I can eat quite a bit without feeling full and gross.

When I have to eat out I like Greek food. The options are endless there! Hope this helps.

Anywhere I please. We don't eat out all that often...and while I try to make good nutritional decisions and practice portion control, when I'm out to eat I don't bother too much trying to stick to some diet. In my experience, dieting is pretty difficult if you eat out regularly which is one of the big reasons my family just doesn't eat out that often...that, and money.

We have family pizza night at least once per month, sometimes a couple times at our favorite local pizzeria, Village Pizza.

My boys also like Sweet Tomatoes a lot and it's a budget friendly way to go with kids as they are free until they are 3 y.o. and after that they're still 1/2 price...this has become a lunch tradition on certain weekends when I take the boys out to do stuff to give mom a break. I'm a big salad eater and I like a good cup of soup so this works well for me and the kids can go to town on the mac and cheese while getting a few veggies in.

If it's my wife an I for date night, we have a handful of local establishments we like...Farm and Table is one of our favorites and is situated on an actual farm and that is where most of the food comes from. Antiquity is our favorite local steak house. Casa de Benevidez for local New Mexican cuisine. Fat Squirrel or Two Fools for pub grub and brews.

Fazoli's and Culver's are two of my faves. Both have lower calorie options if that is what you are looking for.

If you don't eat out often, I would say treat yourself for a meal and don't worry about it. If you eat out on a regular basis, you have to be mindful of what you eat. I just came back from a vacation (3 nights cruise plus 2 nights in Miami) where the food was great and I ate what I wanted. To my surprise, I came home not gaining any weight (losing a pound, actually). The thing that helped me is I kept my food high protein, moderate-to-high fat and minimal carbs, and I kept my alcohol intake to minimal levels (I have high tolerance, but alcohol isn't always my favorite thing to drink). But I ate till I was happy.

meganridenour wrote: »

My problem is that I can't stand most chain restaurants. Any time I go to one I'm disappointed and reminded that me or my boyfriend could make a much tastier meal for less money. So when it comes to local restaurants, they usually don't have the nutrition facts on their websites. Have to do a lot of guess work. But at least I'm paying for good food!

The same for me. Thai restaurants I've generally always enjoyed, but I could imagine the calorie count. I've made thai at home for reasonable cut in the calories, but to make it taste as good as the restaurant's I would need more of the good stuff that raises the calories. Peanut sauce, mmmm I could drink the stuff!

I have small kids. Takeout is common but going out is an occasion. So we make it count - the best places around here are not chains. It is likely that the nicest options for you aren't a Boston Pizza, Keg or a Red Lobster.

One of our neighbours has a great restaurant. Best steak and frites I've ever had. I simply go light on breakfast and lunch on those days. Other great local options are a sushi restaurant (simply get the sashimi, less rice calories if they make you worried. Miso soup is almost a freebie), thai and lebanese food (go low on the bread, rice and potatoes. The chicken used is breast in my local option).

I haven't eaten at mcalisters deli since I started MFP. I love their food. We were there yesterday and their web site makes logging super simple and there are plenty of options under 500 calories. It's just hard for me to say no to the sweet tea, but sweet tea is one of those things that just isn't worth the calories to me. If you have a mcalisters in your area you should try it out!

Seasons 52 is nice. Seasonal dishes, calories kept under 500 calories per plate.

uvi5 wrote: »

meganridenour wrote: »

My problem is that I can't stand most chain restaurants. Any time I go to one I'm disappointed and reminded that me or my boyfriend could make a much tastier meal for less money. So when it comes to local restaurants, they usually don't have the nutrition facts on their websites. Have to do a lot of guess work. But at least I'm paying for good food!

The same for me. Thai restaurants I've generally always enjoyed, but I could imagine the calorie count. I've made thai at home for reasonable cut in the calories, but to make it taste as good as the restaurant's I would need more of the good stuff that raises the calories. Peanut sauce, mmmm I could drink the stuff!

Ugh I LOVE my old Thai place back home, but since I've moved to Louisiana I haven't found anything remotely close. In fact, a couple of the restaurants I tried were just down right nasty. I really miss Thai food! Thinking about trying to make it.
We've mastered Vietnamese spring rolls and my boyfriend makes the best peanut sauce I've ever had, so at least we got that down!