Eating Out- A Diet Nightmare?

Photo by Marcin Wichary

A lot of people think that eating out means certain death for your diet. As person who considers herself a “foodie” I know it can be hard to balance a love of food with the desire to still fit into your jeans the next day. Of course, maintaining a good exercise regimen can offset occasional splurges but dining out doesn’t always mean that you have to kick good eating eating habits to the curb. Here are a few helpful tips to get you through a restaurant meal without all the guilt while not sacrificing taste:

Don’t skip meals during the day. It’s tempting to try and “save up” for a big dinner out but this can often end up backfiring. You may be so ravenous by the time that dinner rolls around that you end up eating much more than you would have if you’d had a regular healthy breakfast and lunch throughout the day. The mentality of “Well I haven’t eaten anything all day” can cause you to binge big time. It’s fine to eat a lesser amount of calories to try and budget your dinner in but don’t skip meals all together.

Do skip the bread. You’ve probably heard this before but if the waiter tries to bring bread and butter to the table just turn it away. Even if you have the best intentions sometimes you’ll fall into munching on it just because it’s there. This goes for chips too. Save yourself for the big meal- that’s what you came for!

Stick to broth-based rather than cream-based soups. Opt for chicken noodle or vegetable over broccoli cheese or cream of potato. The same idea goes for pasta sauces. Tomato sauces are going to be lower in calories and fat than buttery sauces like a creamy Alfredo.

Know your cooking techniques. Look for words like baked, grilled, broiled, satueed, poached or steamed. All of these require less fat in order to prepare. And do I really need to tell you to avoid things involving the term “fried?”

Seafood is your friend. I love a good steak but if I’m looking for something lighter I’m always drawn to fish. Halibut, trout, snapper, and scallop dishes are all delicious and have much fewer calories than red meat and poultry. One thing to watch out though for is the sauce. If your piece of fish is served with a cream sauce that basically amounts to a stick of butter it’s not as diet-friendly as you may think. Look for dishes that feature vegetables and if all else fails ask if you can get whatever sauce it’s served with on the side. This way you can control just how much you are eating. It’s a great way to deal with salad dressing as well. Instead of having who-knows-how-much drenching your veggies you can dip your fork in with each bite and still get the flavor without all the added calories and fat.

Photo by Angela Randall

What about dessert? Sometimes you just have to, right? A big go-to dessert for me is sorbet. It’s light and fruity and a great way to havesomething sweet without going all out with a triple decker chocolate molten lava fudge explosion. Not that have anything against such a dessert. (In fact I bet it’s fabulous.) But if you’re looking to satisfy a sweet tooth at a lower cost I suggest sorbet or maybe something like a cup of berries and fresh cream.

Anyone else have any tips for dining out? I realize that sometimes you just need to go whole hog but if you eat out regularly it’s good to have a few tricks up your sleeve.