Eating Out Healthfully

There’s no reason dining out can’t be exciting, delicious—and healthy.

Restaurants now have plenty of lower-calorie and reduced fat menu options to choose from. And if you make a special request, many places will accommodate your needs.

Here are some tips for eating out:

• Watch portion sizes. While more food for less money is typically regarded as a plus, the extra calories are a negative for your health. Try splitting the dish with others or take the remaining portion to go.
• Request sauces, gravy and dressing on the side. This way you’ll have more control of how much you eat.
• Skip fried and stuffed foods since those are high in fat and calories. Choose steamed, broiled, baked, grilled, poached or roasted menu items.
• Meals in restaurants are typically high in salt or sodium. While it can be tricky to control this, you can ask for your food to be prepared without salt or limit those type if items when you order.
• If there’s a meal that’s made with butter, ask your server if they can prepare your meal with a vegetable oil such as canola, olive, corn, soy, sunflower or safflower, instead.
• Pass on deserts that are dense with calories like pastries or ice cream. Satisfy your sweet tooth with fresh fruit, sorbets or sherbet.

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