The Restaurant Experience

The Restaurant Experience

Eating out should be a fun, enjoyable and pleasurable experience. However for people who are trying to lose weight or wanting to eat 'healthier' it can be highly stressful.. 'what do I choose?', 'is that portion size too big?', 'how is it cooked?', 'what's in that?!' .. these thoughts can cause some people to avoid the 'eating out' experience altogether.

 

'is that 500 or 1500 calories?'

 

Common tactics often used by 'slimmers' are 'asking for more vegetables than potatoes', 'ordering the salad on the side', 'having baby potatoes instead of chips' and 'sharing a dessert' ... but what about the butter on the potatoes and vegetables, and what do you do with the dressing on the side?! Pour it all over?! And what if you want a WHOLE dessert to your self?! Eating out can really be a tricky business when it comes to calorie counting.. and only the chef really knows what is in the dish!

 

 

So, does it really matter? The answer is yes. A typical evening or larger lunch meal for someone trying to lose weight should be around 500 calories .. however some dishes can be over double this. Take, for example, the humble Chinese prawn balls.. 10 in batter, and a sweet and sour sauce can be ~1200 calories, where as a Chinese lemon chicken might be only 300 calories (portion size dependent) - and don't forget about the rice and prawn crackers too!

 

Some restaurants are already jumping on the 'healthy' bandwagon by either highlighting 'healthier' food choices such as those dishes that are less than 5% fat, or even labelling the calorie contents of their meals online. Others have chosen to develop a 'lighter' range of their meals with all meals shown equal to or less than 500 calories.

So what can be done? In my opinion, restaurants have a few different options.. which one they choose (if at all) will depend upon the restaurant and client type. Here are my suggestions (taking into account what has been done already too!):

1) Having smaller portion sizes of all main meals available

2) Labelling dishes that are less than 5% fat or 500 calorie with a symbol
e.g. 'h' for healthy range

3) Having a separate section of the menu dedicated to lower calorie dishes

4) Showing the calorie contents of meals online or in an in-house pamphlet

5) Having fat-free dressings, sweeteners, fruit, yoghurts and salads always available

Supermarkets are now legally required to make nutritional information of foods easier to read, so what about restaurants and other eateries? Restaurants should endeavour to make every diner's eating experiences as positive as possible.. so if this means offering healthy dishes for those who are watching their weight or simply wanting a lighter meal then why not?

As more and more restaurants are realising the potential of displaying if meals are '500 or 1500 calories' we are seeing new ways in which healthy eating can be achieved - in truly delicious ways! It is however down to the individual ordering as to what they choose.. and if eating out isn't a regular event then who cares about calories. High calorie foods can be eaten as part of a healthy diet.. it's just how often that these foods are eaten that matters.

The decision is always ours.. but all I am asking for is a little information to help us make informed decisions about the meals that we are paying to eat.

If the calorie information is online/on the menu then take a look.. and if not then check-out my slimmer's guide to eating out for a helpful guide!


You can also check out my You Tube video to hear the public's thoughts on the nutritional information currently being displayed in shops and fast-food outlets here (3 minutes onwards):

 

 

Thanks for watching and happy (healthy) eating out to you all!

Nic

My First 'Vlog' - How to break BAD diet habits!

My First 'Vlog' - How to break BAD diet habits!

So, I finally took the plunge and made my very first Vlog (Video Blog)!

 

In this video I give you my top 5 tips for breaking those bad diet habits that could be halting your weight loss attempts or be causing weight gain. Please give it a 'thumbs' up and comment if you like it!

 

You can subscribe to my You Tube channel by clicking [here]


I'm planning on making more You Tube clips and have already had some fantastic suggestions of them on Twitter so thank you - if you have any more please leave them in a comment below or email me!

