DOWNSIZE your meal plate. Split a meal with a companion, take half the order home for another meal or order a smaller version of your favorite meal (e.g. kid size burger meal). Most often, restaurant meals contain too many brown and white foods such as refined grain (e.g. white pasta, buns) and red meat (e.g. burger, bacon, sausage) and not enough nutrient dense colorful foods.
Still hungry? ADD COLORFUL "sides" such as a dark green vegetable salad, whole or cut fruit, non-creamy vegetable based soup and raw/steamed /roasted veggies. These foods will help you feel satisfied, increase nutrient intake significantly and are all great substitutions for the most popular high calorie, sodium and fat side: fries
Opt for more UNFRIED white meat of chicken/turkey and fish. Research indicates these foods DO NOT raise the risk of heart disease and cancer (unlike red meat). As long as the fish or poultry is baked, broiled, poached or roasted, you'll save calories too!
Request MODIFICATIONS:
Order 50% less butter/oil IN food preparation and 50% less cheese, mayonnaise based condiments and other fatty sauces (e.g. Alfredo) ON foods.
SKIP:
Soda, juice cocktails, lemonade, sweetened tea and other sugary beverages. These beverages provide too many calories and NO nutritional value to your meal. Opt for water, unsweetened tea or 6-8 ounces nonfat milk/low-fat milk or soy milk.
Refined grains such as white bread (and butter) at the beginning of the meal and oversized desserts at the end of the meal. These "extras" add hundreds to thousands of extra empty calories and unhealthy fat to your waistline.
Enjoy less healthy foods on actual special occasions...remember, not every day is a holiday even though restaurants want you to believe they are.
Source: Erica Batten, RD, CDE, Northwestern Memorial Hospital
(Certified Diabetes Educator),
