14 Tips for Eating Healthy at Restaurants

1. Drink water, skip the drinks.  If you know your meal is going to have extra
   calories you may want to hold off on the liquid calories.  Rule of thumb is that the more ingredients in
   a cocktail, higher the calories, an 8oz long island averages at 750, a 10oz
   margarita around 550!  If you can’t resist
   a drink, a good idea is to skip the appetizer and dessert.  Better drink options are a simple rum and
   diet coke (100 cals/8oz) or 8oz Mojito averages 200.  Other good ideas are wine, 5oz averages 125
   cals or light beer.  Many restaurants
   also have “skinny cocktails”.  If you
   don’t see that option, ask the bartender! 
   Or, just get unsweetened ice tea or a coffee.
2. Skip the bread. 
   Especially if you are ordering pasta or pizza, save the calories for
   your meal.  Or, if you can’t resist, have
   a half of the roll or sometimes just one bite will satiate your tastebuds.  Skip the butter.
3. Do your homework BEFORE you choose the
   restaurant.  If possible, research
   options and choose a restaurant that has something that you will enjoy and NOT
   feel deprived; yet doesn’t blow the budget on calories.  Some restaurants have many more healthy
   options than others.  Don’t set yourself
   up for failure, why go to Red Robin if you know you can’t eat a salad while
   watching others eat burgers?  Instead
   find a place that has a delicious looking salad, or a yummy chicken dish.  If you don’t have a choice in where you go,
   go to the restaurants website and look at the options.  Many national chains have nutritional info
   right on their websites.  
4. Decide what you will eat BEFORE you get to the
   destination.  This solves the dilemma when you get there and are faced with
   many tempting dishes to choose from. 
   It’s also much easier to stop and think at home before making a fast
   decision.  You are more likely to come up
   with something that will satisfy you and be a healthful choice.  You’ll find once you get it into your head what you will be eating, you will look forward to it.
5. When checking nutrition, make sure to not only
   look at calories, but fat, sugar and sodium. 
   You might have a choice between something at 500 calories and 700, but
   500 could have 40g of fat while the 700 has 25g
6. Some general rules of thumb:
   Grilled/broiled/baked/roasted/steamed, not breaded/fried/battered/glazed/smothered.  Red sauce (marinara) on pasta, not white
   (alfredo).  You can ask for light on the sauce,
   or even sauce on the side.  I’ve been to
   a lot of places where my meat is dripping in sauce, unnecessary!  Go light on the cheese or skip it.  Chicken and fish are generally lighter vs.
   red meat or pork, but watch how they are prepared.  Broth based soups are better than “cream of” or
   bisque soups.  Watch out for hidden
   calorie pits on salads: nuts, cheese, dried fruit and of course dressings.  These things are ok, in moderation, just be
   mindful they are high in calories.  Brown
   rice or anything whole grain vs. white. 
7. Get all
   sauces or dressings on the side!  You
   will often find you don’t miss the sauce. 
   For instance, I’ve seen sandwiches on a menu that have BOTH mayo and
   pesto!  One is usually fine, and of
   course if you spread it, you can control how much goes onto the sandwich.  Ranch, Thousand Island, Blue Cheese, Caesar
   are highest in calories, any sort of vinaigrette or Italian is half the
   calories.  DIP your lettuce in the dressing,
   don’t pour!  You’ll save calories, unless
   you are drenching it. 
8. Don’t forget you can ask the server to
   customize!  PF Changs offers the option
   to prepare in a broth vs. oil.  If it’s
   breaded, you can ask for grilled, sauce on the side, no butter, brown rice
   instead of white.  You will be surprised
   at how accommodating restaurants can be. 
9. Order your sandwich on a lettuce wrap instead of
   a bun.  Or take the top half of your bun
   off.  Skip the cheese, add some
   pickles, onions, tomatoes.  Mustard has only 5 calories, a lot less than ketchup or mayo.  Ask
   for an extra pickles, they are zero calories and will help fill you up. 
10. Share a meal with a friend or partner then add a
    soup or salad.  If you get dessert-
    share.  If you don’t have someone to
    share with, ask for half boxed up before it comes out to you, you won’t be as
    tempted with it out of sight.  And
    chances are you’ll find you are full anyway. 
11. Start your meal with veggies!  If you get a veggie and hummus plate for an
    appetizer, or a salad to start, you are already filling up your stomach with
    something good for you!  All the less
    room for your next courses. 
12. Don’t go out to eat starving!  DON’T SKIP meals during the day just so you
    can “save up” for dinner!  You are
    messing with your metabolism and it isn’t going to work.  Plus, when you get to dinner you are going to
    gorge.  Many nutritionists recommend in
    fact eating a small handful of nuts before going out.  If I know I won’t be getting a veggie when I
    go out, I make sure to have a big serving before I leave.  For example- if I’m just having burgers and
    fries and don’t want to pay for a side salad, no worries, I’ll just have them
    at home!  Again, you will be filling up
    on good stuff, less room for higher-calorie foods. 
13. Beware for hidden calorie pits hiding as “healthy
    options”.  Many times I’ve looked over
    nutritional info and tried to guess what will be healthier- fish taco’s or a
    burger?  Turkey burgers are always better
    than ground beef right?  Or zucchini
    fries vs. potato.  And of course a SALAD
    would be better than a chicken pita. 
    NOPE.  In all of these cases I’ve
    found the opposite to be true!  Just because
    it’s fish doesn’t mean it’s not breaded, cooked in oils, dripping in mayo-based
    sauces etc.  And turkey burgers are
    usually very comparable to a ground beef burger, rarely do I see it much lower
    in calories to make it worth my while.  (I
    do enjoy turkey burgers though!)  Any
    sort of “veggie fry”, is going to be breaded and cooked in oil, not worth
    it.  And even salads, as I’ve said, can
    be dripping in dressings and topped with so much bacon that it’s higher
    calories than a sandwich.  That’s why it
    pays to research before going out. 
14. Eat only until you are full.  In fact, STOP eating before you feel
    over-full.  Don’t force yourself to end
    with a “clean plate”.   There is nothing
    wrong with taking some home.  Or, some
    restaurants will give you a half order if you ask. 

Hopefully some of these tips will make it
easier for you to make healthful choices when eating out.  You don’t need to be perfect, ENJOY a great
meal out!  But making even just one small
change and skipping the pop (and several refills) can save you a lot of
calories, or finding a low-cal dressing you enjoy.  These all add up over a week, month, year!

Author: Theresa W

Theresa is a wife and stay at home mother of 2 boys, David (13) and Aiden (10). Her hobbies include traveling, reading, running, cooking and volunteering at MI Humane Society with the adoptable cats. She also spends her free time serving as PTO President at her son's elementary school. She enjoys being active and is proud to have completed 4 marathons. She loves to share her passion for health and fitness with others.

Theresa W( Writer )

Theresa is a wife and stay at home mother of 2 boys, David (13) and Aiden (10). Her hobbies include traveling, reading, running, cooking and volunteering at MI Humane Society with the adoptable cats. She also spends her free time serving as PTO President at her son’s elementary school. She enjoys being active and is proud to have completed 4 marathons. She loves to share her passion for health and fitness with others.