People always ask, “Can you actually get a healthy meal when eating out?”. The answer is a resounding yes — if you know what to look out for and what to choose.
The Main Course
Your main course will provide the bulk of your healthy proteins—and monstrous servings of fat if you are not careful. If you are looking to have low to moderate fat choices when you are dining out, learn the menu clues that hints “less fat”. Low-fat preparation method includes baked or blackened for chicken and fish, or broiled, grilled or poached for meat. Even though meats are naturally dense in protein, cuts with the word “loin” in the name tend to be the leanest.
As far as carbohydrates, the best sources are unrefined food. Think brown. If you want bread with your meal, order brown bread, such as whole wheat or pumpernickel. Instead of having white rice, get brown rice. Instead of getting a regular potato, order a yam. If something is not on the menu, ask. For the most part, restaurants are accommodating and if they have the item available, they will substitute it.
If you order vegetable to accompany your entrée, consider how the vegetables are cooked. A vegetable plate made with salsa or steamed is a healthier choice than a plate of something like stuffed mushrooms. Stuffed mushrooms usually have a breading and are made with butter to hold that breading together. Beware — even steamed or grilled vegetable dishes can have added oil or butter. Ask the waiter how the vegetables are prepared.
Desserts
Do we even need to tell you that cakes, ice creams and cookies are high in fat and refined sugars and should be eaten sparingly? If you eat out frequently, you may want to make it a rule to forgo dessert. If you have had your good carbohydrates, green vegetables and protein but still feel hungry, opt for a fruit. Do not forget that fruit is a carbohydrate high in natural sugar and will increase your portion of carbohydrates for the meal. If you are still interested but do not see it on the menu, ask anyway. Virtually all restaurants have fruit available and are generally happy to make up a fruit plate for you.
The Wine List
When eating out, the easiest way to consume extra calories is from alcoholic beverages. It is extremely important to keep your alcohol consumption at moderate levels if you drink at all. Alcohol is high in calories — it has seven calories per gram as opposed to the four calories per gram of protein and carbohydrates. Moreover, alcohol affects the way your cells metabolise fat. it requires your body to utilise certain coenzymes to neutralise it, but these coenzymes are also essential for fat oxidation. If these coenzymes are busy dealing with elevated blood sugar and alcohol, they are not busy helping to burn fat. Mixed drinks are worse than wine or beer because they usually add soda or juice, which are high-calorie beverages in their own right.
If you do have an alcoholic drink, alternate it with water or club soda to remain sober, hydrated and to keep your caloric intake in check. Water, of course, is essential to fat utilisation, weight loss, smooth and clear skin, as well as good overall health. people who dine out frequently should aim for no more than four to seven glasses of alcohol per week.
What To Look Out For
Even if you cannot fry an egg, you are probably familiar with basic cooking terms, such as baking and boiling. Here are some of the menu clues to look out for the next time you dine out:
Baked
A dry-heat cooking method that heats food by surrounding it with hot, dry air in a closed environment.
Blackened
A Cajun cooking method in which food, usually meat or fish, is rubbed with a spice mixture and cooked in a hot cast-iron skillet, giving food an extra crispy crust.
Boiled
A moist-heat cooking method that uses convection to transfer heat from a hot liquid to the food submerged in it.
Broiled
A dry-heat cooking method in which foods are cooked by heat radiating from an overhead source. The high heat seals in the juices, browns the outside and keeps the food tender.
Consommé
A rich stock or broth that has been clarified to remove impurities.
Grilled
A dry-heat cooking method in which foods are cooked by heat radiating from a source located below the cooking surface.
Marinade
A seasoned liquid, usually composed of a combination of vinegar, lemon juice, wine oil herbs and/or other spices, in which raw foods (typically meat, poultry, fish, shellfish or vegetables) are soaked or coated to absorb flavours and become tender before cooking or serving.
Poached
A moist-heat cooking method that uses convection to transfer heat from a hot liquid to the food submerged in it.
Roasted
A dry-heat cooking method that heats food by surrounding it with hot, dry air in a closed environment or on a spit over an open fire.