I think I have been to more restaurants in the past 3 months than I have been in the past 2 years! However, I still think my restaurant frequency is considerably less than the general population. I use to *never* eat out, so twice a month feels like a lot. But this brings me to a topic we all deal with: how to eat healthy, vegan, and/or low calorie at a restaurant.

There are different restaurant strategies you can adopt, and I have different restaurant styles depending on the situation, the restaurant, and how my food has been going. Some people may feel comfortable just picking one way to handle restaurants every time, and that’s ok, but I need to run through several “if then” statements to decide my approach.

Here Are My Basic Restaurant Approaches:

#1 Touch Nothing. This is my strategy for when I end up at a restaurant not of my choosing, usually in a social situation,  and either nothing on the menu is vegan – or if it is, it is an insult to even the idea of healthy food. I usually order a water with lemon and a black coffee in this situation to not only have something to sip on, but that way I also have a few things in front of me. Most people that hang around me know I’m “weird” about food, so they just leave me be – that and I don’t take kindly to peer pressure, so the pressure-er usually is made to feel awkward. (lalalala)

This situation happened on Tuesday. We drove into DC for a social thing we were told about last minute, and some friends wanted to go out afterward. We went to this restaurant and brewery, that really looked cool, but that’s about it. I considered getting a small munchie because I was quiet hungry, but there wasn’t anything remotely healthy on the menu. Well, they *did* have a veggie burger, but it wasn’t vegan. QB got it, and enjoyed it, but I just decided to wait until we got home. So, I enjoyed a water with lemon, and a coffee. I was happy with my decision, and would have felt icky had I given in at this particular outing (this may not always be the case, read on).

#2. Order Healthy Low-Cal (Vegan For Me). This is a common strategy of mine, but probably not the most common – mainly because I define ” low cal” is under 400 calories.  This isn’t too easy to do if you want to eat anything besides a carefully selected salad. Some places are more forgiving, which is why I love it when places put their nutritional info online.

Always check to see of a restaurant has nutritional info online.

When I order with this strategy, it may be sharing an order with QB, ordering a salad with the dressing on the side, or ordering a side order. It’s easy to make a meal out of side orders of veggies (just ask if they saute in oil or steam, the oil can add serious calories, and they usually will steam if asked!!). One option I love, if available, is a guacamole salad (no cheese). This is usually pretty low cal, healthy, and tasty.

#3 Order Healthy Moderate Calories (Vegan For Me). This is my most frequent restaurant approach. Since I don’t eat out very often and I usually pick the restaurant, the places we go often  have a fairly healthy vegan compromise that isn’t a total calorie overload even if it isn’t low cal. This is a good compromise because I can enjoy myself, and not feel like a really violated my day by eating out.

However, there will be compromises on what is “healthy”, and depending on the restaurant you may be picking between so-so options. I understand that almost no where I go will have an option that fits my idea of healthy. Guacamole salad is one of them though! Yesterday, I went to eat out in DC with family I haven’t seen in 9 years. I wanted to go have fun, and we went to a fairly health restaurant. However, their vegan options had a lot of bread. I wasn’t too keen on the bread (although other choices of mine during the day were probably worse), I decided to just get an order of sweet potato fries (again, fries over bread…even if sweet potato….I dunno). I really just wasn’t feeling a salad, and I eat really good overall so when I want to have what I consider a guilty indulgence I can –without too much guilt. :-p By they way, they were damn good sweet potato fries. Ha. This place caters to the organic healthy crowd, so I can at least pretend they weren’t *too* bad. O.o

This is an area where if you try to keep calories somewhat controlled, you could order something you don’t treat yourself too very often. After all, that is the point of going out to eat is a treat. This concept of eating out as a main food source is a recent social perversion, but I’m sure the restaurants aren’t complaining.

#4 Save Your Calories & Go with the Flow. Maybe you really don’t eat out hardly at all, but when you do you don’t want to worry about what to eat or if it’s healthy. The best way to approach is would be to (if possible in advance) save up calories the week before the outing, then just order what you want. If you don’t have the ability to plan in advance, you can just cut your calories a some in the week following.

I don’t think I’ve done this in a long time, and I’m not sure I could let go even if I planned it some. I’d rather take a slightly more modest approach. Before I was CR’ed I would do this, and really enjoy myself. But now, nothing in my life is ever planned a week out, so maybe I would if I had the foresight…..

Here Are A Few Tips Too!

#T1 Alcohol or No? For me, this is no longer a choice. I can’t drink on my medications. But for some, going out and having a drink every so often is something they don’t want to give up. I say just approach this like you would food, and don’t get slammered - your liver will love you. Some wine with dinner is a fine option. If you are looking for the social effects of alcohol, sip on some wine before dinner to get going. Just remember that alcohol can make you want to eat more due to it’s blood sugar effects. :-)

Wine is also fairly low in calories, especially if you stick to the dry ones.

#T2 Dressing On The Side + Fork Method. Always ask for the salad dressing on the side if you order a salad. Dressings are usually where all the calories are. If it’s on the side, not only can you approximate the volume better but you can add what you want. I prefer the fork trick. Get your dressing on the side, then dip your fork in the dressing then fork some salad.

This also applies to sauces and dips with your meal. Get it on the side, and use sparingly.

