10 Tips for Restaurant Dining

[Guest guest]

10 Tips for Restaurant Dining

 

 

1. Eat as you would at home.

 

Don't think that every time you eat out you have a

special license to eat as much as you want. After all,

how many times in the past week did you eat a meal

that was prepared by someone else outside your home?

Think about what you choose from the menu; is it both

healthful and enjoyable? If not, consider changing the

restaurants you frequent, the foods you choose and how

much you eat. Build your positive experiences and

confidence will follow.

 

2. Pick your spots more carefully.

 

Do you have a handful of favorite restaurants in your

neighborhood? How many of them have healthy choices

that you like? If the answer is not many, consider

looking for some new haunts. When you approach a

restaurant that's new to you, feel free to ask for a

menu. Review it for healthy options before you sit

down or place a take-out order.

 

3. Visualize your healthy meal.

 

Olympic sprinters visualize crossing the finish line

in front of their competitors. You can use the same

technique at a favorite restaurant. On your way, think

about what healthy food you might order. Imagine

waving away the menu - you've seen it a hundred times,

after all - and asking for something healthy. Then

visualize walking out of the restaurant feeling happy

and satisfied. Enter the restaurant with that scene in

your mind.

 

4. Be on guard for fat.

 

Fat, and all the calories it brings, lurks in, on and

around the menu, and on the table. In white-tablecloth

restaurants, avoid butter or margarine on bread, and

keep the bowl of deep-fried tortilla chips or Chinese

noodles at arm's length. During your meal, watch out

for large amounts of salad dressing, sour cream,

mayonnaise or Parmesan cheese. Inspect menus for food

that contains cheese sauce, cream sauce, butter, oil,

avocado, high-fat cuts of meats or sausage. Be wary of

phrases like " deep-fried, " " golden brown " and

" crispy. " Remember this high-fat hit list:

chimichangas, fettuccine Alfredo, chicken pie, and

tuna and chicken salad.

 

5. Build a better plate.

 

Is your plate SAD? The Standard American Diet includes

lots of high-fat animal protein foods, but not many

whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Most restaurant

meals mimic that unhealthful pattern. Turn it around!

When you order, visualize a plate where meat, chicken

or fish takes up only 1/4 of the space. Have you

ordered any grains or vegetables? Will the protein in

your meal come to no more than 3 to 4 ounces cooked?

That's your goal.

 

6. Know when to say when.

 

The best way to eat less is to order less. Look for

words like “regular,” “small,” “single,” “appetizer”

or “kiddie.” Order with your stomach in mind, not your

eyes.

 

7. Outsmart the menu.

 

There's no sign at a restaurant entrance that says,

“Ye who enter must order an entree.” Get the food you

want in the amounts you need. If restaurants insist on

serving gigantic portions, then take advantage of

appetizers, soups, salads, a la carte items and side

dishes. Split menu items with a dining partner. For

example, in an Italian restaurant, one person might

order pasta with a tomato sauce while the other orders

a chicken or seafood dish with a vegetable. When

dining with a group, order one or two fewer dishes

than the number of people at the table - and eat

family style.

 

8. Speak your mind (but be polite).

 

Don't hesitate to ask for the food you want. An

essential skill for dining out is getting your food

prepared the way you like it. Tell your server your

needs when you're handed the menu, ask for an opinion

of what you should order - and keep your requests

practical. For example, substitute pretzels or a baked

potato for chips or fries, or ask for mustard instead

of mayonnaise. And it never hurts to add a " please "

and " thank you, " and leave a nice tip.

 

9. Resign from the “clean-plate club.”

 

We're sorry: Membership in the clean-plate club is at

capacity. Apply to the far-more-exclusive

“leave-a-few-bites-on-your-plate-club” instead. Eat

slowly, enjoy your meal and push the plate away when

you've had enough.

 

10. You can take it with you.

 

If a portion is too big, don't feel like you're

wasting your money if you can't eat it all - ask for a

doggy bag and take it home. If there's a lot left, ask

your server to put the food into two take-home

containers for a couple of meals. And if you're truly

daring, ask the server to pack half your portion into

a doggy bag before it even reaches your table. That

way, you won't be tempted to eat a super-sized portion

at the restaurant.

 

 

 

 

=====

Language is an expression of thought. Everytime you speak, your mind is on

Parade Exodus 20:8-11 & Hebrews 4:9

 

 

 

New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

http://sbc.