Healthy Eating at Restaraunts

Eating out at restaurants is a favorite past time for many people. Most people think that when you eat out, you have no real control for eating a healthy diet. Often times this is a correct statement, however, you can still enjoy restaurants occasionally and maintain your healthy diet. You simply have to make good food choices. In order to make good food choices you have to learn about the nutrition you need to stay happy, physically healthy, mentally stable, and active.

Most restaurants have a large drink section on the menu... you should skip right over that. It can be very tempting to have a beer or mixed beverage with your food. However, these drinks come with many empty calories, which of course is not good for your body. The exception to this rule when it comes to alcohol is wine, especially red wine, which can be fine if you have a single glass and can actually help prevent heart disease for some patients.

The appetizer menu is the next culprit to unhealthy eating at a restaurant. Unless you are going to have a salad, you should skip appetizers. When you order appetizers, they are usually high-fat foods that are not meant to fill you up and can in fact make you crave even more high fat foods. What are the biggest high fat appetizers found on most restaurant's menu?

• mozzarella sticks
• potato skins
• wings

Instead of having an appetizer, try to focus on the main course meal that you will be eating. If the temptation is too much for you, share a single appetizer serving with the people at your table.

Now it is time to choose your main dish. The first think you want to look at is the ingredients of the dish. Anything with cream sauces or high-fat meats should be avoided. You should also give up the starches by passing up the potatoes, french fries or onion rings. Substitute them with side dishes like vegetables.

Remember too that portion is everything. Restaraunts like the Cheese Cake Factory, are known to give you more than the needed portion of your meal. In fact, they give you enough food to eat in three separate meals.

Try ordering off of the lunch menu whenever you can. You should also ask for a doggie bag at the beginning of the meal. Split your meal in half from the start so that you are not tempted to eat the entire thing, which is usually enough for two or three portions.

At the end of your meal, the waitress will stick a beautiful desert menu in your face. You may even be presented with dessert samples. Just like you skipped over the appetizers, you should skip over the desserts.

Again, you can share a single desert with the entire table if you feel compelled to order something, or split your portion in half. Many fancy desserts are restaurants have more calories than your entire meal, so keep this in mind before you flag down the waitress to put in an order! Of course, on special occasions, it’s alright to cheat a little, but overall healthy eating requires lots of resisting temptation around you.