Whether you cook or go out for every meal, you can stick to a better eating plan. When ordering in restaurants, get what you want and don't be afraid to ask for it. Most restaurants will go out of their way to please customers. If they won't do it your way, leave. I have left restaurants when I tried to order several different items on the menu and none of them could not (or would not) be prepared without butter. I was polite but firm, paid for my drink and left.
When ordering, be sure you are precise about how you want your choices prepared and make sure the waiter or waitress writes it down. The chef cannot accommodate your if he/she never receives your request.
I very rarely order salad dressing on a salad. I prefer lemon or lime squeezed on top. If you do enjoy salad dressing, order it on the side and just dribble it on your salad. You can even dip bits of the salad into the salad dressing without ever pouring any onto the salad. Remember that low-fat salad dressing usually contain more sugar to make up for the taste that they lose in eliminating some of the fat. You could also take your own dressing. Maybe not to a really upscale restaurant but in your local neighborhood eating establishment no one will even notice if you pour a small bottle of already prepared dressing onto your salad. Just be discreet and no one will be any the wiser. You might warn your children first.....just in case they decide to announce it to the entire restaurant. They have a habit of catching you unaware like that. I also enjoy asking for salsa to use as a salad dressing if I am in a restaurant that carries it.
Order fish baked or broiled with no oil or butter. Order vegetables steamed and potatoes or rice with no butter. If you do not get the dish the way you requested, send it back until it is corrected.
Study the menu. If you do not see anything on it that is suitable, change something to fit your needs. You should never have to go without or sit there with a glass of tea in front of you because the menu has nothing that in on your "diet".
If there is a chicken breast on the menu that is covered in barbeque sauce and it comes with french fries, simply ask for the chicken breast plain and salad or veggies instead of fries. Easy.
Drink water or unsweetened tea with your meal. I am from Texas. When I moved to Georgia and ate out for the first time, I ordered tea with my meal. The waitress brought a large glass of tea (which I always drink unsweetened) and when I took a sip I almost spit it out. "What is this?", I almost yelled. "Why, honey, that's swate taa." she answered in her Georgia drawl. I had never had "swate taa" and have never had it since. Different tastes for different regions. Georgians have sweet tea on every menu in every restaurant. They were brought up on it. They love it. Grandmothers guard their sweet tea recipes for future family generations. Now, if I order tea, I make sure I request unsweetened tea. Of course, after 13 years, everyone still looks at me funny, but this Texas gal just refused to acquire a taste for this sugary concoction.
If everyone else orders dessert, just order some coffee and plead fullness. If someone offers you a "taste" or "just one bite" and you can be satisfied with that without immediately ordering the entire dessert menu......do it. But have your mind set and your head on straight when you do. One bite. One taste. Over. Done. You can feel triumphant and content in your own strength.
The point is that you should not use "eating out" as an excuse for not being able to eat correctly. This is your life. No one can live it for you. Stop using excuses that get you what you "want" and use common sense to get you what is "good for you.
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