If you decided to express love to your valentine by making healthy food choices, consider helping the entire family live a healthier lifestyle. With so many meals eaten away from home, choosing the most healthful items becomes a challenge. Many restaurants help patrons make good choices by identifying items with fewer calories. Others offer smaller portions.
Several tips can help cut calories when eating out.
- Order red instead of white sauces to lower calorie intake.
- Request all dressings, sauces, butter, and gravies be served on the side so you can control serving size. Then use sparingly.
- Choose entrees of chicken, seafood, or lean meat instead of fatty meats.
- Check for menu items marked “healthy.”
- Choose steamed, broiled, baked, grilled, poached, or roasted foods instead of those fried, smothered, sautéed, creamed, or au gratin.
- Avoid cocktails, appetizers, and bread and butter before the meal.
- Avoid all-you-can-eat buffets and specials. Order from the menu.
- Split orders with someone else, ask for smaller portions, or ask for a to-go box at the beginning of the meal to help control the amount you eat.
With busy schedules, sometimes fast-food seems unavoidable. To make healthier choices and to teach your children to do likewise, consider the following tips.
- Hold the mayo and other sauces.
- Choose low-calorie dressings for salads
- Avoid double meat portions. One portion is usually more than a serving size.
- Choose chicken over higher fat burgers.
- Ask for baked, broiled, or grilled fish sandwiches instead of fried fish.
- Omit bacon on sandwiches. It’s high in sodium, usually high in fat, and adds little nutritive value to the meal.
- Eat sandwiches open-faced to cut the extra calories from the top part.
- Order whole-wheat buns or bread when available.
- Choose low-fat milk, diet drinks, or water instead of regular colas.
- Choose unsweetened tea instead of sweetened tea.
- Skip the fries and request a fruit, fruit-cup, or vegetable such as salad.
Eating healthy isn’t nearly as hard as some try to make it. If you can’t bring yourself to make all these changes at one time, pick out a few you think your taste buds will tolerate and start there. You will at least be on your way to healthier eating and will probably lose a little weight along the way—which for most of us would be an added bonus. Bon appétit.
Related articles
- Yes, you can eat out and lose weight (theglobeandmail.com)
FOOD FROM THE GARDEN 
Leave a Reply