In the past six weeks I have become an expert at reading food labels and researching nutritional values on just about everything I put into my mouth. But I don’t want to cook 7 days a week, so I need some healthy choices when eating out. What I have been surprised to learn is that some of the assumptions I had made about food were upside down. In this post, I will debunk some common misconceptions I had that you might have too.
MYTH #1 – When eating out while dieting, you’re best sticking to salads.
Sure, if you make a salad yourself and you know what goes into it, you can be pretty sure that it’s going to be a healthy choice. But here are the nutritional values of some restaurant salads:
Macaroni Grill’s Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad: 840 calories, 21.5 WW points, 26 carbs
A better choice: Lasagna al Forno: 670 calories, 16.5 WW points, 40 carbs
Garfields Chicken Quesidilla Salad: 940 calories, 22.5 WW points, 69 carbs
A better choice: Ultimate Nachos (Chicken): 232 calories, 5.5 WW points, 16.39 carbs
MYTH #2 – If you’re dieting you can’t have fast food.
Okay, so I have given up whoppers. BUT .. we do find ourselves on the go, and we have learned that we can have fast food if we limit ourselves to more healthy choices. Here are a couple of examples:
McDonalds – 1 hamburger and half of a small order of fries = 390 calories, 9 WW points and 48 carbs
Taco Bell – 3 hard shell tacos = 510 calories, 11 WW points and 36 carbs
Wendy’s – ¼ pound single with lettuce, tomato only: 410 calories, 9 WW points, 38 carbs
Subway has 4 6” subs with fewer than 300 calories, 6 grams of fat and carb counts ranging from 45-47
Both Wendy’s and Subway have extensive websites listing all nutritional information for their menu items.
MYTH # 3 – Vegetables are better for you than potatoes.
A medium baked potato (about the size of your clenched fist) has 145 calories, 3 WW points and 34 carb. 1tablespoon of sour cream will add 23 calories, no carbs and negligible WW points. Often vegetables at restaurants are swimming in butter, which is far worse than a baked potato with a little sour cream.
MYTH #4 – Avoid pasta and foods with sauces.
Okay, this one’s not really a myth, but go with your eyes open, for example:
Cracker Barrel’s Homestyle Chicken has 1420 calories, 100 carbs and 31 WW points, while their Homemade Chicken ‘n Dumplings have only 390 calories, 9 WW points and 45 carbs.
(also see Macaroni Grill Lasagna vs. Salad reference above, under MYTH #1)
MYTH #5 – Fish is a healthier alternative.
This one will probably seem obvious to you but I thought I’d throw it in. If you’re going to eat fish to be healthier, make sure it’s not fried. Red Lobster’s Admiral’s platter has a whopping 1280 calories and 92 carbs, YIKES. However, their cheddar Bay biscuits, much to my delight, weigh in at only 4 WW points (150 calories and 16 carbs). For bread, that’s darned good and they’re SO yummy! A good choice for a meal at Red Lobster would be pretty much anything that’s not fried and that’s devoid of heavy sauces. Steamed Clams have 430 calories, 10 WW points and 10 carbs. Rock Lobster tail has only 90 calories, 2 WW points and no carbs.
Many restaurant chains are now offering healthier alternatives to the high-fat, high-carb menus they have pushed in the past. My favorite right now is Applebees, and their under 550 calorie selections have WW points right on the menu. They even have low calorie alcoholic beverages.
Finally, a pretty safe choice is a steak house - my two favorite chains right now are Lone Star and Texas Roadhouse. We stick to the top sirloin, which is very lean, and we avoid the rolls at both places. At Lone Star, I love the steamed broccoli in place of a potato, but have to remember to tell them not to put the butter sauce on. Trust me, you don't need it - this broccoli is steamed to perfection and just delicious on its own! At Texas Roadhouse I usually opt for the baked sweet potato, high in vitamin A and pretty WW-friendly if you don't load it. Try it with a tiny bit of the cinnamon butter they give you with the rolls you're not going to eat. :)
I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s time to put away the assumptions you had and start researching before you go out to eat. There are Android aps that you can download to your cell phone for free that have restaurant searches and you can look up nutritional information on the go. The key is (and I’ll be talking about this a lot in upcoming posts) do not deprive yourself or you will fail. Make this a lifestyle change, not a diet. That will inevitably include eating out because we live in a real world and have busy schedules. It is unrealistic to think you can cook every meal for yourself.
Next Post: Snacking to Boost Your Metabolism
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