10 Health-Supportive Tips For Dining Out

So can you eat healthily and also socialize? Is it possible to do both?

The answer is… YES!Here are 10 health-supportive tips for dining out that will help you navigate any situation so you can enjoy your meal as well as your peeps!

1. Go with a plan: Once you and your group land on choosing a restaurant, or even if you’re still picking a place, carefully look over the menu options so you can go to the restaurant with a plan. The key is to not make any last-minute changes... you will not regret going with your initial gut decisions. If you are gluten-free, vegan, or on something like a "LOW FODMAP" diet, call the restaurant ahead of time and ask them how they prepare their food.

2. Know your sources: While you are looking at a menu online, you can also check out where the restaurant is sourcing their ingredients. Give them a call and ask them: How is the food made? Where are they getting their food from? What is their food philosophy overall? It's a major bonus if you are between choosing from a few different places, but you find out that one place uses organic, grass-fed, high-quality ingredients. Go with that place!

3. Eat your veggies: When I am constructing my meal, I am thinking about filling my plate with non-starchy vegetables, fiber, and greens! Fiber keeps us fuller for longer and consuming vegetables will guarantee that you are getting plenty of fiber which helps maintain blood sugar levels. Stable levels can prevent over eating from occurring. A great way to get in your vegetables is to order a side dish (sometimes I ask for a double portion.  Side dishes are a great way to get in leafy greens (I always try to order something green as my side, prepared simply). I also like to order an entree portion of a salad so that I can make it my main meal. I make sure that the salad has protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. I also try to eliminate ingredients like sugary nuts, dried fruit, and fried crunchies. Protein and vegetables are going to keep you fuller for longer and maintain steady blood sugar levels.

4. Seek salads: Speaking of salads, I like to order one at every meal out and often ask them to swap the dressing for a simple drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you plan ahead and know which salad you want, you can ask your server to bring out the salad first instead of the bread.

5. Ask for dressing on the side: I mentioned that I like to top my salad with a simple EVOO + vinegar combo. I also like to add the dressing onto my meals myself so that my vegetables aren't drowning in dressing that is often caloric and laced (sneakily) with sugar and low-quality fats.

6. Go splitsies: There is NOTHING I enjoy more than sharing dishes when I go out to eat. If you split a bunch of dishes, you can try a little of this and a little of that without going overboard.

7. Bevvies Matter: When it comes to drinks, I keep it simple. I either drink black coffee, water, and if I am splurging I will have a glass of red wine or my go-to cocktail which is a "tequila, seltzer, and freshly squeezed lime juice." Beverages like soda are loaded in sugar and are not a health-supportive option. I keep hydrated because sometimes when we think that we are hungry, we are really just parched and we overeat as a result. I carry around a 20 oz bottle of water with me and I drink a full bottle right before I go out to eat.

8. Snickity Snacks: This is how a typical conversation would go between me and my father on our way to dinner my entire childhood and early adulthood.Me- "I'm STARVING. I can't believe we are eating so late. I am so HUNGRY."Dad- "Good. It's good that you are hungry because we are going to go eat at a nice place."Then when we would arrive, I would eat the ENTIRE bread basket and he would be so annoyed when I wouldn't be as hungry for my main course and my vegetables. It drove him CRAZY that I would go to town on that bread basket every single time and there was nothing he could have done to stop me- I was HANGRY.This is because my blood sugar levels would spike and then drop. I would crave simple carbohydrates and it was a vicious cycle. Now, I try to never get to that level of hunger. Before going to a party like a wedding or a birthday or even a Friday night dinner, I will have a snack that is loaded in fiber, healthy fats, protein, and ideally one that is a combo of all three. What are good examples? Hummus with carrots, cucumbers, celery, and a hard-boiled egg. High-fiber bread with a half of an avocado. A handful of nuts. Or my husband and I will split a protein shake before heading out to dinner.

9. Stuff to Skip: Don't get the cream sauce AND the dessert unless it is a super-duper special occasion. In fact, avoid both if there are other meal options that look more appealing. You would be ALARMED at the amount of salt, butter, sugar and non-organic dairy that goes into a restaurant cream sauce. If I am indulging in a cream sauce, I want to make it at home so I know exactly what I am putting into my body. Telling you to skip dessert can make me sound like a real stick in the mud. I am not saying that you shouldn't have a bite or two for a birthday or if you really want to (I am not a monster), but I have noticed big changes from taking dessert out of my normal routine. I don't have late-night cravings. I sleep better because I am not eating sugar before bed. I read more because I will have a hot turmeric tea with my book club pick of the month before bed instead of a bowl of ice cream and more screentime. Overall, my wind-down routine before bed has been much better for my mental and physical health now that I no longer crave dessert.

10. That's a Wrap: Restaurant often serve portion sizes that are more than double (sometimes even triple) what healthy Americans should be eating. If you ask for a box ahead of time, you won't feel guilty about not finishing what is left on your plate. I will box up half of my meal for later so that I don't clear my dish just because it is what was placed in front of me at the table. We often have the mentality that we have to finish whatever is on our plate, so if you box up a portion of your meal for later, you will have two healthy portions of food instead of overeating in one sitting.Hopefully, this helps! I feel that these tips help me be able to live more in the moment while also feeling good about the decisions that I made for my future self. Just be sure to enjoy your company and your surroundings because there are few things that I cherish more than having a meal with people that I love. It is so good for my mental health so socialize over a meal with family and friends and I am grateful when we all get the opportunity to dine-out together.