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If you have to eat out..traveling for instance or going out with friends..what do you do? How do you order at Subway or McDonalds for instance? I know these are not the places to go, but when you are with family sometimes you have no choice.. Any help is appreciated
Hi, Boxermom. Avoid fried foods, go for the smallest portions, water instead of other beverages, whole grain if they offer it, salads without extras like ham/cheese/croutons (dressing is OK – go for oil & vinegar, if they have it). At McDonalds, for example, grilled chicken or basic hamburger, whole grain buns if available, salad, fruit. At Subway, whole grain roll, 6-inch (not 12!), the more vegetables in the sandwich the better; if you like meat avoid processed meat and favor fresher meats like roast turkey/chicken/beef; if you like cheese, mozzarella instead of cheddar. No supersizing, of course!
When going out to a regular restaurant, a few tips:
• Avoid any high-carbohydrate/high-fat filler that a restaurant may offer before a meal, like chips or breadsticks.
• Order any sort of vegetables that you can. Vegetables are healthy filler, so always find a way of introducing them to your meal. This can be in the form of marinara sauce, salsa for your Mexican chicken, or just grilled vegetables as a substitute for potatoes or other fillers.
• If butter or a heavy sauce (i.e. cream sauce) is used, ask for it to be left out or served on the side so you can control how much you use.
• For salads, lemon or vinegar with oil is best for your metabolism. This is a good thing to request on the side so you can control the amount – 1 or 2 tablespoons of such a blend should be enough for a single salad.
• Grilled (but not charred) and baked are best for meat, poultry, and fish items, instead of fried or even sautéed (though sautéed is better than deep-fat frying). Fish is usually a better choice – salmon, of course, is the ultimate. Do remove the skin from poultry. If you order beef, ironically the cheapest cut in a restaurant is usually the lowest in saturated fat.
• Be wary of portion sizes, and if they look big, split your plate with someone or leave part of it for a doggy bag – this goes double for dessert.
• Avoid ordering a beverage other than water or unsweetened tea (you can always add your own sweetener brought from home).
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