Slimmer's Guide to Eating Out

Slimmer's Guide to Eating Out

I love to eat out, doesn’t everyone?! It’s social, you can dress up, and it’s a fun way of trying out dishes you don’t normally have at home. If you want to eat out though and still be ‘healthy’ then read on for my top tips.

Research the Menu Online

Most restaurants have a website and display their menus on offer. Having a look before you go can be a great way of planning healthy choices, which means less time spent scrutinising the menu when you’re out!

Know the Language

Choose: Tomato based dishes or dishes described as being grilled, steamed or sautéed (using a small amount of oil).

Avoid: Dishes described as au gratin, scalloped, hollandaise, parmigiana and fried (foods that have added calories and fat in the form of cheese, cream or oil)

Takeaways

Choose: To share dishes and to add your own salad (fill half of your plate with salad FIRST, before adding smaller portions of your take-out).

Avoid: Ordering large portions for one person or having take-outs too often.

Indian Food

Choose: Chicken or fish tandoori or tikka dishes (no sauces), biryanis and dhals (rice and lentil-based), tomato, spinach or cauliflower-based vegetable curries (cooked in a smaller amount of fat), shashlick (chicken or prawns marinated in tomatoes, onion and peppers served on a skewer) and plain boiled rice.

Avoid: Kormas, passandas and masala sauces (all cream based), lamb curries (the lamb used tends to be fatty) and pilau (fried) rice.

Italian food

Choose: Pasta with tomato-based sauces (arrabiata, roasted vegetable or tomato and olive) and risottos (eg seafood or mushroom). Green salads dressed with balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil, ciabatta or focaccia bread. Vegetable, chicken or seafood thin-crust pizzas (ask for reduced fat cheese where possible) or the pizzas with salad in the middle (pizza AND salad.. perfect!).

Avoid: Fried calamari, too much garlic bread, four cheese or pepperoni/salami pizzas, carbonara sauces.

Thai

Choose: Steamed rice, vegetables or fish. Tom yum gai (hot and sour chicken soup), kung pad priaw wan (sweet and sour prawns sauteed with pineapple, pepper and tomato) and pik pow dishes (made with chillies, vegetables and low fat protein such as prawns or squid). Thai salads.

Avoid: Thai curries as they are usually loaded with coconut cream (high in saturated fat) – I prefer to make my own thai curries at home using ‘light’ cream cheese instead of coconut cream or milk (recipe to come!).

Chinese

Choose: Clear soups or broths such as crab or sweet-corn soup. Chop sueys, sweet and sour or stir fried vegetables, prawns steamed with ginger and spring onion, tofu dishes, boiled rice and food served grilled.

Avoid: Peking duck, special fried rice, spring rolls and deep fried dishes, such as prawn crackers or dim sum. Battered meat or fish.

Sandwiches

Choose: Different bread types to add variety and taste (eg sun dried tomato), protein-based fillers such as falafel, ham, chicken, fish or low fat cheeses such as cottage cheese and Edam. Chutneys and pickles dressings. Vegetable-based or salad-packed varieties to fill out the sandwich and keep calories low. Choose those less than 400kcal per pack if buying from a shop and if having at an ‘eatery’ choose to have with salad.

Avoid: Mayonnaise dressings, as well as having chips as a ‘side’.

Buffets

Choose: To fill at least half your plate with healthier options, and add some colour to your plate. Naturally colourful fruits and vegetables like crudités are not only low in calories but contain vitamins and antioxidants which are beneficial to your health.

Avoid: Pastry-based foods such as canapés, tarts, sausage rolls etc. Don’t arrive at the event too hungry - have a light meal or healthy snack prior to getting there to prevent overindulgence and try not to stand near the food table - the temptation to keep grabbing a handful or plateful of something nearby can be over whelming.

Mexican


Choose: Prawn or chicken fajitas. Salsa and bean side dishes. Extra onions, tomatoes, sweetcorn, salad in wraps and tacos. Reduced fat sour cream and guacamole.

Avoid: Adding too much cheese or full fat sour cream to wraps or tacos. Too much guacamole. Too many (cheesy) nachos.

Enjoy all your meals out! And remember, if you do wish to indulge then go for it – just make sure it fits in with your healthy eating plan for the week and the 80:20 rule.

Nichola x