13 Tips for Eating Out Healthy (& Deliciously)
With these 13 tips for eating out healthy, you’ll love restaurant meals again. Yes, portions matter, but it’s way more than that.
My client 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!
If healthy eating is tricky, healthy eating in restaurants is double tricky!
Restaurant portions are often enormous. It’s a 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.
13 Tips for Eating Out Healthy
Eating out doesn’t have to knock you off course. Whether you want 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.
Eating out tip #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 healthy you.
Treat it like any other meal, unless it’s truly a special occasion—a wedding anniversary, birthday, or job promotion. Mimic the portions you eat at home and balance your plate with more nonstarchy vegetables than other types of food.
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.
Eating out tip #2: Make a game plan and stick to it
Winging it rarely works when it comes to eating out healthy, so set your plan before heading to the restaurant. Over the years, my most successful clients previewed menus online and leisurely made their choices at home. They take time to think through their options instead of being nudged by their dining companions or waitstaff. Those last-minute choices can do us in and make healthy eating out 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.)
Eating out tip #3: Ask questions
It’s okay to ask questions about the food preparation. 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.
If my client hadn’t automatically assumed ground turkey was leaner than ground beef, she might have chosen a more healthful meal. Today, she knows that ground turkey is often ground with the skin, which makes it higher in unhealthful saturated fats.
Eating out tip #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?
Eating out tip #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 starving yourself all day, so you can 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 ample produce will unlikely make it to your dinner plate, eat more fruits and vegetables at earlier meals and snacks.
This pot of mussels helped me eat more seafood and even a few vegetables.
Eating out tip #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 now and then, it usually encourages overeating. Instead of following blanket advice, assess your unique situation. If your meal will be late, 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.
If you do need a snack, think about what food group is missing. Maybe a cup of yogurt, a piece of fruit, or a cup of vegetable juice will fill the void.
Pro tip: Once at the restaurant, 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.
Eating out tip #7: Be menu savvy
A few menu descriptors hint an item isn’t prepared healthfully. 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.
Eating out tip #8: Be aware of health halos
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.
Eating out tip #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 mediocre food!
Pro tip: If you’re dining at a buffet, look over everything before loading your plate. Be deliberate. After scrutinizing the full buffet, select the tastiest and most healthful foods.
Eating out tip #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 quickly 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.
Photo credit: Md Jibon Talukder
Eating out tip #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.
Pro tip: 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.
Eating out tip #12: Don’t drink your calories
Sodas, lemonade, sweet teas, and alcoholic beverages can cost you quite a lot of calories—several hundred actually. And so much added sugar!
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.
Eating out tip #13: Reconsider the meaning of value
Some diners let cost influence their purchases more than any other factor. Other diners feel they have to get their money’s worth by eating everything 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 how 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.
Which of these tips for eating out healthy can you use at your next restaurant visit?
Filed Under: Busy and Healthy, Diabetes, Healthy Brain, Heart Health, Nutrition
Tagged: Portion control, eating out, resolutions
Jill Weisenberger
I'm Jill, and I believe simple changes in your mindset and health habits can bring life-changing rewards. And I don't believe in willpower. It's waaaay overrated. As a food-loving registered dietitian nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist and certified health and wellness coach, I've helped thousands of people solve their food and nutrition problems. If you're looking for a better way to master this whole healthy eating/healthy living thing or if you're trying to prevent or manage diabetes or heart problems, you'll find plenty of resources right here.
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Welcome to my Blog
Hi there! I'm Jill, a nutrition & diabetes expert and the author of 4 books.
I believe simple changes in health habits can bring you life-changing rewards.
And I believe willpower is way overrated.
Right here is where you can discover the mindset and habits to stick with healthy lifestyle choices most of the time - and drop the guilt when you don't.
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Yeesh, I think eating out is one of the hardest obstacles when trying to drop some weight.
It’s great to have a few guidelines to think about and follow while on a weight-loss journey.
Totally agree. It sure can be a challenge!
Thanks for the guide to and give some information about Restaurant Strategies for Eating out healthy. good work
My pleasure. So glad you found these tips helpful, and thanks for reading.
