If you and your family love to eat at restaurants, you may think this lifestyle is not good for a healthy diet. Most times, you would be correct. However, you can still enjoy restaurants occasionally and maintain your healthy diet.
It’s all about making good food choices, which starts with learning about the nutrition you need to stay happy, physically healthy, mentally stable, and active.
One of the easiest things to do is skip the appetizer menu unless it’s to order a side salad.
The appetizers at restaurants are usually high-fat, high-processed foods that are not meant to fill you up and can make you crave even more high-fat foods. Some examples are mozzarella sticks, potato skins, and wings. Remember to focus on your main course or, if you must indulge, share a single serving with the entire table of people.
When choosing your main dish, it is important to look at the ingredients.
You might want to avoid anything with cream sauces or high-fat meats. Pass up the potatoes or onion rings. Instead, choose side dishes like vegetables or ask for the main course only, when possible.
Remember, portion size can be everything.
Order off the lunch menu whenever you can and ask for a doggie bag right away. 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. Some people even ask if they may order off the children’s menu to have a smaller portion.
At the end of your meal, skip the dessert menu, just like you did with the appetizers.
Again, you can share a single dessert with the entire table if you feel compelled to order something or split your portion in half.
Remember this, “Many fancy desserts at restaurants have more calories than your entire meal.”
Keep this in mind before you flag down the waitress to put in an order! On special occasions, it’s alright to cheat a little, but overall healthy eating requires lots of resisting temptation around you.
With these small things in mind, you have the ability to make some small changed for a better life.
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