What DMRH&S Eats When Eating Out...

Recently, I came across an interesting article entitled "What Nutritionists Eat When Eating Out". I was really curious to see if I was doing at least some of the right things when I choose my meals - and happy to find out that I've been doing a good job!

You can read the article here. And I thought I would do a version called "What DMRH&S Eats When Eating Out", LOL!

Burger Joints
I'm not a huge fan of burgers, but occasionally I like one from Red Robin, Cheddar's, or Max & Erma's. Of course, some of those burgers can be in excess of 1000 calories - and we won't even discuss the fat grams. I order the smallest burger on the menu - with cheese, pickle, & tomato. (I know it would be less fat without the cheese, but I just can't eat a burger without cheese!) Instead of fries, I order a (side) salad with vinaigrette dressing on the side. When the burger arrives, I immediately cut it in half - I eat half and take the other half home.

Ice Cream
I don't eat ice cream, but I am a fool for Bruster's orange sherbet. It's an ice sherbet & it has the best orange flavor ever. I get it in a cup rather than a cone - and since it's such a large serving (3.5 oz.), I only eat half. Luckily, we live close to a Bruster's so melting isn't an issue, LOL. I also reserve this treat for once a week since it's not sugar-free.

Chinese
I love, love, love Chinese food. I could seriously eat it everyday. We have a wonderful local restaurant (where they know us by name & show up at our table with our favorite drinks - who doesn't love that?) that in my opinion far surpasses any chain. My favorite dish is steamed shrimp & vegetables. It comes in a light garlic sauce & is simply delicious. It comes with a cup of rice, but I don't eat more than half. Maybe one in five visits, I'll splurge and get a small chicken spring roll as an appetizer. In the fall, they have fresh, locally-grown edamame - and we love that as an appetizer. They also have the best sweet tea around (a major accomplishment here in the south), so I must have that while I'm here. This is the only place I don't order water with lemon as my drink, so I try to make sure I don't have too much sugar the rest of the day.

Mexican
I don't eat Mexican food very often, but when I do, it's usually from Chipotle, and I bring it home. I get the Carnitas Bowl with light rice & beans. Yep, just meat, a little rice, & a little beans. Then when I get it home, I divide it in half and add tomatoes, a TBSP. of fat-free sour cream, and a sprinkle of fat-free cheese. The other half goes in the fridge for lunch the next day.

Pizza
I don't eat a lot of pizza either, but my favorite is Papa Murphy's. I like the thin crust with light sauce, mushrooms, black olives, Canadian bacon (less fat than most other meat choices), light cheese, & sometimes onions. I limit myself to 2 slices of the medium pizza. I recently read an article that talked about Papa Murphy's Gourmet Vegetarian deLITE Thin Crust Pizza, so I want to try that. It has a cracker-thin crust and comes with creamy garlic sauce topping, herb-laced cheese, and six different vegetables—zucchini, mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, onions, and marinated artichoke hearts. I think I would like the regular Veggie deLITE Thin Crust Pizza, too - maybe even more than the gourmet version.

Breakfast
Cracker Barrel even has a decent offering with their Wholesome Mornin' Sampler - low-fat vanilla yogurt and seasonal fruit topped with a honey granola mix of almonds and dried fruit, along with two eggs cooked to order; served with a Wild Maine Blueberry Muffin or an Apple Bran Muffin and your choice of smoked sausage patties, turkey sausage patties or thick-sliced bacon. I ask for egg substitute, give Gus one of the turkey sausage patties, and save the blueberry muffin for later (or just eat half). The yogurt & fruit (strawberries & blueberries) is delicious - and the blueberries are the largest I've ever seen. I also love First Watch. The Tri-Athlete Omelette is really tasty - egg white omelette with sliced mushrooms, onions, tomato and green chilies. (I skip the onions & green chilies.) It's served with salsa, a dry English muffin and fresh fruit.

How do you combine eating healthy with eating out?