Thank you for watching :)

 

Nic x

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



Enoteca Sociale

Enoteca Sociale

Some of you may know, the better half of 4417 celebrated her birthday this weekend!  Yes, we packed the long weekend with cleaning, gardening, shopping, lobsters, brunch, and bowling; more on that later.  This post is about a birthday dinner, just the two of us at a restaurant we've been salivating over for a long time now.  We've failed to get a reservation a few times now, so this time i made no mistake an planned two weeks in advance.


we like the light hearted, homey, family feel of the space

we started with the special, suckling pig rillette with a pickled mustard seed dressing.  the arancini con stracciatella is a riceball served with arugula and carmalized onion.

house made pappardelle with ontario goat ragu

ontario rainbow trout with dandilion and pearl onions, and a N'djua & clams dish

i promise you, she's very happy and extremely full, but dessert is on its way!

i had the budino, which is a chocolate mousse/pudding with seat salt and a hazelnut merigue

may had the tiramisu.  chef rocco's version is made with blood orange zest and prosecco.

Wow wow wow, what a celebration meal, it felt like it was my birthday too.  Maybe it was because we had some truely well executed homestyle Roman food that we really connected with, but i think we both agree our server, Scott really added to our dining experience.  He took the time to carefully explain each dish, and made suggestions on why we might want to choose certain dishes in combination with each other.  He helped us pick out wines that suited our taste, and he gently convinced me that I probably couldn't finish all that i wanted to order, haha.  The warm neighbourly service and cozy down to earth dining room was definitely refreshing as it contrasts the slightly tenser environment we've experienced at pizza libretto in the past (same owner).

The dishes were all very well thought out, relying on simple ideas and quality ingredients.  There is clear presence of local ingredients in the menu, the fish dish reminded me why rainbow trout is probably one of the most forgotten and underrated proteins ontario has to offer.  The obvious high note in our meal for me was the pappardelle as the pasta had the perfect chew only roman's know about and the goat ragu is braised to an almost silky texture without any gamey flavours.  And birthday girl will now be suggesting we go to enoteca sociale every week for her favourite tiramisu, it was simply the best we've had.

Thank you for an amazing and memorable meal, and happy birthday may!

pomogranate

pomogranate

Lauren suggested we eat out at Pomogranate Restaurant and that's what we did with Jon, Heather & Liam. 3 couples + awesome persian food = the perfect way to catch up and enjoy company.


the restaurant is authentically decorated to best of my knowledge, filled with happy customers. A nice and cozy place, and it even has a special "bed seating/booth" at the back.


May and I shared the "kashk-e bademjaan" which is a spread made of charred eggplant, persian whey, garlic, walnuts and crispy onions. It has a bold taste, as if it has cheese in it, and compliments well with the bread they serve. Lauren and Jon had a similar spread that was tomato based and spicey which was also very tasty.


i had the braised lamb shank served with saffron rice, diced pistacios, almonds, carrots, barberries and orange peel. the lamb was perfectly cooked and the rice was very refreshing. the side tomato cucumber salad was bland however.


May had the lamb stew with quince.


I think the next time i go, i'm going to order what Lauren had which is the "fesenjaan" - a ground walnut stew


without a question, the highlight is their ice cream. A pistacio based icecream with rosewater, this yummy and gigantic portion is only $5.50 more than enough to share, but really meant for one, at least for me.

everything is reasonably priced but you should make a reservation. check out their website

enjoy!

no such thing as too often.

no such thing as too often.

yeah..... so what, if we like going to hoofcafe often. and i'm not gonna even pretend that we didn't go yesterday too (they happened to have an empty spot, while saving grace was packed). This post however, was our visit a month ago when Megan was in town.


we started with a latte at ezra's pound while we waited for a seat at the hoof.


one of the best, if not thee best brunch spots in tdot. kitchen


bone marrow beignets! 'nuff said.


super impressed with what may and ryan ordered. thinly shaven beef tongue, salami, cheese. hot diggity.


megan's chocolate bananna waffles with caramel was it?


je mappelle friggn'-awesome-foie gras fench toast. sorry for my grade 9 french.


and.. if you've never seen it, the bar.


good times. happy stomachs.

i don't know why you all haven't gone already. and you think it is an overly decadent meal, but it is quite refined, a very proper portion and way way less heavy than the typical eggs-sausage-hash greasy brunch platter.

oh and $3 baked beans. trust me.