Eating Out: Best Choice Awards

great post! i usually just order what i want and cut the portion in half and save the rest for later!

Never can go wrong with sushi or Vietnamese food.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Never can go wrong with sushi or Vietnamese food.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This! I indulge in both with nary a second thought.

I'm a bit biased because I've worked for Outback Steakhouse since the day I turned 16. That being said, in seven years I have learned VERY well how to eat the most unhealthy food combos you could come up with in my restaurant (Alice Springs Chicken with Cheese Fries, anyone?). In one year of eating better and exercising, I've also learned how to eat AWESOME healthy food at my job-- and you can too! Outback offers nutritional information online, and if you have a droid it's very easy to access via their online mobile app.

On Outback's Under 500 calorie Menu there are 8 meals listed, but in reality you can come up with so many different combinations that are just as great but fit into whatever you're "in the mood for". There's seafood, chicken, steak, and even a sandwich on the menu already though, so you can always just leave that up to us! When eating work food at work, I usually rotate between my two favorites:

#1. Grilled Chicken on the Barbie with Fresh Seasonal Veggies
*Since the chicken is now automatically cooked with fewer seasonings and NO butter over an open flame with oak wood, it has great flavor without a bunch of what I call "sneaky cooking calories." The veggies do have butter (although you can ALWAYS ask to have them without) and of course, I don't use any BBQ sauce. Total meal comes in at 401 calories.
#2. Simply Grilled Mahi with Rice (don't worry, it's a garnish not a full side!) and Veggies
*Without the "Hearts of Gold" topping that usually comes on our 8 oz Mahi, you save a ton of calories but still get a GREAT meal. I've had customers say that it's "too salty" but I really love the flavor of it. If you're a light seasoning kind of person, it couldn't hurt to ask for it that way! The rice garnish is almost 2 oz of our lightly seasoned rice, and the vegetables do come with butter. This meals clocks in at 472 calories (and 53 grams of protein!) and is SO filling.

However, when I'm eating work food and NOT working (on my rare days off), I like to splurge a little. On the <500cal Menu OB has chosen to include the 6oz Outback Special (served with 2 selected sides) which is only $9.99! However, the 6oz Victoria's Filet actually has about 50 fewer calories than the sirloin and you can cut it with a fork. It's also double the price, but hey-- sometimes you get what you pay for! Since OB offers two styles of cooking steaks (Classic Seasoned and Seared & Woodfire Grilled) I'll break it down: SS means a mixture of 17 seasonings on our flattop grill, typically cooked with butter. If you're going that route, you can always ask for no butter with light seasonings (although those are the few "sneak cooking calories" that I'm willing to live with for the sake of taste). WF is definitely the healthiest of the two- instead of our seasoning blend, they use just a littttttle salt/pepper/garlic mixture and let the open flame and oak wood do the rest. The best sides to go for if you're taking the steak route are simple: Broccoli without butter or Veggies with butter, and a House Salad WITHOUT croutons or cheese & with Tangy Tomato dressing ON THE SIDE.

Biggest tips for eating well at Outback (since this is becoming a freaking thesis, geez):
*When in doubt, get it on the side-- whatever it is.
*Don't even think about any dressing other than Tangy Tomato for salads OR dipping. Trust me on this one-- that small ramekin of our made in-house ranch or honey mustard just blew your calories out of the water. Same with the croutons. I know how they're prepared, and seriously, you could eat an entire bag of those diet croutons from a health food stores and it would probably be equal to THREE little homemade croutons at Outback.
*Ask your server questions!! A lot of servers don't necessarily remember the modifications that make the meals "Light Style" and if they don't know, they're putting 100% faith in the kitchen to remember the details. That's a leap I wouldn't take. If they know what makes your meal different, they're able to ensure that it gets prepared correctly.
*Skip the bread before the meal. I know it's delicious, but that tiny loaf we bring to the table has 275+ calories WITHOUT EVEN PUTTING BUTTER ON IT.
*Plan ahead! Outback's website actually has a Nutritional Information tab that goes beyond just listing the entrees-- you can build your meal to a T on the site and it'll tell you exactly what's in it. Walking in and knowing what you're ordering helps when the Bloomin' Onion and Aussie Cheese Fries are calling your name. Plan plan plan! (http://outback.com/menu/nutritionselection.aspx)
**This could also help you in making sure your server & the kitchen staff cook what you want. If you already know that you're ordering the Grilled Chicken and Swiss sandwich, instead of simply saying "I want it Light Style" you can tell your server what that means for you!
*&MOST IMPORTANTLY- Treat your server with kindness and respect and they will go above and beyond to make sure you enjoy your dining experience while still staying in a calorie range that is comfortable for you. This is my 4th year in my current store and for 4 years the people competing in the NPC Bodybuiling Competitions in town keep coming back to see us. I've had some of the SAME return customers once a year, for 4 years and all of them say the reason they choose to eat with us instead of elsewhere is because we're happy to tweak our entrees for what THEY need. That's the same for all of my customers, and most of my staff feels the same way. However, I'm always more motivated to make sure everything is perfect when the person asking for the changes is kind with their requests, instead of rude with their demands. Just sayin'...

& Now that I've accidentally written a thesis on how to eat healthily at Outback Steakhouse, I'm off to work, feeling like a nerd. Geeeeez.

I always opt for thai because I'm obsessed with Tom Yum soup! I usually get it with tofu (steamed not fried) and it is so flavorful and fresh - I might have to get it for dinner. Tonight.

The Outback breakdown was great! I haven't eaten there in years (and haven't considered it because I associate it with unhealthy chain fare), but I may have to go by there. Thanks!