It is a special occasion and you have been invited out to diner. What would normally be a very pleasant experience suddenly fills you with dread as you imagine your good work and healthy eating will be forced out the window for an evening of indulgence.
Your concerns are justified but rest assured eating out fairly healthily is not impossible and with a bit of restraint your waistline or level of entertainment will not suffer! However, the first thing to remember is that this is a treat and it doesn't happen all the time so you can be more relaxed than normal and this will not effect your overall target or weight.
The first thing to do is not to change your eating habits in the day. If you starve yourself in the day you will only binge in the evening and this will be counter productive. If you have a light snack before you go out this will ensure that you are not hungry when you arrive at the restaurant ensuring that you don't over order.
To save on calories in the restaurant avoid alcohol. If you do want to drink as it is a special occasion have a spirit with a low-calorie mixer or a wine spritzer.
To choose the healthy option when eating out you could request the menu before hand, or turn up early so that you are not pressured by others and you know what you are having. The following tips will help give you an idea of the sorts of dishes which will be the healthy options on the menu. Some restaurants now even offer healthy options of light bites too choose from.
Starters
Avoid the bread basket!
· Choose a clear soup
· Seafood, melon and grapefruit are a light starter
· Try to avoid rich dressings, ask for the dressing in a pot on the side so you can choose how much to add.
·
Main Meals
· Choose small cuts of lean read meat
· Choose grilled, poached or steamed fish or chicken
· Avoid fried or coated dishes in creamy sauces
· Order a jacket potato instead of chips, or better still try a side salad accompaniment
For pasta choose tomato based sauces
·· Ask for dressings to be served separately
Desserts
· Sorbet or fruit are good choice
If you cannot avoid a sweet pudding try sharing!
If there are a lot of courses you try skipping a few courses or ordering two starters so that you have one starter as a main course. Supplement this with a side salad if you would like to increase the dish size.
