Tag Archive

Sorry my posts have been less regular lately. Life got a little crazy last week when my current roommate and I decided to move apartments (from an upstairs unit to a downstairs unit) and add another new roommate! So life has been good, but a little crazy.

The best news about the new apartment is that the kitchen and living area is practically doubled from what we had. So lots more space for new cooking adventures in the future!

Enough news, here is the real post!

Tips for healthy eating in the real world.

So anyways, I always feel like I am doing a good job with my eating and habits and then the weekend happens and often my hard work feels futile as I try and navigate through eating out and trying to find healthy options and at the same time have a great tasting meal.

Something I have learned along this journey is that I am not always going to be able to control exactly what I eat. I am sometimes going to eat some things that are really bad for me, or things that someone offers me that are covered in butter. These things cannot always be avoided, but you can avoid packing on too many unnecessary calories when you are eating out. I have compiled a list of a few tips that I have discovered along the way to make eating healthy the new normal in my life without forgoing eating out.

1. Study the menu

I can say that without a doubt almost every time I eat out I get onto the restaurants web site and check out the menu and the nutritional information. Oftentimes these web site even list healthy options that fall under a certain calorie range. For example, the other day I knew I would be going to Chili’s for lunch. I knew in advance, so I gave myself a little study time. I checked over nutritionals and had a few options in my mind before going in. I ended up ordering off the kid’s menu, which they were fine with. This leads me to my next tip.

2. Ask for substitutions

I am always asking for special changes or substitutions in restaurants. I most often ask for no cheese, dressing on the side, or the replacement of French fries with a salad or steamed veggies. I have had zero trouble from waiters when I make these special requests. Granted sometimes switching up the regular might add a dollar or two to your bill, but I would rather it be that than eat something that I really don’t want to.

3. Find good resources

The Eat This, Not That books are great resources when trying to decide the lesser of two evils when eating out. They have several suggestions, and even offer some inside information about some of the choices. Other good resources are web sites like The Daily Plate. Often when you look up a food item from a restaurant they will automatically tell you three or four healthier options. They also let you know how long the food will take to burn off.

4. Make Good Choices

I know when I eat out I automatically think of it as a time to indulge or branch out, or at least I used to. I was just telling my Mom that indulgence has even switched in my new healthy lifestyle to look a lot different than it used to. I go into every eating experience with the mindset that I want to enjoy what I eat but also with the thought that every place I go will probably have a healthy option that will taste good and be good for my body. This being said I stick to lean meats, little or no cheese, very few fried items, fiber full sides (black beans, broccoli, sweat potato), and lots of things on the side. The word grilled is usually a safe bet.

This being said, I also leave room to indulge. I will eat French fries, butter, and cheese occasionally.

Here are some specific tips that I have used that are restaurant/food genre specific

· At Pei-Wei you can order almost any dish stock velveted which means they will cook your dish in stock instead of oil. The first time I ordered it this way I felt weird, but I was impressed that it took nothing away from the flavor. You can also request any sauce on the side to control the amount.

· I love Chipotle. I was shocked when I found out that this place that I thought was so fresh and healthy could so easily sneak in loads of extra fat and calories. One big sneaky move on Chipotle’s part is that their salad dressing is actually one of the least healthy items in the place. It is best to just stick to salsa on your salad. I used to get almost everything in my veggie bowl, but now I have made a few changes. I either get no rice or ask them for half rice. I also used to love the combo of cheese and sour cream, but I have nixed them both in favor of guacamole. The guac is high in fat and calories, but at least it is the good kind. This web-site is a calculator that will tell you the exact nutritional stats of your favorite chipotle creation. I looked up my old favorite chipotle creation that I used to get BWW (before weight watchers) and found out that it is……drumroll…..

1365 calories 58 g of fat 2630 mg of sodium and 149 g of carbs…..

sick.

· At Panera many of their salads are good to go, while other have dressing that have terrible fat content and calorie levels. They have a great nutrition calculator on their web site where you can build your entire meal and see the combined nutrition stats. I usually stick with the pick two, choosing a healthy salad with dressing on the side, the black bean soup, and some bread. You cannot go to Panera and forgo bread.

· When eating pizza, there are few ways to get out without eating many calories. When sharing a pizza with a group I usually just watch my portions and order a big salad so that I do not fill up too quick on pizza. Whenever I eat pizza at a place where you order your own, I have started to order it without cheese. I know, it is not really pizza without the cheese, but it allows me to eat more, and I discovered that I like it just as much!

· When eating Mexican food (my favorite) I follow a few rules. I generally do not eat Mexican too often so when I do I don’t restrict myself too much. I usually do however count my tortilla chips. I don’t do this out loud or anything crazy like that, but I do keep a general count in my head to stay on top of it. I also often request a side of plain corn tortillas when I order my drink. I dip these in the salsa with the pleasure of the knowledge that they are worth few calories and they taste great. For my entrée I stick with a grilled chicken salad with salsa for dressing, chicken fajitas minus most of the sides, or something else simple on the menu, depending on what I feel like.

Sorry this was so long and wordy and pictureless. More fun stuff to come as I get settled into my new bigger kitchen!