HEALTH TIP #39:

Dining out

When eating out on a regular basis, whether for business or for pleasure, it is more difficult to control what you are eating. For instance, the majority of meals at a restaurant or from a take-out are either high in fat, sodium, calories or all of the above. Regular consumption of these foods can have tremendous effect on long term health. As an example, restaurant or take-out meals can contain 3-4 times the amount of sodium that a person should have in a day.

While it is recommended to limit the amount of times you eat out, here are a few tips to help you make healthier choices when you choose to eat out:

·         Choose leaner meats such chicken or fish rather than beef, pork or lamb

·         Choose foods that are baked, grilled, poached, steamed, broiled, barbecued or stir-fried

·         Choose broth base soups rather than cream soups

·         Limit foods with gravy, sauces, cream and sour cream

·         Ask to have dressings/sauces on the side and limit the amount

·         Ask to substitute fries with green salad (dressing on the side) whenever possible

·         Reduce your portions by sharing your meal, ordering child size meals or bring leftovers home

·         Limit intake of beer, wine and sweetened soft drinks as they contain extra calories

·         As most meals are low in vegetables, have a salad or order vegetables as a side choice

·         Ask to have less grains/starch (rice, pasta, potato) and more vegetables

While it’s always better to have a healthy, home cooked meal, we recognize that we all like to treat ourselves by eating out once in a while. It’s important to remember that the effects of diet are “cumulative” and making a few better choices when dining out can go a long way to reducing fat, sodium and calorie intake and greatly improve long term health. 

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