When adopting a local or organic eating philosophy, going out to eat can become a tricky situation. How do you know where the food comes from? How can you be sure they use healthy recipes? While there are many organic restaurants in large cities, or restaurants that focus on sourcing their produce locally, it is still hard to take your healthy cooking habits and beliefs and apply them when out a restaurant. Here are ten tips for how to make healthy decisions when eating out at a restaurant, to remain healthy – and understanding that eating locally/organic is not always an option.
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- 1. Look at the menu ahead of time
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If stressed about sticking to a diet, eating healthy all the time, or wondering where a restaurant sources their food, check out the menu of the restaurant before you go. This way, you can find the perfect menu choice without feeling pressured. Also, read reviews on Yelp or OpenTable to see what other customers have to say – maybe the restaurant is extremely open to accommodating customers and changing dishes. If you can’t find a healthy solution that perfectly matches your needs – that’s okay too! You can change around what you eat for lunch to stay on track, and its always nice to enjoy a guilt-free meal.
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- 2. Read Descriptions carefully
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Always look to see how the food is prepared. Baked, Sauteed or grilled meat is usually the healthier option as it avoids using excess fats in the cooking process. Fried foods are rarely a healthy option. Roasting and steaming are a good way to prepare vegetables – just make sure to not slather them in butter and salt.
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- 3. Avoid sugary drinks
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Water, water, water! An 8oz serving of Coca-Cola contains 97 calories, and the second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)- which is definitely not a local product. Look for healthier options such as unsweetened iced tea, natural juices, or seltzers.
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- 4. Ask for Dressing on the side
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This simple step saves a lot of calories, and is quite common nowadays. Simply dip your fork into the dressing before you gather a bite of food to eat. Also, look for more oil or vinegar based dressings, and avoid super creamy options like ranch or thousand island. The focus of a salad should be on the vegetables, not on the condiments.
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- 5. Ignore the bread basket
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While warm white bread rolls and the pads of butter are staples at many restaurants, and undoubtedly delicious, white bread has very little nutritional benefits. While the healthiest choice is to avoid the bread basket, many restaurants are offering choices. Look for a bread with wheat or seeds. The flour used to make whole wheat breads doesn’t go through a bleaching process, and thus retains more nutrients and is much higher in fiber. If having a piece of bread from the basket is a must – choose the variety that appears to have been made with whole wheat – and you can always ask your server!
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- 6. Relax, and enjoy yourself!
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Eating Healthy, or focusing on organic and local produce is a lifestyle change, but it should not take control of your entire life. Don’t feel stressed if you are out having a nice dinner – enjoy yourself! It is okay to treat yourself every now and then. Going out to eat should be a nice treat- not an everyday occurrence.
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- 7. Look for leaner proteins
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Think chicken, pork, or fish. Fish is a great option at restaurants, as it may be more expensive to cook at home so is more of a treat. Restaurants also usually describe fish in terms of location – Alaskan Salmon or Maine Lobster – that way you can have a general idea of how local the product is. Unless the chicken is specified as “grass-fed” or “local”, it is probably not organic or local. Try new things, and get inspiration for how to cook healthy at home!
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- 8. If you feel comfortable, ask for substitutions
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This is a great option is there one thing on the menu you feel totally comfortable ordering – and know that it is healthy, local, or organic. If an entree comes with a side of starch and a side of vegetables, ask for double the vegetables!
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- 9. Share Dessert
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Instead of each ordering a dessert, share! If dining with a large group of people, and everyone craves something sweet after a meal, order a few and share around the table. This limits that amount of dessert on the table, and can also be a fun way to end the meal.
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- 10. Don’t be afraid to ask for a doggie bag
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Portion size is a big component of eating healthy. When cooking healthy at home, it is easy to control the size and portions of a meal. If you receive a portion that is extremely large, immediately divide it in half – and voila, lunch for tomorrow!
