10 Tips for How to Eat Out and Still Eat Healthy

A lot of our social interactions seem to revolve around eating – dating, celebrating a life event or a holiday, meeting friends, seems to revolve around eating and feasting. It can mean eating out at restaurants, dinner parties where your host puts a lot of effort into the cooking and so on.

So how can you eat out and still eat healthy? Here are some tips that could help you continue to eat healthy even in restaurants-

1. Avoid a buffet. This is an obvious pointer. A buffet will typically have dozens of different dishes, and no limit to how much you can eat. Not only will you want to try everything that looks good, but you may be tempted to come back for seconds of what you liked most; a recipe for overeating.

2. Start with the salad so that the edge is taken off your hunger with the healthiest and lowest calorie component of your meal. You may be less tempted to indulge in the richer later courses.

3. Heed the dressing of your salad. It is best to stick to vinaigrette dressings rather than creamy dressings. Avoid cheesy toppings and croutons as well; there are a lot of calories hidden there.

4. Have a soup, preferably a clear soup or a broth rather than a thick or creamy soup. This is a good way to fill up and eat less of the later courses.

5. Skip the bread. It is tempting to reach for the bread sticks and the little loaves, but resist the urge.

6. Avoid crispy items as they are probably deep or crumb fried. Look for poached, grilled, roasted or steamed dishes rather than fried ones.

7. Share or split a dish. This is a convivial and sociable way to eat, and also it is a great way to minimize portions.

8. Pay attention to what you drink. It isn’t just what you eat at a restaurant. A glass of wine, a soda, that glass of iced tea; all of it adds up to the number of total calories consumed.

9. Take the calorie counts printed on the menu with a pinch of salt. They may not be wholly accurate, so be careful about following them slavishly.

10. Take a doggie bag. A clean plate policy is not the best one to follow; rather leave what you cannot eat and ask for a doggie bag. Who knows it may stretch to another meal at home.