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Survival skills for restaurant eating
Restaurant and take-out meals can be high in fat, sugar and sodium while being low in fiber. The large portions in many restaurants also cause us to overeat leading to obesity. How we eat affects our risk for chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Eating out is a challenge for good health, but there are some survival skills that can minimize its negative effects. First choose your restaurant carefully. Find out what is on the menu before you go. Many chain restaurants list the nutrition content of their menus on the Web. In addition, some restaurants will fax you a menu ahead of time. If all else fails, call and ask whether the restaurant serves vegetables, salads, broiled and grilled items and whether they will prepare items without added salt or fat. If a particular restaurant does not have what you want, choose another restaurant. When you eat by yourself, ask for a doggie bag or at least separate your portion from the rest before you start eating. Some people even bring their own storage bag from home to fill so they are less likely to overeat. You will save some money that way and you'll enjoy your delicious meal twice. If a restaurant does have limited options, supplement the meal with food from home. Add a fruit for dessert or have some cut up vegetables or salad with the meal or for a snack later.
Finally, take your lunch occasionally. Pack nutritious food and not something just as high in calories and sodium as the restaurant food. Good choices are leftovers from the night before, sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, salads, fruit, soups, and even frozen vegetables that you can microwave. Frozen entrees are easy, but choose them carefully. Most are high in sodium and many are high in fat. The lower calorie ones also do not contain much food, so add a salad, fruit, whole grain bread and/or low fat or skim milk to round them out.
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