Healthy Choices when Eating Out

Who doesn’t want to eat out? Getting the chance to skip meal prepping and not have any dishes to wash is a definite plus! Even if you’re looking out for your health, there are healthy choices you can make when you eat out, so that we don’t deviate from our goals.

It’s OK to have a meal out once in a while. If you can, have it at lunch rather than dinner. If this is not a possibility, just make your lunch lighter, such as a cup of soup, or a salad, to balance out the big dinner you will have. Here are some healthy food alternatives from Health Fitness Revolution and ReSYNC Your Life author Samir Becic to order while you’re out at various restaurants:

Tex-Mex or Mexican

• On the menu, it will look like this “Amigos Famous Fajitas- Your choice of marinated, top-grade charbroiled steak, chicken, or both served on a bed of grilled onions and bell peppers. Served with flour tortillas, crisp lettuce, fresh pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese and Amigo’s beans and rice.”
• Order like this: “Amigos Fajitas- no tortillas, no butter, no sour cream, no cheese, no refried beans, and no rice.” Ask to substitute refried beans for pinto beans and enjoy your fajitas with onions, peppers, pico de gallo, and guacamole!

Italian

• Every Italian restaurant has chicken and fish readily available.  So this is where you can get creative and customize your meal to fit your dietary needs!
• A good order, for example, might be “Please grill chicken or fish in olive oil with herbs, garlic and onions, no butter, and a side of steamed vegetables with lemon.”
• Salads are always a good choice as long as you customize your dressing to olive oil and balsamic vinegar or olive oil and lemon.

Chinese/ Asian

• Chicken lettuce wraps are a good choice
• Miso soup, edamame, and sashimi at Japanese restaurants
• Stay away from all the thick, sweet glazes that come on Chinese meat dishes
• No egg rolls, but spring rolls (the nonfried version) are a good alternative
• Stay away from white rice
• Vegetable stir fries with less soy sauce is an option

Steakhouse

• Every steakhouse has both chicken and fish alternatives.
• When ordering steak, choose the smaller cuts. 22 ounces of steak is never a healthy option.
• Stay away from the sides! No mac’n’cheese, no creamed corn, no mashed potatoes!
• Order a side salad or grilled/steamed veggies.

Burger Joint

• Have only one side of the bun on a burger with no cheese and no mayo.
• Even better, eat it bunless or in a lettuce wrap!
• Still load it with tomato, lettuce, onions, mushrooms, pickles.

There are always healthier options we can make while socially eating out with friends and family, so hopefully, these tips can transfer into your next meal adventure!