Strategies for Making the Healthiest Choices When Eating Out
12 effective steps to take to eat out, enjoy celebrations while saving your health and even your pocketbook. Portion control, substitutions, avoidance and mindful eating all help health and wealth.
1. Plan Ahead and Review Menus
Check restaurant menus online before arriving to identify healthier options and compare nutritional information. Look for dishes lower in calories, sodium, and saturated fat.
2. Prioritize Cooking Methods
Choose foods that are baked, grilled with little to no oil, steamed, poached, boiled, or roasted instead of fried or sautéed in butter or oil. If unsure, ask how menu items are prepared and request alternatives if needed. You want to avoid vegetable or seed oils especially that have been heated to high temperatures. Simply ask for them to use coconut or avocado oil (best to eat olive oil uncooked/unheated or low temperature heated below 300ºF [148ºC] if possible to be on the safe side) or ghee or, again, simply to use a cooking method that uses no oil such as steamed, poached or boiled.
3. Control Portions
Restaurant portions are often oversized. Share an entrée, order an appetizer as your main, or ask for a to-go box and set aside half your meal before you start eating.
4. Load Up on Vegetables
Start your meal with a salad or broth-based soup, and choose dishes that highlight vegetables. Request extra veggies as sides or swap out carb-heavy sides for steamed or roasted vegetables (ask for no added butter, oil, or salt).
5. Choose Lean Proteins
Opt for lean protein sources like grilled chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, legumes, or lean cuts of beef. These provide essential nutrients without excess saturated fat.
6. Watch Out for Hidden Calories
Ask for sauces, dressings, and toppings on the side so you control how much you use. Avoid creamy sauces, mayonnaise, cheese, and fried toppings, which can add significant calories and fat.
7. Be Beverage-Smart
Avoid sugary drinks, sweetened teas, and high-calorie drinks and alcoholic beverages (alcohol destroys metabolism and nearly guarantees fat accumulation and shuts down fat burn). Choose water or unsweetened beverages. If you want flavor, add lemon or lime slices.
8. Mind the Salt and Sugar
Request that no extra salt or sugar be added to your meal. Use lemon, lime, or vinegar to enhance flavor instead of salt. If you know they use high quality natural salts with natural minerals such as sea salt or Himalayan pink salt then you can be more liberal with your salt. If they use standard refined, white bleached table salt then avoid added salt.
9. Make Simple Modifications
Don’t hesitate to ask for substitutions or tweaks, such as whole-grain bread instead of white, or a side salad instead of fries. Most restaurants are willing to accommodate dietary preferences.
10. Practice Mindful Eating
Eat slowly, savor each bite, and pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues to avoid overeating. If you’re very hungry before arriving, consider a small, healthy snack (like fruit, yogurt or something with protein for fiber) to prevent overindulgence.
11. Avoid “Salad Saboteurs”
Salads can be calorie traps if loaded with fried toppings, cheese, bacon bits, or heavy dressings. Opt for more colorful veggies and use dressings sparingly.
12. Focus on What You Can Add
Instead of focusing on restrictions, look for opportunities to add nutritious foods, such as whole grains, healthy fats (like avocado or olive oil–best if the olive oil is kept in dark glass bottle which you can ask if it is), and extra fruits and vegetables.
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