In today’s fast-paced world, eating out often is difficult to avoid. Some would blame their weight problems on the restaurant industry. But, others who dine out often have managed to stay fit and trim. There are many unknowns when eating away from home like sugar content, fat content, and chemical additives. In the past, health advocates have encouraged a total ban on eating institutions. Such an approach is not realistic, so how do we make peace with the health and nutrition gods and still go out for dinner?
Lately, the general public, including the national restaurant franchises have become more aware of issues relating to trans fat. Years ago, lard was used for deep frying. Amazingly a few places still use lard. In Scotland they still use lard to cook their fish and chips and one report calls them the “heart attack capitol of the world.” Healthier frying products have become the rule rather than the exception in the last few years.
White sugar and white flour has been nicknamed “white death” by healthy eating advocates. High sugar intake in the American diet has produced near-epidemic levels of diabetes. While controversy surrounds the various sugar substitutes, whole grained breads have become more common and more widely used. Subway has been a leader in offering whole wheat bread on their sandwiches.
Food additives and preservatives are not as easy to monitor when dining out. Any produce products that are not organic potentially have small amounts of pesticides. Additives, preservatives, and pesticides have been linked to the rise in cancer.
While restaurant menus may never reach the status of healthy, there are some things we can do to make eating out healthier:
1. SKIP FRENCH FRIES – Some menus allow you to switch a side salad for fries. Others offer fruit bowls or other sides. The most fattening food you can order is cheese fries. A baked potato is a great alternative to fries.
2. AVOID SUGAR – Water with lemon is very healthy and will save you money, too. Drinking more water is one of the healthiest choices you can make. While it is near impossible to avoid sugar altogether, the case has been made for the health advantages of reducing our sugar intake.
3. AVOID WHITE BREAD – Ask for wheat bread or whole grain and if they are not available, it’s
okay to skip bread altogether.
4. CHOOSE BAKED RATHER THAN FRIED – Cracker Barrel has a great baked fish meal. Even Long John Silver’s offers a baked cod dinner.
5. EAT SMALLER PORTIONS – For those of us trained to eat everything on our plate, it goes against our upbringing not to. Many couples have begun splitting meals. I’ll order a breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s and eat half. Lunch portions are smaller and not as expensive. If eating supper, ask if you can order off of the lunch menu, many places will allow it.
6. RESEARCH – You can research and do some planning instead of just winging it. Most restaurants are now putting nutrition information online.
It has never been easier to eat more healthy while eating out. The road to better health is made of a series of small choices in our eating habits.
