96% of restaurant entrees exceed USDA limits

Tbh, I'm not going to restaurants with the expectation that it should be healthy. For me, eating out is a treat, usually for celebrations.

That's a great option for some people. But there are a lot of times when I have to eat whatever's available, and I do wish there more healthy options. I spend a lot of time in specialists' medical offices, a long way from home, with my disabled kid, and preparing my own food is just not always practical. I do the best I can, but when you're in an unfamiliar place far from home with a kid who takes extra time to get into and out of the car (not to mention going to the bathroom, aiyee!), and you've got one hour for lunch and you have to be back on time or you get bumped, and there's nothing close by that's a healthy choice (say, a Jason's Deli)... it's just hard. I do wish restaurants would be more accomodating and offer healthier choices. Some of us have to eat out more than is ideal, and it gripes me for people to dismissively say "Oh, eating out should just be an occasional treat anyway!" For some of us, it's not that simple. I'd like to be healthy, too.

sorry for the total thread jack, but you have a point--your situation with your child requires some special planning and I can imagine it's really frustrating...as a former special ed teacher, I remember a lot of my students' families dealing with this issue...what about carrying a small cooler in the car with healthy options so you don't have to bother with the fast food restaurants that much? just a thought

I do that sometimes -- for ex, kid has therapy 25 miles from home every Wednesday. There's a park nearby. When I can manage it, I pack a lunch and we eat in the park. But if it's raining or cold, there's nowhere for us to eat a packed lunch (restaurants frown on you bringing your own food, and there's no place to sit and eat at the clinic; they're cramped enough for space). But when we go to, say, the endocrine clinic 90 miles away in a building with no cafeteria and, again, no place handy to eat a packed lunch, it's really not practical. There's really not much provision made for families who travel a long way.

Last year we spent 3 weeks at at Ronald McDonald house. One of their big claims is that you can have your own fridge and pantry space, and access to a kitchen, so you can cook your own food, right? Well, in practical terms, that's more difficult than it sounds. I've spent two long stays in an RMH, and between the hours you're spending at the hospital with your sick kid and the hours you spend going back and forth and the emotional drain and the fact that you're not sleeping in your own bed and the fact that it takes a fair bit of planning to cook for just one or two plus you're downtown in a city with limited grocery store access and your fridge space is one small bin and most recipes use a lot of things that you just keep in your kitchen rather than buying them every time and those things take up a lot of space and cost a fair bit of money... I'm telling you, this is HARD.

Not everybody who eats in restaurants is limiting it to an "occasional treat." For some of us, that's all there's time and energy and provision for. I could use some healthier options for those stressful times.

Tbh, I'm not going to restaurants with the expectation that it should be healthy. For me, eating out is a treat, usually for celebrations.

That's a great option for some people. But there are a lot of times when I have to eat whatever's available, and I do wish there more healthy options. I spend a lot of time in specialists' medical offices, a long way from home, with my disabled kid, and preparing my own food is just not always practical. I do the best I can, but when you're in an unfamiliar place far from home with a kid who takes extra time to get into and out of the car (not to mention going to the bathroom, aiyee!), and you've got one hour for lunch and you have to be back on time or you get bumped, and there's nothing close by that's a healthy choice (say, a Jason's Deli)... it's just hard. I do wish restaurants would be more accomodating and offer healthier choices. Some of us have to eat out more than is ideal, and it gripes me for people to dismissively say "Oh, eating out should just be an occasional treat anyway!" For some of us, it's not that simple. I'd like to be healthy, too.

sorry for the total thread jack, but you have a point--your situation with your child requires some special planning and I can imagine it's really frustrating...as a former special ed teacher, I remember a lot of my students' families dealing with this issue...what about carrying a small cooler in the car with healthy options so you don't have to bother with the fast food restaurants that much? just a thought

I do that sometimes -- for ex, kid has therapy 25 miles from home every Wednesday. There's a park nearby. When I can manage it, I pack a lunch and we eat in the park. But if it's raining or cold, there's nowhere for us to eat a packed lunch (restaurants frown on you bringing your own food, and there's no place to sit and eat at the clinic; they're cramped enough for space). But when we go to, say, the endocrine clinic 90 miles away in a building with no cafeteria and, again, no place handy to eat a packed lunch, it's really not practical. There's really not much provision made for families who travel a long way.

