Going out to eat can be scary and challenging when most options available at restaurants are POISON. There can also be temptations from your old way of life that may be harder to say no to. But we don’t want to discourage you from going out to eat at restaurants. You should be able to go out like everyone else! It just takes a little extra effort to make sure you enjoy yourself without cheating.

Dining out can be intimidating if you’re not prepared. Here is a guide to help ease the stress associates with going out to eat and making healthy choices.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for substitutions with your meal: (example: you can substitute green beans for mashed potatoes or fresh berries and extra bacon for toast).
• Ask that your bread, chip, roll, or cracker basket be taken from the table or not brought to the table at all.
• See if the staff is willing to modify your meal: (example: you are at an Italian restaurant and the pasta con broccoli with grilled chicken is what you want. Order the pasta con broccoli with grilled chicken without pasta, just vegetables with the sauce and grilled meat.)
• There is almost always the safe bet of a salad option that can have grilled, baked, or roasted meat added on top. Just be careful with salad dressing!
• Choose restaurants where you can build your own meal like at Hu Hot.
• Explore the different ethnic foods to discover new flavors and spice blends you like.
• Sparkling water with lime juice and mint leafs is a great alternate to an alcoholic beverage. No one will know the difference.
• Its typically best to avoid desserts, don’t tempt yourself!
• Pay attention to your hunger cues, it’s easy to overeat when dining out.

Restaurant chains are also required to have nutrition facts on hand for the foods they serve on their menus. This means you have access to the resources you need to make the right food choices! The internet is also a great resource for guidance as well.

While most of you might be thinking you don’t need the nutrition facts to make good choices, I highly recommend that you do. Something might look legal and delicious but in reality it could be the opposite. Here are a few examples that our patients in the past have thought were okay, but after double checking nutrition facts it’s not as healthy as they thought.

Cheesecake Factory:

• Entree: Chinese Chicken Salad:          1,740 calories (106g fat, 141g carbohydrate, 11g fiber, 54g protein, 2,840mg sodium) 

Red Lobster

• Entree: Ultimate Feast:           1,100 calories (69g fat, 68g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 54g protein, 4350mg sodium)

Panera

• Entrée: Asian Sesame with Chicken Salad with dressing:      520 Calories (31g fat, 33g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 31g protein, 920mg sodium)

Hy-Vee

• Entrée: Chinese Beef with Broccoli (8 oz):     270 calories (12g fat, 28g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 14g protein, 1540mg sodium)

Wendy’s

• Entrée: Large Chili:     330 calories (15g fat, 30g carbohydrates, 10g fiber, 22g protein, 1300mg sodium)

Culvers

• Entrée: ButterBurger “The Original”, single:390 calories (17g fat, 38g carbohydrates, 1g dietarty fiber, 20g protein, 480mg sodium)