How to Eat Healthy at the Restaurant?

Does the word “restaurant” invariably mean “excess” to you? Do you usually leave feeling uncomfortably bloated?

Here are a few tips you can use in popular restaurants to help you make more informed choices:

Rotisserie

• Choose the chicken skewer, or the chicken breast, skinless;
• Replace fries with rice, vegetables, or a salad;
• Use the a la carte menu (we tend to eat more than required by our hunger signals when eating a table d’hôte).

Sandwich bar

• Do not get caught up in the 12-inch submarine hype! Start with a 6-inch submarine, and then if you are still hungry, eat a snack instead;
• Order the sauce on the side;
• Prefer mustard (which is fat free) to mayonnaise, or limit yourself to one sachet;
• If you choose a combo, substitute the cookies or chips with a yogurt or a fruit, and keep it for later if you are not hungry enough;
• If you are really hungry, order a vegetable soup with your meal.

Asian

• If you suffer from high blood pressure, pay special attention to the type of sauce you choose, because most of them are really salty;
• If you are hungry enough to order a first course, choose the spring rolls or dumplings (not the fried ones) rather than the egg rolls, tempura shrimps, or fried wontons;
• Miso soup, though very salty, is a light option for a starter course when you are not very hungry, but wish join others for this service;
• For the main course, prefer vegetable sautés to breaded meals such as General Tao chicken, or meals qualified as “crunchy”, which usually means fried;
• Choose white rice or rice vermicelli instead of fried rice;
• If you are not starving, think about sharing a meal with someone else, even if you have to order a soup or dumplings first.

Bon appétit!

By Marilyne Petitclerc

How to Eat Healthy at the Restaurant? is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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