Healthy eating when you’re dining out

In the West, the number of people that eat out because of lack of time or just too much work has increased tremendously over the last 10 years. Some say eating out a lot is bad. I agree only to the extent of what you eat. If you can control what you eat out and only ensure it is healthy, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating out.

(Of course, nothing beats mum’s cooking though, right?)

Here are four specific tips to help you make healthy decisions when dining out:

1. Appetizers. If you’re going to indulge in appetizers, keep in mind that although they’re just for nibbling and you may have lots, they do contain a lot of calories. Things like mozzarella sticks, potato skins, nachos, garlic bread, etc are all high in calories. If you must have an appetizer, also get a big bowl of fresh salad with it so that you’re going to allow for comfortable digestion within your body. Every place on earth must be able to cut you up some fresh salad – if it can’t, don’t dine there!

2. Avoid heavily fried items. The excessive oil doesn’t mix well with your water-rich body. If what you want to eat needs to be fried, ask that it is heavily dried so that the oil doesn’t remain in excess.

3.  Chew well. It’s a simple rule whether you’re at home or dining out. I grew up with the idea that no matter what you’re eating, chew 40 times. I would say the average should be between 25-35 and 40 can be a bit high sometimes. The quality of your chewing determines the quality of your stomach because how well you chew determines how much is already digested in the mouth using your salivary enzymes. If you don’t chew and allow the food lump to go to the stomach, you’re stomach may have problems in breaking it down well enough.

4. If you have a choice between fried food, boiled food and steamed food, choose the latter. Steamed vegetables, for example, allows most of the nutrients you’re going to gain from eating the vegetables to remain fresh. Boiling vegetables however loses most of the good stuff. Even if you’re going to have a fried meal, try to have a lot of fresh salad or steamed vegetables with it.

Make sure you’re eating out because you’re actually hungry and you don’t just want to nibble on something. Avoid snacking altogether if possible. If you’re feeling peckish and not hungry, eat some fresh fruit or drink a glass of water. Both are good at filling you up and are good at providing you the vitamins and nutrients you need quicker.

The underlying message here is only eat out when you’re really hungry and with whatever you choose to go for, ensure you complement it with a huge bowl of fresh salad so that it can wash down quicker and you’re still getting the water-rich content you require.