The romantic restaurant date. Grabbing lunch with co-workers. A business dinner. Catching a meal while you catch up with friends. It is no secret that the restaurant is often the place where diets go to die. Here are a few tips to stay on track, or at least as close to it as you can!
Get a ‘doggy bag’ before you eat
Ask for a take-away box with your meal, and divide it into smaller portions before you begin to eat. This will save you from mindless eating while you enjoy your conversation with your meal companions.
Beware of salads
Avoids salads piled with breaded chicken, olives, cheese, bacon, eggs and croutons. Skip extra toppings, and ask for the dressing on the side.
Know your meats
Pork: fairly lean except sausage, bacon, and ribs.
Fish: fairly lean or contains healthy fat. Chicken: fairly lean especially when skin and fat are removed, and white meat is leaner that dark meat.
Ground beef products (in order of most to least fat): ground beef, ground chuck, ground round. Eye of round and roasts are leaner, while steaks and ribs have more fat.
If you order prime rib or roast, ask for a centre or inner cut, as there will likely be less fat.
Choose your soups wisely
Avoid creamy soups like chowder or bisque, which can be loaded with fat and calories. Instead, try broth-based soups, like minestrone, wonton, beef barley, gazpacho, consumme, tortilla, chicken noodle or vegetable.
Preparation is key
If it’s fried and breaded, it’s no longer healthy!
Stick with baked, boiled or roasted.
“Beware of” words include: buttery, sautéed, pan-fried, au gratin, Thermidor, Newburg, Parmesan, cheese sauce, scalloped, and au lait, à la mode, or au fromage (with milk, ice cream, or cheese).
Ask for modifications
Don’t be afraid to ask how a dish is prepared — even if it may annoy the waiter or even your (non-diet-conscious) dinner companions.You don’t have to be a ‘diva’ to care about what you eat.
Watch out for freebies
If a basket of bread is included, ask the waiter to remove it before you sit down, or replace it with a serving of vegetables if possible. Mindless munching while you wait can be disastrous.
Watch out for alcoholic drinks
Finally, look out for the liquid calories! Apart from their negative effects on your general health and safety, often the pretty cocktail packs a whollop of calories.