Discover the Ultimate Healthy Restaurant Choices to Supercharge Your Dieting Success!

Eating out while trying to maintain a healthy diet or lose weight can feel like navigating a minefield. The good news is that with a little planning and knowledge, you can enjoy restaurant meals without derailing your progress. This guide provides strategies for making smart choices, along with specific examples of healthy options at popular restaurant chains.

Understanding the Challenges of Restaurant Dining

One of the biggest challenges of eating out is the lack of control over ingredients and preparation methods. Restaurant meals often contain higher amounts of saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars than home-cooked meals. Portion sizes also tend to be larger, making it easy to overeat. Moreover, crucial nutritional information like calorie and fat content is not always readily available.

General Strategies for Healthy Restaurant Eating

Here are some general guidelines to help you make healthier choices when dining out:

Plan Ahead:
- Search online: Take advantage of the information age. Go online and look up the restaurant’s menu. Decide what meal you want before you go.
Look for Clue Words:
- The menu may have “healthy” designations or symbols, or key words in the names of some items, such as light, fresh, fit, vegetarian and skinny.
Don't Be Afraid to Ask:
- In restaurants where food is cooked to order, you can make special requests for lighter fare. If you're counting calories -- or keeping an eye on saturated fat, cholesterol, or sodium -- tell your server. Ask what's in a dish. Find out how it's cooked. A chef can often prepare food using less oil, no butter, or no added salt. If there is sauce, salad dressing, or gravy, get it on the side. Then you can dip -- or skip -- and use less.
Resist Upselling and Freebies:
- Just say no. Resist the upsell and freebies. The cocktails and appetizers can be tempting, but they can add saturated fat, sodium, added sugar and/or calories. You don’t have to accept the free bread and butter or chips and salsa either.
Modify Your Order:
- Don’t be afraid to modify. Ask for light oil, request sauce on the side so you can choose your portion, and alter ingredients to create a healthier meal.
Choose Grilled or Baked Options:
- Choose grilled. When it comes to proteins, go with grilled options when available. Look for possible code words to healthier food with less saturated fat. Grilled chicken vs. fried chicken. Broiled fish vs. fried fish. When dining out, look for possible code words to healthier food with less saturated fat. Thumbs Up: Baked, broiled, grilled Poached, roasted, steamed In its own juice, garden fresh
Load Up on Veggies:
- Color your plate. Have it your way. What if you just can’t find a healthy option? Get creative. Ask the server if your meal can be prepared to order. If so, combine side vegetables or healthy ingredients from different dishes. While restaurant veggies are likely to be cooked with more butter and oil than you use at home, they are often much lower in calories than other popular sides, like potatoes, rice, and mac & cheese.
Control Portion Sizes:
- Right-size instead of super-size. If the portions are large, share an entree or set aside half to take home before you start eating. Don't Eat It All Restaurants serve huge portions. If you're counting calories -- or monitoring blood glucose - don't eat it all yourself. Try this instead: Restrain yourself, and take a box home. Share with others at your table. Ask your server to box up half before bringing the meal out.
Request Healthy Substitutions:
- Cutting Fat Can Help Weight Loss Ask your server about healthy substitutions: A vegetable or fruit instead of French fries Skinless chicken that's broiled instead of fried Low-fat milk for your coffee, instead of cream. Check your oil. Ask about butter, solid fats and cooking oils used in the kitchen, and request that healthier nontropical vegetable oils such as canola, corn or sunflower oil be used. These oils are lower in saturated fats than tropical oils such as coconut or palm oils. Keep it on the side. Request that butter, cheese, toppings, salad dressings, sauces and gravies be served on the side.
Be Aware of Sodium:
- Spotting High-Sodium Foods Restaurant foods can be very high in sodium, or salt. If you are watching your sodium as many Americans need to, watch for: Foods that are pickled, smoked, in broth or au jus Cocktail sauce, soy, or teriyaki sauce MSG Look for low-sodium soy sauce. And ask that your food be prepared without added salt or MSG.

