I fell in love with eating out at [good] restaurants when I was in college. I lived in Austin, Texas, how could I not? My friends and I would spend the weekends trying new places, spending money we didn’t have on full course meals. Not that we didn’t frequent a million inexpensive Tex-Mex places too. No wonder I was 10 pounds heavier than I am now!
Now my family rarely eats out. We limit dinners out to about 3 times a month and we always pack lunches for work or school mainly because it allows us to eat more healthfully. Honestly I have no problem eating out once or twice a week if I could, but there are two other reasons why we avoid it 1) eating out with small children is not fun 2) we have a different budget with our new family size and eating out for 5 is expensive. Â Good thing I like to cook!
Although I do miss trying out great restaurants, I appreciate that I have no problems maintaining my weight and I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that I cook 95% from home. Unfortunately as healthy as restaurant food claims to be, it almost always has more fat, sodium and calories than home cooked food (of the equivalence).
However, having worked in the corporate world before I know that a lot of people eat out and they are going to continue to eat out. They have business lunches and dinners, they have events catered, they grab stuff on the go. My biggest problem with that lifestyle is not knowing exactly how your food is being prepared (and a brief description on the menu isn’t what I am talking about). I like to know where things were purchased, how they were stored, handled and prepared. You don’t get to know all of that when you eat out.
If you are trying to lose weight and/or just eat healthier in general think about these things before you go out to eat:
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend whether you dine out or not! Don’t forget to check out my Super Bowl food ideas in the previous post if you missed it. Enjoy the game!
Questions: Do you eat out often? What are your strategies for making good choices? What are your weaknesses when eating out? What tips did I forget (I ran out of room but I’d love to hear your ideas)?!
Travel: Walla Walla, Washington {Wine Country}
A Review of Restaurants & Meal Planning
Eat Right for National Nutrition Month
Cleaning Eating at Panera Bread
As someone who eats out often, these are great tips! If you frequent the same restaurant over and over, you can often “Create your own” meal. Know what ingredients the kitchen has and plan around them. Happy Friday!
Glenneth recently posted..13 for 2013 February Goal Update . . .
These are such great tips! You definitely think like an RD!!! But I’m the same way…I need to know all the details. Can’t help it!
Maria Tadic recently posted..Go Red For Heart Health!
I adore going out to eat. I even suffer through it with a 2 and 4 year old. 😉 So, these are great tips to remember! Love Austin btw!
Bree {Skinny Mommy} recently posted..Slow Cooked Carnitas~ Made Simple
While I hardly ever eat out for ED reasons I wish I did more often. Granted, there aren’t quite as many healthy choices around here compared to the US and you can’t ask for dressing or sauces on the side. Still, there are a several places I really like because they’re serving fresh and tasty food as well as sometimes healthier options like brown instead of white rice.
Your tips are great and I’ve been using some of them when choosing dishes before. Not having to clean the plate but eating until you’re satisfied as well as going for vegetable-based options are very good points in my opinion. Though at times one should just enjoy the whole experience and indulge a little more ;).
Miss Polkadot recently posted..Loving a laid-back Birthday [week]
I’m in the same boat as you – we rarely eat out because it’s just not economical or fun anymore. Great tips!
Angela @ Happy Fit Mama recently posted..Go Red for Women + The Countdown Workout