Eating Out !

Ok, so you’re a busy professional. You travel several days out of every week. You’re constantly eating out. It’s just impossible to eat healthy! Right! In order to get in shape, I’d need to quit my job.

Wrong! You just need to start to look at things differently. First is restaurant selection. If you’re still chowing down on fast food, shame on you. Not only is it next to impossible to get a healthy meal at those places, but the stuff doesn’t even taste good! (at least I don't think it tastes good compared to a real hamburger or a chunk of salmon, but what do I know?) I know sometimes you're on the go and don’t have time for a real meal, but that’s when a piece of fruit or a protein bar come in handy.

So what about real restaurants? It’s not as hard as you may think. First, you have to get over the fact that much of the menu is junk. If you can shop for healthy food at home, and avoid the bad stuff, why can’t you avoid it on the menu? Almost every restaurant I’ve been to has something that’s both healthy and tasty, and it’s not always on the “Heart Smart” section of the menu. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

Salmon: Most places with have some sort of non-fried fish. Salmon is very common, and is easy to cook, so it usually tastes pretty good even at “chain restaurants”. I’ll ask for extra vegetables instead of the rolls or potato. You can’t get healthier than that!

Salad: Salads aren’t as boring as they used to be. Almost any restaurant will have some sort of salad with mixed greens and non-fried chicken on top. They’re usually so big that they’ll fill up even the biggest appetite, yet since the lettuce is so high in fiber, the calories are reasonable. Be careful not to overdue the dressing though!

Steak: Stick with the vegetables as with the Salmon above.

Roll-ups: So you need a quick bite on the go. Try a chicken, turkey, or tuna roll-up. They have less processed carbs than a normal sandwich and are easier to eat on the go. Just watch the mayo!

Burger: Yes, I said a hamburger! We all get stuck eating bar food now and then (like when your co-workers insist on “all you can eat hot wings”). Just skip the bun, and get a side salad instead of the fries.

These are just for starters. Use your imagination. Send me your best ideas for eating out and I’ll include them in a future issue.