My partner and I are trying to eat much better this year so that we can live our best lives. We love going out to eat still, so it would be helpful to find tips that can help us stay healthy. I love that you mentioned substituting in fish rather than red meat whenever we can so that we can get more nutrients and less of the bad stuff.
Thank you for reminding me that it’s okay to ask the restaurant how their food is cooked and prepared before ordering something from their menu. I’ve always tried to eat healthily after learning that I have diabetes, and this condition stops me from enjoying a lot of food. Still, I’ve been enticed by a lot of nearby restaurants, so it might be a good idea to ask a nearby place that offers Caribbean food if they offer delivery services.
Oh no! You can still enjoy eating and eating out. I hope you’ll share your experiences.
I love that you touched on asking questions about the dishes that you are interested in. My spouse and I are trying to lose a lot of weight his year through diet and exercise. We love eating at local restaurants so we need to learn how to order better dishes.
I love that you touched on respectfully asking for healthier ingredients to be put in the dish. My wife and I are trying to get much healthier this year through diet and exercise. We still want to eat out, so we will look for healthy, quality restaurants.
It makes a lot of sense to always ask about how the foods are actually made so that you understand the ingredients more. My partner and I really like to eat restaurant foods a few nights a week. We don’t want to leave the house as much so we need to think about ordering delivery from healthy restaurants.
Great tips. Thank you.
My pleasure. Thanks for reading!
Very Informative Thanks
So glad you find it helpful. Healthy restaurant eating can be confusing (and stressful)
Yeah! Got It. Impressive Tips
Thank you
This is brilliant! Learned a lot from this. Thanks so much!
Thanks for your nice advice. I generally think that in order to control the diet, it is necessary to keep in mind not to rebel with food. We perceive our body language.
Wow this blog is very nice. carry on, don’t stop. very interesting , good job and thanks for sharing such a good blog.
Thanks That was awesome
I liked how you mentioned that you should focus on every bite and taste it when eating out.
This was very nice
Thank you for advising me that it is okay to ask how the food is cooked and how it is prepared in the restaurant before requesting anything from their menu.
Thanks That was awesome.
I like your dining tips. I need to eat healthy meals. I’ll have to consider going to a restaurant.
Hey Jill,
Thank you for sharing such helpful tips. Maintaining a healthy diet was never an easy task for me. I had always sacrificed tasty food for healthy eating. I got goods tips from this article.
Keep sharing such a delicious and helpful article.
I have benefited a lot from reading your very informative and helpful article. Thank you very much.
Thanks for helping people get the information they need.
Great stuff as usual. Keep up the great work.
These are excellent tips. I love eating out but only get to occasionally, so I usually don’t even try to eat healthy. However, it can also throw me off. I’ll have to use some of these tips next time.
Oh yes, I totally get what you mean about it throwing you off. Keep us posted about your next dining out experiences.
Incredibly useful and detailed information.
Hi Jill Weisenberger,
Really very helpful article. I need more updates.
Thanks
Such an amazing health tips keep sharing.
Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing blog with us.
These tips will definitely helps a lot in healthy eat out. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing blog with us.
THANKS FOR SHARING. REALLY HELPFUL.
really Very helpful Blog.
I usually don’t comment, but this is a really nice blog, and I am learning many new things.
Thank you a lot. Keep writing and spreading more useful information with us.
Thanks for the tips. By looking at a restaurant’s nutrition info, I’ve found the turkey burgers to be lower in fat and calories than the beef burgers. The problem is they up the sodium content and add mayo or sauce to make up for it. That’s what can send it over!
The story about your client ordering the turkey burger thinking she was being virtuous really hit home — I’ve had that exact moment of deflation standing in line at a “healthy” fast casual spot, confidently ordering what I thought was the smart choice. The pre-deciding tip is something I’ve started doing almost religiously, and a 2023 study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition found that people who reviewed menus in advance made significantly lower-calorie choices than those who decided on the spot — which honestly just confirms what you and your clients already discovered through lived experience. There’s something quietly powerful about removing yourself from the social pressure of the table before you ever sit down at it; suddenly you’re just a person with a plan instead of someone white-knuckling it against the bread basket. I’m curious whether you’ve found that certain types of restaurants are genuinely more navigable than others, or if the pre-planning strategy tends to level the playing field regardless of cuisine?