Weight Loss Friendly Lunches

Here is the criteria we used for choosing the most weight loss friendly lunches:

Less Than 600 calories - If you’re trying to lose weight you need to eat at least 1200 calories to keep your body from going into starvation mode and holding on to fat.
Less Than 18g of fat - Limiting fat intake to 30-40g per day will help your body burn fat and achieve weight loss.
At Least 8g of fiber - The more fiber a food has, the faster you fill up and the longer you stay full.

Specific Restaurant Choices

To provide more concrete guidance, here are some recommended orders at popular chain restaurants:

1. Panda Express: String Bean Chicken Breast

The weight loss power of the String Bean Chicken Breast lunch comes from the Mixed Veggies, so make sure you eat them first. Watchouts: This meal looks pretty healthy but is extremely high in sodium.

2. Bob Evans: Grilled Chicken Breast

This meal was a pleasant surprise. It’s nice to be able to indulge with the mashed potatoes without feeling guilty. The meal hero is definitely broccoli. Chock full of fiber - as well as a fairly good source of protein, it helps you feel satisfied earlier in the meal. Keep in mind that the chicken portion is actually two servings. Watchouts: This meal is high in sodium.

3. Jason’s Deli: Black Bean Burger

Beans are a powerful ingredient in this lunch (as well as any lunch meal). The amount of fiber found in beans as well as their unique nutritional make-up help beans to blunt the amount of insulin your body produces after the meal. The broccoli, spinach, and black bean sides provide the right amount of fiber to make this meal both filling and weight loss friendly. And the avocado adds a bit of healthy fat your body can use. Watchouts: This meal is extremely high in sodium.

4. Noodles & Company: Pasta Fresca

Because most of the fiber in this meal comes from pasta, which isn’t a weight loss food, add a side of veggies and eat them first. Then stop eating when you’re no longer hungry. Watchouts: Because most of the fiber comes from the pasta, this meal is not diabetic friendly. If you struggle controlling your blood sugars and still want to try the pasta, eat only half of the pasta and ask for a side of Primavera Roasted Vegetables along with the Grilled Vegetables. This meal is extremely high in sodium.

5. Wendy’s: Southwest Chicken Chili

Unlike beef chili, this southwest chicken chili is packed with beans. The beans in this meal help you stay full longer, even though you’re consuming only 367 calories.

6. Panera Bread: Lentil Quinoa Broth Bowl

The Lentil Quinoa Broth Bowl is chock full of superfoods - from quinoa to kale and even spinach. All of those are also high fiber foods which help you fill up faster and stay full longer, which makes this soup more filling than others. Watchouts: Though this meal may look gluten free, it contains traces of wheat, so if you have celiac disease or are allergic to wheat, skip it.

7. Macaroni Grill: Make Your Own Pasta

The Make Your Own Pasta Menu at the Macaroni Grill encourages you to create your own meal. To make it easier for you to divide your pasta and sauce in half ask for them to be brought out separately from the veggies. On the menu, add check marks for the capellini pasta and pomodoro sauce. Check mark broccoli, roasted tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, and roasted peppers. Watchouts: This meal is moderately high in sodium.

8. Chipotle: Burrito Bowl

Here’s why Chipotle’s Burrito Bowl is the most weight loss friendly meal out there - every single food you add into the bowl is a naturally high fiber food - perfectly tailored for weight loss.

