I will first start off by saying that eating out is hard. You lose a bit of control over what goes in your body when you don't prepare it yourself. We went out to dinner on Saturday and did okay. I filled up on a healthy soup and salad ahead of time and boxed up most of my entree for later. Here are a few tips we can all use to make the best choices when you are eating out.
1. If you know you are going to be eating out, get a good workout in before hand, so those extra calories won't hurt as much.
2. Check the menu ahead of time. Greg says he types the restaurant into myfitnesspal to see what comes up and what meals would work. Or look at the menu online to find something that would be healthy. Most chain restaurants post their nutrition online as well.
2. Eat something to fill you up a bit before you go like a fiber bar, or a protein bar before getting to the restaurant so your hunger doesn't drive your food decisions. Ever gone to the grocery store hungry? Same idea.
3. Ask them to box up half immediately so you aren't tempted to eat the entire oversized portion. This is especially true of places that are notorious for oversized meals.
4. Order salad dressing on the side and "fork" your salad (dip fork into dressing with each bite of lettuce). You still get the flavor without all the fat.
5. Only order water. The fastest way to burn through your calories is with sugary sodas and drinks. Water is better on your wallet too!
And since we are on the subject of food, what is everyone eating that is helping them stay healthy? A few meals we have eaten this week are a pumpkin french toast bake (made even lighter by substituting two of the eggs for greek yogurt), delicious ham and potato soup, and White Bean Chicken Chili with cornbread. Here is the recipe:
White Bean Chicken Chili
(you can also substitute 1 1/4 cup dry great northern beans, but you will need to add an additional 2 cups of water)
2 cans Great Northern beans
- 1 can green chiles, diced
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast (fresh or frozen)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups water with 2 tsps. of chicken bouillon)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 package corn, frozen
- 1 tablespoon cumin
-1 tsp salt
(you can also substitute 1 1/4 cup dry great northern beans, but you will need to add an additional 2 cups of water)
2 cans Great Northern beans
- 1 can green chiles, diced
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast (fresh or frozen)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups water with 2 tsps. of chicken bouillon)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 package corn, frozen
- 1 tablespoon cumin
-1 tsp salt
Put all ingredients in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high and shred the chicken in the pot after 3 hours.
What are you eating? And what is your plan for eating out this week? What restaurants do you prefer?
PS. One of my favorite restaurants for eating out is Noodles and Company. They have a great healthy option menu, is reasonable priced (and delicious) and as a bonus my kids don't bug the other customers because it's a really casual place. Win all around.
My favorite lunch has been fajita salad. I cut an entire bell pepper, half an onion and a little chicken. I spray the pan with cooking spray to cook the veggies. When they are done, I toss in the chicken (which I already cooked) and add some fajita seasoning and about 1/4 c water. Let the flavors happy for a minute on the stove. Then I dump it all on top of about 2 c baby spinach. I top it with 1/2 of one of those 100 calorie guacamole packets and a couple tablespoons of fat free ranch. Lots of yummy healthiness for under 200 calories.
ReplyDeleteJust put the white bean chicken chili in the crockpot for dinner tonight. Thanks for the recipe, Heidi.
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