Thursday, December 25, 2008

Nutrition Bite

Dining Out: Do’s and Don’ts

When going out to a restaurant to eat, choosing foods wisely will make your visit a whole lot healthier. Don’t be afraid to ask the server if they have any healthier options on the menu or if you can order something prepared a certain way. The best ways to have your food prepared are baked, broiled, roasted, or steamed. One way you should never have your food prepared is fried.
When ordering keep some things in mind to help make your order healthy:
Appetizers: Shrimp cocktail, fruit cocktail, melon, and crackers are great starters.

Breads: Ask if the bread is whole-grained and avoid using large amounts of better. Not using butter at all would be you best choice however.

Soups: Broth-based soups, minestrone, lentils, and bean soups.

Salads: Try to limit the amounts of cheese, bacon bits, olives, and high-fat dressings. Stick with the veggies and croutons.

Seafood and Poultry: Request your food to be broiled, baked, roasted, steamed, or stir-fried. Also ask that it be done dry or with very little oil because many chefs tend to use a large amount of oil or butter to prepare their food.

Beef: If you order large portions of meat then reduce the size and take the left-overs home to eat for another meal. Also, trim the visible fat or ask for extra-lean cuts of meat.

Pasta: Order pasta served with tomato sauces rather than high fat sauces such as cheese, oil, or cream sauces.

Vegetables: Request your veggies to be steamed or prepared with no butter and sauces served on the side.

Potatoes: A baked potato can be a good source of carbs however, ask that toppings be served on the side so you can control the amount used. Try to avoid large amounts of fatty toppings such as butter, and bacon bits.

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