Cutting Back at Restaurants

Sometimes going out to eat when you're trying to eat healthy can be discouraging and frustrating so I wanted to share with everyone how I usually eat at restaurants.

1. Grilled Chicken Sandwich (This is one of the healthiest things, other than a salad, at Buffalo Wild Wings or Hardees)

• No mayo & add jalepenos and/or pico de gallo for flavor
• Lettuce wrap if available & if you like lettuce wraps (At Hardees just ask for a low carb chicken sandwich)
• If you are really wanting bread (or if a lettuce wrap isn't available) choose the healthiest bread available (wheat, etc) & only eat 1/2 of it. What I usually do is take the top bun off & eat only the bottom bun. To keep the sandwich together I start with the bottom bun, then add all the extras such as lettuce, tomato, jalepenos, pico de gallo, etc. Then I top it off with the grilled chicken upside down (if you have cheese on it the cheese should face down). This allows for the chicken to act as a "top bun" and keep everything together & less messy.

2. Baked Potato

• Since I never eat butter and rarely eat sour cream, I usually get a plain baked potato and add low fat cottage cheese since it is suppose to be healthier. Usually I just say that I don't want any sour  cream & butter, but want cottage cheese instead & its no extra cost. Then I just add a little salt & pepper.

3. Steamed Veggies

• The main thing here is just being sure to state that you want them cooked as healthy as possible. I always say "I want them healthy...no butter, oil, or all the other stuff..I just want them cooked". Then I add a little salt when they get to the table. The only reason I say this is because a lot of people order steamed veggies thinking they are eating extremely healthy but if that restaurant steams their veggies in a bunch of butter & other bad stuff, you really aren't eating as healthy as you think. If you can only eat veggies with butter, etc. then tell them to go easy on it but I recommend trying them plain a few times to get use to it before giving up on going butterless. :-)

4. Salads

• Although most people know this, I never want to assume that everyone does...IT IS ALMOST POINTLESS TO EAT A SALAD THAT IS LOADED WITH UNHEALTHY DRESSINGS OR TOPPINGS (BACON, ETC). I eat salads often at restaurants. My salad always consists of veggies (any raw veggies), a low-fat or low-calorie vinegarette, and occassionally a little cheese. If you only like ranch dressing, get fat free ranch!! Ranch is very bad for you...just read the label & figure up how much you need to run, bike, or exercise just to work off that ranch you're eating. You might be surprised. ;-)

5. Try New Veggies

• I just want to encourage you to try veggies that are unique to restaurants. For example, Ruby Tuesdays has spaghetti squash that is incredible & very healthy, but if you don't step outside your comfort zone you may never find this out. People often get stuck in veggie ruts and eat the same things over & over again...especially salads. Don't do this because you will be more likely to get bored with veggies and fall off the healthy eating train. Try new things! And if you don't like them...at least you know you don't! 

6. Very Rarely Eat a Buffet!!!!!!!!!

• I would say never eat a buffet, but that can be scary and discouraging. :-) I will definitely say don't eat a buffet more than once a month! There are many reasons for this. Order off the menu and if you are really wanting something that is on the buffet (whether it be pizza or whatever else), take a bite or 2 (& I do mean 1 BITE or 2 BITES) from the person beside you. This keeps you from overeating & allows for healthier choices since buffets aren't usually healthy. Obviously salad buffets are awesome, but just remember to follow the salad tips above...don't eat everything that's there! Just because it's on the salad bar doesn't mean its good for you. ;-)

***I will continue adding to this blog as I think of stuff, so keep coming back***