6 Tips for Choosing Healthy Meals at Restaurants
Who doesn’t love heading out with family or a group of friends and enjoying great conversation over a tasty meal? Unfortunately, eating at restaurants can sometimes be hard if you try to follow a healthy diet. Luckily, there are options such as choosing better foods or eating at a from scratch restaurant in Tampa, FL, that will make eating healthy easier.
Hold the Bread
One of the easiest ways to eat healthier when you’re dining out is to ask your server to take the bread away from the table. While the average breadstick only has 25 calories and 4 carbohydrates, it is easy to polish off an entire basket of bread while you’re chatting with your dining partners and waiting on your food. By skipping it altogether, you save calories and save room for your entrée. If you’re ordering a burger or sandwich, consider skipping the bun as well. Most restaurants will use two large lettuce leaves as buns, which tastes just as good but is healthier.
Avoid the Sauces
Salad dressings, wing sauces and other condiments are laden with calories and fat off the shelves and are usually only worse when made at a restaurant. If you can, skip the condiments altogether. If you must have something creamy on your salad or burger, ask for it on the side so you can portion it out yourself. Consider lighter dressings and sauces such as Italian, vinegar and oil or honey mustard.
Eat Food Cooked From Scratch
When deciding where to have lunch or dinner, search for a from scratch restaurant in Tampa, FL. Restaurants that make their food from scratch often use locally sourced livestock and produce, which means they don’t go through the processing and preservatives necessary to keep them safe to eat. Locally sourced food is fresher and able to retain its nutritional value, which means it is a healthier choice even if you choose a not-so-healthy meal.
Drink Water
Between soda, juice and cream- and sugar-filled coffees and teas, it is easy to consume hundreds more calories than you realize in your drinks alone each day. You can skip some of these calories at the restaurant by skipping the soda, coffee or alcohol in favor of water. If you need a flavorful drink with your meal, ask the server to include some lemon wedges or another type of fresh fruit in the water.
Skip Dessert
Even healthier meals at restaurants often have more calories than something you would make at home, but you can forego some of them by skipping dessert. Of course, sometimes a restaurant’s dessert is too good to pass up. You can splurge a little if you plan for it in your calorie allotment for the day and consider splitting it with someone else in your dining party.
Aim for Protein
Part of eating healthy at a restaurant is knowing what has the most nutritional value. When choosing from the menu, look for steak, chicken or fish, all of which are high in protein and will give you the energy you need to get through the rest of your day or evening. When it comes to sides, skip the starchy potato-based dishes in favor of broccoli, cottage cheese or fresh fruit.
Of course, eating healthy means you shouldn’t deprive yourself, either. Whether you choose to eat at a from scratch restaurant in Tampa, FL, such as Marlow’s Tavern, or somewhere else altogether, allow yourself to indulge if you truly want to. Just remember that all things should be in moderation and get back on the health food bandwagon with your next meal.
Hold the Bread
One of the easiest ways to eat healthier when you’re dining out is to ask your server to take the bread away from the table. While the average breadstick only has 25 calories and 4 carbohydrates, it is easy to polish off an entire basket of bread while you’re chatting with your dining partners and waiting on your food. By skipping it altogether, you save calories and save room for your entrée. If you’re ordering a burger or sandwich, consider skipping the bun as well. Most restaurants will use two large lettuce leaves as buns, which tastes just as good but is healthier.
Avoid the Sauces
Salad dressings, wing sauces and other condiments are laden with calories and fat off the shelves and are usually only worse when made at a restaurant. If you can, skip the condiments altogether. If you must have something creamy on your salad or burger, ask for it on the side so you can portion it out yourself. Consider lighter dressings and sauces such as Italian, vinegar and oil or honey mustard.
Eat Food Cooked From Scratch
When deciding where to have lunch or dinner, search for a from scratch restaurant in Tampa, FL. Restaurants that make their food from scratch often use locally sourced livestock and produce, which means they don’t go through the processing and preservatives necessary to keep them safe to eat. Locally sourced food is fresher and able to retain its nutritional value, which means it is a healthier choice even if you choose a not-so-healthy meal.
Drink Water
Between soda, juice and cream- and sugar-filled coffees and teas, it is easy to consume hundreds more calories than you realize in your drinks alone each day. You can skip some of these calories at the restaurant by skipping the soda, coffee or alcohol in favor of water. If you need a flavorful drink with your meal, ask the server to include some lemon wedges or another type of fresh fruit in the water.
Skip Dessert
Even healthier meals at restaurants often have more calories than something you would make at home, but you can forego some of them by skipping dessert. Of course, sometimes a restaurant’s dessert is too good to pass up. You can splurge a little if you plan for it in your calorie allotment for the day and consider splitting it with someone else in your dining party.
Aim for Protein
Part of eating healthy at a restaurant is knowing what has the most nutritional value. When choosing from the menu, look for steak, chicken or fish, all of which are high in protein and will give you the energy you need to get through the rest of your day or evening. When it comes to sides, skip the starchy potato-based dishes in favor of broccoli, cottage cheese or fresh fruit.
Of course, eating healthy means you shouldn’t deprive yourself, either. Whether you choose to eat at a from scratch restaurant in Tampa, FL, such as Marlow’s Tavern, or somewhere else altogether, allow yourself to indulge if you truly want to. Just remember that all things should be in moderation and get back on the health food bandwagon with your next meal.
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