Big weekend plans? Don't panic! You don't have to give up dining out because you're trying to lose weight! With a little preparation, you can still spend a night out on the town without punishing yourself the entire week ahead.
Dining out on a diet doesn't have to be cause for panic. With a little planning and preparation, you can make it through eating out without blowing your diet.
Dining out on a diet doesn't have to be cause for panic. With a little planning and preparation, you can make it through eating out without blowing your diet.
- Order from the appetizer menu. Hungry? Order a side salad as well ... a good way to ensure you're still eating instead of watching your date finish off his entree after you've polished off that shrimp cocktail.
- Keep tabs on that tubini. Endless pasta may be your idea of bliss (Darn near nirvana for yours truly!), but it's a scary prospect to those of us who overeat. Stick with a single entree and don't worry about being a member of the clean plate club. I won't tell your mom if you don't tell mine.
- Meat yourself half-way. As tempting as that guy at the booth across from you is making that bucket of fried chicken look, always elect poultry to be prepared the following ways: steamed; poached; roasted; broiled; boiled; grilled; or baked. As for you beef-eaters out there, be sure you choose lean cuts like loin or flank.
- Modify the menu. In my neck of the woods, where anything and everything can be batter-dipped and fried, I ask for fried entrees and sides to be boiled, broiled or roasted and I'm rarely turned down.
- Beware the buzz words: Cream sauces; butter; oil; au gratin; breaded; Alfredo; battered or batter-dipped and, Mom's favorite topper, gravy. Avoid them all unless you're putting in some extra sessions on the stair climber this week.
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