3. The Nation of Fast Food
Fast-food restaurants are everywhere. Whether
you are single or married, and certainly if you have kids, fast food is
convenient and usually inexpensive. I don’t recommend you frequent
these restaurants often. They are havens for overly processed food and
double doses of excess fat. However, to be realistic, I know a
drive-through is probably in your future. Just try to limit the number
of times you eat at them. Be sure to balance fast-food meals with other
foods lower in fat and calories throughout the day.
To keep your diet in line, stay away from double
burgers, double cheese, or double anything. Skip the bacon, large
fries, and super-sized beverages. They can offer large-sized problems.
Stick with regular or even child-sized portions.
Look for baked or broiled chicken sandwiches,
even vegetarian burgers. Add lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles on a
whole-grain bun, without mayonnaise. Try a sub sandwich once in a while.
Sliced turkey or roast beef with shredded lettuce and tomatoes are good
choices.
Limit any food that may be oily or creamy, or
salads like tuna or chicken full of mayonnaise. These may sound healthy,
but the extra oil and mayonnaise added to them makes them very high in
fat.
Keep baked potatoes plain. When you add
toppings, your potato can become laden with a lot of extra fat and
calories. Top with fresh vegetables and maybe some lower-fat cheese.
Salads can be a good choice but not so good if
you include higher-fat selections like cheese, croutons, and higher-fat
dressings. Opt for many vegetables and top with a lower-fat dressing.
Also beware of taco salads. These can be full of fat and calories. Fried
taco shells, guacamole, sour cream, and refried beans can do wonders to
adding up unnecessary calories and fat.
Always order your sauce on the side. It’s best
to add it yourself. Lemon juice, lower-fat salad dressings, and mustard
offer better choices than higher-fat sauces and dressings. If you are
going out for pizza, opt for the thin crust with vegetables, and, if
you’re daring, ask for lower-fat cheese. Pizza can be loaded with fat if
it has stuffed crust, double cheese, sausage, pepperoni, or other
high-fat meats.
Choose water, 100 percent fruit juice, or diet
soft drinks over regular soft drinks, especially large-sized ones.
Twelve ounces of a regular soft drink alone contains 10 teaspoons of
sugar. How about those 30-ounce beverages, filled with 25 teaspoons of
sugar, that everyone is drinking? Wow!
Be careful with
desserts, especially pies, cookies, and brownies. Choose an occasional
small, low-fat frozen yogurt cone. These are tasty and not too fattening
either.
4. Healthy Ordering—Made Easy
I’m all for diversity. I love it in our
culture and in our foods. America truly is a melting pot with a lot of
different flavors in our stew. We have a wonderful variety of ethnic
eateries. There is even much experimenting at trendy restaurants where
dishes are tastefully prepared with more than one ethnic flavor. The
buzzword for this form of cooking is fusion. With all these
culinary delights tempting our palate, let me share some helpful tips
that can cut calories across the board-er!
American Food Flare
American grills and family-style restaurants are
available to consumers in many different price ranges. These
restaurants typically cater to families who opt for a variety of food
choices and selections. Healthier options include baked or grilled
entrées, broth-based soups, and fruit platters. Veggies are always a
plus. Avoid the cheese bread in favor of whole-grain bread.
Love Lasagna?
Italian meals can range from inexpensive to
costly, from healthy choices to heavy, high-fat meals. Don’t get thrown
off by words like parmigiano, lasagna, alfredo, calamari, and cannoli.
They may be Italian signatures, but the guidelines I’ve given you for a
healthy diet still apply. Always ask how a dish is prepared before you
order to be sure it is a smart choice. Beware of the extra oil and fat
that are often used on appetizers and on pasta dishes. Many Italian
restaurants now serve oil to pour on fresh bread. Use sparingly.
The large portions served at many Italian
restaurants make them a perfect place to practice sharing. Healthier
sauce options include primavera (not cream sauce), lemon juice, piccata
(lemon-wine sauce), marinara (or tomato-based) sauce, red or white wine
sauce, and light mushroom sauce. Artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes,
and garlic spices are healthy and yummy. Dessert can be guilt-free with a
refreshing Italian ice.
Asian Food Feast
Whether it’s Chinese, Japanese, or Thai, Asian
restaurants are very popular. These foods are often considered healthier
because of all the vegetables used in the cooking. This is where the
unsuspecting consumer can be misled. Many of the entrées are extremely
high in fat even if they come with veggies. For example, sweet-and-sour
foods, tempuras, and fried entrées can kill a good diet. Don’t worry!
You still can satisfy your Asian food craving. Choose yummy steamed
chicken, seafood, and vegetables. Vegetarians can feast on tofu (bean
curd). Substitute chicken for high fat duck. Ask the server to hold the
peanuts and crispy noodles and to reduce the oil. Find a restaurant that
does not use MSG.
Deli Dilemma?
Delis and sub sandwich shops are being
advertised as healthier options to fast-food restaurants. Once again,
buyer beware! Some foods here can fit that bill, but others do not.
Portion sizes are often large, both in the size of the bun and the
amount of meat piled on top. One good thing is that many sandwiches can
be made to order. You can request healthier options including
whole-grain breads, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mustard, and lots of
vegetables. Choose sliced turkey, chicken, or ham. Be sure to leave off
or at least limit the mayonnaise. Skip the chips. Have the server cut
the sandwich in half and save for later. I have been known to order the
kid pack. Free toy is optional!
Munching on Chips—Mexican
Mexican foods are delicious and flavorful. Ah,
the spices and the salsa. I can hear the mariachis and see the margarita
madness. Unfortunately, though, that tequila and high-fat sour cream
are not good for your diet. You just have to be careful with your
selections, particularly in fast-food Mexican-style restaurants. Salsa
actually is a healthy option and so are fajitas, corn tortillas,
burritos, and enchiladas. Just don’t load your entrées up with heavy
sauces, creams, or high-fat cheese. Eat your salad without the taco
shell. For me, it’s too tempting to eat the whole order of chips that
are standard with most Mexican entrées so I have the server skip those.
Nowadays, there are a slew of health conscious Mexican restaurants
cropping up that serve fresh ingredients with no preservatives, lard, or
MSG. Patronize these establishments. Olé!
Pizza, Pizza!
Most everybody wants a
pizza on occasion. You can find almost any kind from the old classic
thin crust with cheese to thick crust pizza stuffed with everything
imaginable. Be careful with your pizza selections. Thin crust is the
healthier option. Load up the top with green and red peppers, mushrooms,
onions, tomatoes, spinach, and any vegetable you can think of. Choose
chicken or turkey sausage over high-fat Italian sausage or pepperoni. If
you top it with cheese, request low fat. Start with a salad to fill up
on greens.