Last year we spent 3 weeks at at Ronald McDonald house. One of their big claims is that you can have your own fridge and pantry space, and access to a kitchen, so you can cook your own food, right? Well, in practical terms, that's more difficult than it sounds. I've spent two long stays in an RMH, and between the hours you're spending at the hospital with your sick kid and the hours you spend going back and forth and the emotional drain and the fact that you're not sleeping in your own bed and the fact that it takes a fair bit of planning to cook for just one or two plus you're downtown in a city with limited grocery store access and your fridge space is one small bin and most recipes use a lot of things that you just keep in your kitchen rather than buying them every time and those things take up a lot of space and cost a fair bit of money... I'm telling you, this is HARD.

Not everybody who eats in restaurants is limiting it to an "occasional treat." For some of us, that's all there's time and energy and provision for. I could use some healthier options for those stressful times.

When I visited my friend during her 2 week stay at Ronald McDonald House ( her daughter was born with TA/TEF and had to have surgery at 1 day old), I took a small cooler bag with hawiian chicken salad, crackers, and some home made granola bars and left it with her--that was one less meal she had to scrounge for.

A tip I heard years ago for those who are watching their diet is to ask for a to go container to be brought WITH your meal. Before you take the first bite, put half your meal in the container for the next day. Then proceed to eat what is left on your plate. My FIL ( a light eater) and my MIL ( a diabetic) often share an entree at a restaurant.

My mind set is that when I eat out I'm not looking for healthy, I consider it a treat and we do it so rarely. I think the issue for most is that so many families live on fast food or eating out. I personally think that each establishment can serve what they want as long as they are honest about what it is and the nutritional information. People in general need to take control and choose healthier places, demand will determine everything in the end anyway.

This is why we RARELY eat out. Grocery store food is not so great either. We have started buying whole animals and having them processed at local butcher shops. We also buy farm fresh eggs which have an orange yolk, not yellow like the sickly eggs from the grocery stores. We get deer processed during hunting season and freeze the meat. This way we know what we are eating. We limit the amount of processed foods. I am not saying we don't eat anything processed but the less, the better. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and then make better choices. If you eat well 90% of the time then eating out from time to time won't kill you. My husband and I will always share a plate if we go out to eat. We can't avoid birthday celebration dinners or social gatherings so we just do our best to eat right the rest of the time.

When I visited my friend during her 2 week stay at Ronald McDonald House ( her daughter was born with TA/TEF and had to have surgery at 1 day old), I took a small cooler bag with hawiian chicken salad, crackers, and some home made granola bars and left it with her--that was one less meal she had to scrounge for.

A tip I heard years ago for those who are watching their diet is to ask for a to go container to be brought WITH your meal. Before you take the first bite, put half your meal in the container for the next day. Then proceed to eat what is left on your plate. My FIL ( a light eater) and my MIL ( a diabetic) often share an entree at a restaurant.

Bless you! During our first RMH stay we were in the same city with my brother; after a few days of exhaustion and expensive restaurant food or bad hospital cafeteria food, I called my SIL in desperation and asked if her church could help. They actually brought us meals at the hospital, for the rest of the time we were there. That was great.

During our other stay, there was a Moe's Southwest Grill near the hospital, and they have some healthier options. But boy did I get sick of Moe's.

I sometimes split meals with my older daughter, or just eat half and take half home. And a lot of restaurants offer green vegetables (steamed, even!) as a side option now; I love it when I can get asparagus!

Hopefully people understand that if you want to eat healthier then eating out at restaurants is not going down the right path generally, and restaurants are not responsible for your health, you are. rant over.

Yes, but this is an American standard. There are plenty of other countries that serve perfectly healthy meals at restaurants.

Funny, I addressed that in my next post. Another eye opener was Holland. I was surprised at how small a portion was.

Hopefully people understand that if you want to eat healthier then eating out at restaurants is not going down the right path generally, and restaurants are not responsible for your health, you are. rant over.

Yes, but this is an American standard. There are plenty of other countries that serve perfectly healthy meals at restaurants.

I don't think there's anything unhealthy about the American Standard meal. I'm not sure why anyone thinks so. Maybe they're simply misinformed?