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Healthy Eating, Restaurant Style

It’s Friday night. You’ve been waiting all week to relax in your favorite restaurant, enjoying a bowl of fresh pasta or a tasty steak dinner. For many of us, eating out is one of life’s simple pleasures. People with diabetes can still enjoy this luxury, whether in fast-food places, cafés or elegant restaurants. Making your dining experience a healthy one is just a matter of following a few simple guidelines. Controlling portion size and the amount of fat eaten, choosing healthy beverages, asking questions and planning ahead make all the difference.

Portion distortion

Over the last decade, portions in many restaurants have increased, with some easily double the recommended portion size. ‘Supersize’ and ‘biggy’ have become part of our vocabulary. A recent study reports that most restaurant portions are now two to eight times larger than standard servings.

With such large portions, we have lost sight of the size of a recommended portion. For instance, standard portions of pasta served in most restaurants generally include two to three cups. The recommended portion for most people is one to one-and-a-half cups.

The following tips can help you keep your portions in check.

• Occasionally measuring portions at home makes it easier to eyeball reasonable portions when eating out.
• Consider half portions, appetizer-size portions or senior’s portions.
• Share a large meal with a friend.
• Ask for a ‘doggy bag’ and enjoy leftovers the next day.
• If you decide to have a full meal, skip the bread and dessert.

Hidden fats

Restaurants tend to have many high-fat choices, but the real culprit is hidden fat. Foods that seem to be innocent and healthy choices can be packed full of extra fat and calories.

Salad seems like a wise choice, yet most Caesar salads contain over 500 calories and 50 grams (10 teaspoons) of fat. Lettuce and vegetables are healthy, but dressings, cheese and bacon add extra calories and fat. Cream sauces, such as Alfredo sauce, are often made from pure whipping cream (35 per cent milk fat). Pies and quiches are loaded with extra fat in the crust.

The good news is that many more restaurants, even fast-food restaurants, are now offering lower-fat choices or substitutions.

These tips can help limit fat.

• Try to limit fried or breaded foods, or those that contain hidden fats (in cream, cheese, gravies or salad dressing). Common menu descriptions for these foods include breaded, crispy, fried, au gratin, creamy, and scalloped.
• Ask for sauces, gravies and salad dressings on the side. This way, you can control how much you use.
• If you really crave a rich dish like fettuccini Alfredo, balance your meal by ordering a small portion along with healthier side dishes.

Be choosy about your beverages

We often forget about the extra calories in beverages. Can one specialty coffee, fruit smoothie, lemonade or regular soft drink really make such a difference? Definitely! Many contain between 200 and 300 calories or more per serving.

It is easy to fill up on these tasty beverages. However, extra calories add up quickly and lead to weight gain. In fact, liquid calories have contributed to the increasing rates of obesity in North America.

You can still enjoy your favorite beverages by making a few small changes:

• Choose water, mineral water and diet soft drinks, which contain no calories.
• Ask for milk instead of cream in coffee and tea.
• Look for places that can make cappuccinos with skim instead of whole milk.
• Skip the whipping cream on specialty hot beverages.
• Choose the smallest size available for regular drinks.

Ask questions

Never assume that your choice is wise just because it sounds healthy or is described in the menu as diet, light or healthy. A restaurant’s concept of healthy is not necessarily low in calories and fat. Ask questions. Servers are usually happy to answer your questions.

Ask how food is prepared. Does it come with a sauce or gravy? What sides come with it? Can you substitute sides with healthier choices? Most restaurants are pleased to accommodate your request.

Plan ahead

Even in the best restaurant, it may take a while to prepare your meal.
If you take diabetes medication (pills and/or insulin), a delay can cause low blood glucose. Plan ahead. Have a snack if mealtime will be later than usual. Carry an extra snack in case the restaurant is busy and taking extra time to serve your meal.

Dining out can be good for the soul. If you make wise choices, restaurant eating can also be good for your body. Order healthy choices more often, and limit foods that are occasional treats.