Dietitian-Recommended Fast Food Options

It's possible to find relatively healthy options even at fast-food restaurants. Here are some dietitian-recommended choices:

Burger King Whopper Jr.: Ask for extra veggies and pair it with fat-free milk.
Chick-fil-A Grilled Nuggets (8-Count) and Kale Crunch Side Salad: A balanced, high-protein meal.
Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad: High in protein and fiber, but watch the sodium.
McDonald’s Egg McMuffin: Order without Canadian bacon to save calories and sodium.
In-N-Out Protein-Style Hamburger: Wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.
Subway 6-Inch Oven-Roasted Turkey: Load up on veggies and skip the cheese.
Taco Bell Cantina Chicken Bowl: A good source of protein and fiber; ask for light cheese or swap the sauce.
Jimmy John’s Big John Unwich: Wrapped in lettuce instead of bread.
Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl: Customize with lean proteins, beans, veggies, and salsa.
Starbucks Spinach, Feta, & Egg White Wrap: A high-protein breakfast option.
Cava Greens + Grains Bowl: Choose greens, lentils, hummus, and roasted vegetables.

Healthiest Meals at Major Chain Restaurants

Here are the #1 healthiest meals to order at 14 major chain restaurants if you’re trying to lose weight:

Chili’s: 6 oz Sirloin with Grilled Avocado & Asparagus.
Olive Garden: Grilled Chicken Margherita.
TGI Fridays: Simply Grilled Salmon.
The Cheesecake Factory: Tuscan Chicken.
Applebee’s: Blackened Cajun Salmon.
Red Lobster: Garlic Shrimp Scampi with House Side Salad.
Ruby Tuesday’s: Deconstructed Kabobs with Shrimp.
California Pizza Kitchen: Banh Mi Power Bowl.
Outback Steakhouse: Tasmanian Chili Crock.
Texas Roadhouse: Grilled BBQ Chicken (skip the BBQ sauce).
Denny’s: Fit Slam.
Cracker Barrel: Egg Sandwich (ask for egg whites and skip the mayo).
IHOP: Pesto Veggie Egg White Omelette (ask for pesto on the side).
McDonald’s: Classic Cheeseburger. The smaller size (and 300 calories) of this sandwich makes it a better choice than the many larger options.
Panera Bread: Half a Fuji Apple Salad with Chicken. This tasty, satisfying salad comes in at 280 calories if you choose the half-size version.
Wendy’s: Half an Apple Pecan Chicken Salad. Packed with flavorful ingredients, this salad will make your mouth and your waistline happy. Take half of it home or split it with a friend for 340 calories.
Chick-fil-A: Cool Wrap. This is a great high-protein, high-fiber entree option at 470 calories.
Taco Bell: Two Crunchy Tacos Fresco Style. Crunchy shells have less sodium, and two of these tacos with veggies and salsa on top total just 340 calories.
Subway: Roast Beef Sandwich. If you get the 6-inch sub on wheat bread with no dressing and lots of veggies, you can enjoy it at 290 calories.
Starbucks: Sous Vide Egg Bites. The egg white and red pepper version offers lots of protein at 170 calories.
Pizza Hut: Slice of Veggie Lover’s Pizza. Pair a slice of this delicious pizza (230 calories) with a salad and get the flavor you crave and a satisfyingly full tummy.
Hardee’s: Low Carb Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich. Swap out the bun for a lettuce wrap and cut carbs and sodium in a 190-calorie entree.
Chipotle: Burrito Bowl. Dressed the right way (no guacamole, heavy rice, or cheese, but plenty of pico de gallo), the steak and pinto bean version comes in at 330 calories.
Denny’s: Fit Fare Loaded Veggie Omelet. This is a healthy, hearty breakfast with 490 calories.
Culver’s: Beef Pot Roast Sandwich.

The Importance of Fiber, Fat, and Sodium

Fiber: The more fiber a food has, the faster you fill up and the longer you stay full.
Fat: Some Fats Are Good for You Monounsaturated fats: Substituted for saturated fats in your diet, they help lower bad LDL cholesterol and don't reduce good HDL cholesterol. Found in canola oil, olive oil, olives, avocados, nuts, and nut butters. Polyunsaturated fats: Help lower cholesterol. Found in fatty fish, vegetable oils, and nuts and sunflower seeds.
Sodium: Restaurant foods can be very high in sodium, or salt.

tags: #healthy #restaurant #choices #for #dieting