Healthy Eating Out

Do you love eating out but at the same time are afraid to do so? Do you think "here goes my diet plan", whenever you go out? Do you also avoid socializing because you are dieting? If you have answered yes to all these questions, then it's time you took a reality check and discovered that eating out can be a happy and healthy experience.


Do you know that:

• No one gets fat from one meal. It takes a number of them for fat to accumulate.
• Eating out once every three weeks is a viable option if you have the self-control to come back on line the following day.
• When you eat a working lunch five times a week it won't work, because you're establishing a pattern which good meals and exercise cannot negate.
• Eating too much and then going berserk on the treadmill the next day leads to tiredness, and endangers your health. Don't do it.

Then should you stop eating out? No. The best solution is to choose restaurants that offer healthy foods and make selections that tie in with what you want to achieve. But if this is not possible, you have to select what you eat with care. Having the odd curry once every two or three weeks isn't so damaging.

Here are some top tips when you eat out:

• Eat smaller portions of fatty foods: If there's something you really want but shouldn't be eating, share it with someone else.
• Ask the waiter not to bring bread and butter to the table: Also ask dressings and sauces to be served separately. That way you can control how much you want to use, or skip them altogether.
• Ask them to reduce the amounts of fattening items: Such as cheese or butter that come with the dish.
• Ask for a starter: If you must have a dish that is rich in fat. And for your main course order something low-fat. Remember that soup and plain pasta are good fillers.
• Serving sizes: These are relevant, so order one serving of meat, fish or poultry, two servings of vegetables and three servings of grains, rice, pasta, cereals etc. By ordering like this, you're much more likely to stay on track.

Cooking styles and methods vary from country to country and cuisine to cuisine. Let's check out the different types of restaurants and see what's on offer:

1. Fast-food outlets
If you eat regularly from these joints, then it will be difficult for you to cut your fat. Fast food joints offer mainly burgers, fries, milkshakes, pizzas etc, which will only add to your calories. Instead, go in for the healthy options -- though limited here -- and eat only salads, fruit juices or fruit salads.

2. British Cafe
The British mainly rely on the griddle or deep-fat fryer to cook a lot of their food. Try to avoid items that are cooked in this way. Instead go in for baked beans on dry brown toast, poached eggs, baked potato with low-fat fillings like tuna, sweet corn or chicken strips with peppers. Another healthy alternative is to have soup, a whole meal sandwich or roll with a salad and lean meat, fish or poultry filling and fresh fruit. Avoid mayonnaise, coleslaw, butter, margarine and sugary sweets and confectionery.

3. Italian restaurant
Italian cooking uses a lot of olive oil, which is healthier in comparison to saturated fat, but it's still fattening. Cheeses like mozzarella and Parmesan are also widely used, especially in pizza. If eating Italian, maximize on the excellent fresh salads available. Ask for dressings on the side or use lemon juice instead. Always aim for tomato-based pasta sauces instead of the cream ones and limit the use of Parmesan cheese. If your favorite pizza topping is Pepporoni, then you would be advised to stay away from it as it has a high fat content. Avoid cream-based sweets like tiramisu. Instead, think healthy and just have a spoonful of fresh fruit.

4. Chinese restaurant
Chinese food is cooked in a wok or a deep-fat fryer. The wok cooks the food quickly, which means that the vitamins are retained in the food. However, Chinese in general is a high-fat type, especially those dishes that are deep-fried in batter. Here too, opt for steamed rather than fried rice and remember that sweet and sour sauce contains a lot of sugar, so don't have too much of that. For dessert, choose the fruit on offer.

5. Japanese restaurants
Japanese food is usually healthy and nutritious. Apart from one or two notable exceptions, most of the food can be ordered easily. Eat lots of Sushi or raw fish, a Japanese delicacy, is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Stay away from the tempura batter-fried dishes as they are rich in calories. Even sake (rice wine) is loaded with too many calories, so it is better to give it a miss and opt for the green tea. You can eat a lot of vegetables as the Japanese use little oil. And finally since they are not known to have a sweet tooth, always go in for the beautifully prepared fresh fruit.

6. Indian restaurant
No Indian dish is complete without adding dollops of ghee in it, which increases the fat intake of the dish. So if eating in a Indian restaurant, be careful to select what you eat.

Go in for boiled rice rather than fried rice.
Eat wheatflour-based chapattis rather than naan (which is heavier as it is made from maida) or parantha to which fat has been added.
Avoid cream-based curries like korma dishes.
Eat little gravy as it has a lot of fat content.
Don't order papads; they are fried and highly fattening.
Order Chicken tikka as it is comparatively low-fat.
Drink water instead of an aerated drink or beer or you may end up with a beer belly.

Follow these tips and find out how eating out can become a healthy and pleasurable experience.