#T3 Hidden Oil. This is especially common if you order a side order of vegetables. Ask for it steamed instead of “grilled”. Same goes for other “grilled” options. Soups will likely also have extra oil, but there’s not much you can do about that – just be aware. Breakfast food is also usually doused in oil. Restaurants really add way too much oil to about everything, so be extra vigilant in this area- maybe look up the type of dish you plan on ordering online if possible before you go so you can ask questions or special order.

#T4 Whole Grains. For what it’s worth, substitute whole grains when possible. It maybe not be leaps and bounds better in all cases, but every little bit can help. Brown rice instead of white, whole grain brain instead of white, etc.

#T5 Go Online. I’ve mentioned it before, but if you get a chance, not only look up the website for the restaurant, but also do some googling to see what are some good vegan or healthy options.

#T6 Don’t Drink Your Calories. You may be enjoying your occasional outing, but remember than adding a soda to your meal can add several hundred calories. I just can’t bring myself to drink calories out side of my fresh juice and the occasional kombucha. Besides, the sugar alone in soda is enough to make my heart seize. :-o

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Well, this is how I handle the occasional restaurant outing. I would be glad to add any other helpful tips if anyone has any.

The past 2 days I have found myself in DC. Unplanned. So, my food plan pretty much went out the window. On the 9th, my calories ended up on the low side, and yesterday the were on the high side.

Yesterday, I ended up eating 3 luna bars. Yes, three -spread out over the chaotic day. Now, I don’t exactly consider these to be brimming examples of healthy bars, but at least they aren’t snickers. QB keeps them around, and since they are vegan, from time to time I will have one if I am on the go. Yesterday was just not normal, but I did drink my juice. Ha. Sometimes the best choices aren’t available, and the runner up isn’t that great either. But once you get in the healthy mind set, you will start to realize your less than healthy compromises are likely healthier than your old normal eating patterns -at least that was what happened with me!

I’m functioning off of way too little sleep today. Thank you shift work sleep disorder. Let’s move on the food before this turns into a weird rambling wtf.

Here are the past two days of food. Not the usual, although there are some stables in there. Today should be back to operations as usual.

Food for November 9th 2010.

————————————-
Brazil Nut (20)
Hempilicious Berry Sorbet (330)
* 120g Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
* 240g Unsweetened Vanilla Hemp Milk
* 240g Strawberries, Frozen
* 120g Blueberries, Frozen
* 15g Hemp Protein Powder
* 5.5g Flax Oil
* Stevia
Seasoned Scrambled Tofu (241)
Peach & Pumpkin Chia Pudding (234)
Thai Yellow Curry & Vegetables (250)

Food for November 10th 2010.

————————————-
Brazil Nut (15)
Hempilicious Berry Sorbet (334)
* 120g Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
* 240g Unsweetened Vanilla Hemp Milk
* 240g Strawberries, Frozen
* 120g Blueberries, Frozen
* 15g Hemp Protein Powder
* 5.5g Flax Oil
* Stevia
3x LUNA Bars (580)
Sweet Potato Fries (~600)
Carrot + Kale + Ginger Juice (136)

Daily Supplements:
3 Bone-Up Capsules
5000IU Vit D
1/8 Tablet Vit B5
500mg each L-Carnosine/Tyrosine (I alternate these each day)

===========================================
Nutrition Summary
November 9, 2010 to November 10, 2010
Daily Averages over 2 days
Report generated by CRON-o-Meter v0.9.7
===========================================

General (98%)
===========================================
Energy               |  1422.7 kcal   107%
Protein              |    53.7 g       94%
Carbs                |   182.8 g       94%
Fiber              |    38.0 g      152%
Starch             |    44.8 g      299%
Sugars             |    57.9 g      116%
Fat                  |    56.4 g      120%

Vitamins (100%)
===========================================
Vitamin A            | 46152.7 IU     923%
Lutein+Zeaxanthin  | 17778.4 µg     356%
Folate               |  1184.0 µg     658%
B1 (Thiamine)        |     1.5 mg     139%
B2 (Riboflavin)      |     4.3 mg     328%
B3 (Niacin)          |    46.7 mg     311%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)|    28.9 mg     579%
B6 (Pyridoxine)      |     4.0 mg     248%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) |    57.6 µg    2878%
Vitamin C            |   435.5 mg     726%
Vitamin D            |  3785.8 IU    1893%
Vitamin E            |    69.5 mg     580%
Vitamin K            |   491.7 µg     546%

Minerals (99%)
===========================================
Calcium              |  2167.8 mg     217%
Copper               |     2.7 mg     134%
Iron                 |    21.5 mg     144%
Magnesium            |   855.4 mg     267%
Manganese            |     5.8 mg     144%
Phosphorus           |  1487.1 mg     212%
Potassium            |  3065.1 mg      88%
Selenium             |   118.5 µg     215%
Sodium               |  1355.8 mg     271%
Zinc                 |    19.1 mg     159%

Amino Acids (100%)
===========================================
CYS                  |     0.7 g      291%
ILE                  |     2.3 g      200%
LEU                  |     3.7 g      168%
LYS                  |     2.6 g      150%
MET                  |     0.7 g      117%
PHE                  |     2.5 g      260%
THR                  |     2.3 g      271%
TRP                  |     0.7 g      328%
TYR                  |     1.7 g      356%
VAL                  |     2.6 g      150%

Lipids (69%)
===========================================
Saturated            |    13.8 g       69%
Monounsaturated      |    11.0 g       44%
Polyunsaturated      |    26.0 g      104%
Omega-3            |     7.5 g      679%
Omega-6            |    15.8 g      144%
Cholesterol          |     1.0 mg       0%