13 Tips for Eating Out Healthy (& Deliciously)

You’ll love restaurant meals again with these 13 tips for eating out healthy. Yes, portions matter, but it’s way more than that.

Healthy eating is tricky!

Restaurant portions are often enormous. It’s ha secret which foods are swimming in sugar, sodium and saturated fats. Plus what sounds like a wholesome wrap or salad may actually be a calorie bomb in disguise.

You don’t need to fall for tricky menu terms or healthy-sounding words like a recent client did. She felt virtuous when she ordered a turkey burger for lunch. Then she felt like a fool when she learned her meal was over 900 calories!

How many of the following 13 tips for eating out healthy are in your restaurant routine?

Even in a wine bar, it’s possible to eat ample vegetables! So, yes, eating out healthy is a thing!

These strategies (in a bit more detail) plus specific foods to eat and avoid at various types of restaurants are in my book Prediabetes: A Complete Guide.

13 Tips for Eating Out Healthy

Eating out doesn’t have to knock you off course. Whether your goal is to manage diabetes or prevent it, keep heart disease away, prevent cancer, manage your weight or all of the above, you can enjoy eating away from home without straying far from your goals with these tips for eating out healthy.

1. Treat it like it’s a special occasion only if it’s a special occasion. What was once a treat is now commonplace. We eat out much more than we did a few decades ago. Yet, many of us still splurge as if we’re celebrating. Throwing caution to the wind daily or a few times a week in restaurants is not moderation and won’t lead to a slim, healthy you.

Unless it’s truly a special occasion—a wedding anniversary, birthday, or job promotion—treat it like any other meal. Try to mimic the portions you eat at home and balance your plate with more nonstarchy vegetables than other types of food.

2. Make a game plan and stick to it. Winging it rarely works, so set your plan before heading to the restaurant. Over the years, my most successful clients previewed menus online and made their choices at home in a leisurely environment. They give themselves time to think through their options instead of being influenced by the orders of their dining companions or nudges from the waitstaff. Those last-minute choices can do us in and make healthy eating out pretty darn near impossible. Pre-deciding is a strategy I use often. And it’s not just a good tip for eating out healthy. Pre-deciding works its magic at home, work, the gym and more. (Check out strategy #2 in a post about willpower.)
3. Ask questions. It’s okay to ask questions about how the food is prepared. Ask about the oils or fats used, and stick to heart-healthy liquid oils like canola, olive, and vegetable oils. As much as possible, avoid butter, lard, coconut oil, and bacon grease. Choose leaner cuts of meat such as skinless poultry, baked and broiled fish, and top sirloin steak. Inquire about sauces as well. Find out if they’re rich in fat or added sugars?

Pro tip: The leanest cuts of beef have loin or round in the name, such as tenderloin and eye of the round. The leanest cuts of pork have loin in the name.

4. Kindly make requests. Your plate does not have to come out a predetermined way, so don’t be shy. And don’t worry about being seen as difficult. My experience is nearly always positive, so do feel comfortable making your own requests. If the answer is no, that’s okay too. It just means you may need another few minutes to place your order. Consider the following when making meal selections.
   • Can the dish be made with fish instead of beef?
   • Please don’t bring bread or chips to the table.
   • Will you ask the chef to use a light hand with the salt?
   • Will you bring the sauce (or salad dressing) on the side?
   • May I have marinara sauce instead of Alfredo sauce?
5. Keep your overall healthy eating plan in mind. If your dinner plan includes higher-calorie fare, be mindful earlier in the day to keep calories in check. This doesn’t mean you should starve yourself all day to binge at night. But it is wise to eliminate the extras at other meals. You’ll save about 100 calories when you eat your lunchtime sandwich without a slice of cheese. And you could leave the croutons and ham off of your salad. Also think about ways to get in enough fruits and vegetables, two food groups frequently lacking from restaurant menus. If you don’t think ample produce will make it to your dinner plate, eat them at earlier meals and snacks.
   

   This pot of mussels helped me eat more seafood and even a few vegetables.

6. Manage your hunger. I bet someone has told you to snack before heading out to a restaurant or a party. While this is good advice sometimes, it encourages overeating other times. Instead of following blanket advice, assess your unique situation. If your meal is likely to be delayed, a small snack is in order. But if you’ve eaten adequately throughout the day and your meal out is at an appropriate time, you don’t need to pre-eat. And it’s probably better not to.

Once at the restaurant, be sure to order filling foods. Start your meal with a low-calorie salad or broth-based soup. Research shows this strategy can help you keep your overall calories in check.

7. Be menu savvy. A few menu descriptors hint an item isn’t prepared in a healthful way. When in doubt, ask your server. Be leery of menu choices with these words:

Alfredo, au gratin, batter-dipped, béchamel, breaded, bisque, confit, creamy, crispy (usually means fried), crunchy, crusted, fried, fritters, gooey, golden, rich, roux, scalloped, smothered, sizzling, tempura, or white sauce.

8. Be aware of health halos of ethnic restaurants. Don’t automatically assume that food in Chinese or Middle Eastern restaurants is light and healthful because these cuisines tend to be rich in vegetables. Often these health halos are undeserved. The food may be prepared in more “American” ways and include much more fat and a larger proportion of meat to vegetables. Besides every type of cuisine has indulgent foods. When in doubt, ask your server.
9. Be picky. Don’t eat it just because it’s in front of you. If you don’t love it, push it aside. I sure don’t want to use up my calorie budget on food that’s mediocre!

If you’re dining at a buffet, give a good look to everything in front of you. Don’t just start loading your plate. Be deliberate. After scrutinizing the full buffet, select the tastiest and most healthful foods.

10. Slow down and pay attention. Focus on every sip and every bite. Taste it. Feel it. Notice the texture, temperature, appearance, flavor, and aroma. It’s easy to overeat or eat mindlessly when you’re distracted by conversation. Plus, research tells us that our dining companions influence how much and how rapidly we eat. We tend to eat more in large groups. And we tend to eat faster when our companions eat faster. Unfortunately, the faster we eat, the more we tend to eat.

Focus on your speed.

11. Be portion savvy. These days, restaurants rarely serve small portions. Recognize that whatever is on your plate is probably more than you need. Sometimes you can request small portions or order from an appetizer or small plates menu. Ask if you can order a lunch portion at dinner or the appetizer portion instead of the entrée portion. Splitting menu items with a dining companion is a good idea, though there’s often an additional charge of a few dollars.

When your food comes, decide on a proper portion based on the amount you strive to eat at home. Draw an imaginary line through your food, and don’t cross that line. Alternatively, ask your server to box half your meal before it’s brought to the table.

I LOVE a restaurant that offers mini desserts!

12. Don’t drink your calories. Sodas, lemonade, sweet teas, and alcoholic beverages can cost you quite a lot of calories—several hundred actually. Be clear on where you want to spend your calorie budget. If it’s on food—not drink—order water, unsweetened tea, and the like.
13. Reconsider the meaning of value. Some diners let cost influence their purchases more than any other factor. Other diners feel that they have to get their money’s worth by eating everything put in front of them. But there are other, more important, ways to assess value than to consider only the amount of money you fork over. Pay attention to health value, nutritional value, and satisfaction value, as these can affect the way you feel immediately after eating and long-term. If cost is a major driving factor, choose the least expensive healthful item or share something with a friend. Or take some home to eat again at another meal. Two meals for the price of one is a clever way to save money and better your health.

Use these tips for eating out healthy at your next restaurant meal. Cheers to nutritious and delicious eating!

Grab your checklist for 4 domains of prediabetes health