Going Out

chunky_soup

chunky_soup

New member
Going out is the hardest time for me! Today I went to Panera and had a salad and sandwich, only to find out from the nutrition facts it wasn't such a good idea.

So does anyone have any healthy choices?
 
There's a restaurant chain near me called Bertuccis... this chain will not post anywhere the nutritional values of their menu items, because they claim that it could change from plate to plate (Ok, I'll buy that but give me an approximate at least...)

I cannot go to this restuarant anymore because I can't just guess what's in the food...

If you know ahead of time where you are going... Check the web for the nutritional values of foods and make your choices before you leave.. that way you aren't tempted by the other items... I used to love the asiago Roast beef sandwich from there.. it always sounded relatively good... but it's close to 700 calories for a sandwich...

Basically - Research ahead of time is our best friend when it comes to dining out...
 
I've also been eating an apple before I go "out to eat" and that has been filling me up a bit so I don't eat as much.

I've also cut out all fast food.
;)

It's the Real Restaraunts that get me!
 
I cut out all the fast food for nearly 5 months. But now that I am doing more hours for work, I have found it sometimes necessary to buy fast food when I don't have the time to shop or cook. I've done the research, heres what I've found on what I will buy and what to avoid. I'll start with the bad and continue to the good:

Hardee's/Carl's Jr: Absolutely nothing decent on this menu, avoid completely.
A & W: Ditto
Krystal: Ditto
White Castle: Ditto
Taco Bell: Ditto
Wendy's: Chili in small or large, side salad with lite or reduced dressing
Burger King: Grilled chicked salad with fat free italian, Great Choice! (Not much else)
McDonalds: Nothing great, but salads or small orders of chicken nuggets are not all that bad
Chick fil a: Anything chargrilled, salads, soup.
Subway: Many choices
Blimpie: Ditto
KFC/Popeye's/Church's Chicken: Vegetable sides only (no potatoes or rice for low carb diets)
Arby's: This place is the king of sodium. Many lower fat choices, absolutely loaded with salt. I avoid them.

Just to name a few. This is mostly according to the criteria of my diet, yours may differ.
 
Week 6 of Leslie Sansone's book Eat Smart, Walk Strong focuses on the Restaurant Habit...

Her Five Commandments of Dining Out are:
1. Choose fish or chicken over red meat
2. Choose grilled over fried
3. Choose veggies or beans over starches
4. Choose nonsugared drinks
5. Split or skip the dessert.

Then she has the six strategies for developing your restaurant habit.
1. Let them do the shucking
Basically this is - eat what you love but hate to cook at home, shellfish, artichokes, sushi... if you can make it at home (liek prime rib) pass on it...

2. Go Splitsville
When dining out with another person, order an appetizer and a main course and split them between the two of you... (I'm nor sure about this one... )

3. Shrimpy Size Me
The trend in fast food restaurants seems to be get the most food for your money - I'd say go for the toy instead... Get the kids meals... and then ask yourself in an hour are you still hungry- chances are you arent/

4. Don't get Carb Fooled
This section she explains the trend of carbs are bad..and talks about the low carb breakfast bowl... that doesnt have a bit of bread in it.. it's also got 900 calories... I've seen it in fancy restaurants too - where they willserve a chunk of gorgonzola on a steak - -yeah it's low carb, but it's enough saturated fat to last you a week.

5. Ban the Buffet
This makes sense- you have to get out of the mindset of getting the most for your money.. go forquality over quantity (I personally hate buffets so if it helps, imagine the person in front of you, picking up toast with his fingers - just returne from the restroom and hasn't washed their hands.. oh yeah and they have ac old and are sneezing too... :)

6. Avoid the bread bomb
I loooooove fresh italian bread dipped in olive oil that's got garlic and rosemary in it... Waiter - take it away please :)

~~~~~~~~~~~
a google brought up some interesting PDFs
This article lists some good choices at Panera, Au Bon Pain and Briazz


Good fast food choices from healthy heart.org


An older report but it's still got some interesting info
 
Great ideas! Sometimes, though, no matter how hard I try, it all just looks (and smells) too good! How does one keep that willpower when the sights and smells bombard you from all sides. I'll have to try M2M's suggestion to eat an apple beforehand since most of the time, my friends and I never know where we're going until the last minute.
 
Roasted + Grilled = good
sauses and dressings = bad
steamed and boiled = good
fried = bad
vegies and meat = good
starches and deserts = bad

And.. potato salad and macaroni salad are not real salads!!!
 
dietfacts.com can tell you the nutrional infomation for a lot of foods, you may want to visit their first before you decide what to eat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top