The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that Americans get at least a third of their calories outside the home. At a time when Americans have become more health-conscious, it’s important to have a clear idea of how you fit in eating in restaurants as part of your overall diet. There’s no point eating right at home and eating badly outside the home. Yet, for many people, going out to restaurants can be tough, because not everything in a restaurant is healthy and they feel like they have less room to stick to their diet. So here are 5 healthy restaurant foods that you can order the next time you go out to eat.
- Traditional Sushi
It’s no surprise that traditional sushi makes this list. Many restaurants will pair sushi with brown rice, for an even healthier treat. Although sushi is typically eaten as a meal, it’s also a great snack.
- Pasta
Pasta, especially durum wheat pasta, is another healthy food. It contains just 200 calories per servicing, does not contain any fats, and is great for losing weight. Many athletes, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, eat pasta, knowing that it will fill them up without causing them to gain weight. So the next time you’re dining out at Ray’s at Killer Creek, you can imagine you’re a world class athlete.
- Soup
Soups are a healthy and easily digestible source of nutrients that is often used to treat mild ailments such as the cold, flu, or a sore throat.
- Idli-Dosa
Idli-Dosa is a delicious south Indian delicacy made with fermented rice batter and served with coconut chutney and Sambar (a lentil and mixed vegetable soup).
Idli-Dosa is really two meals, Idli and Dosa, and has many healthy benefits. Idli is, despite being light, a very filling dish, with healthy fats. It’s great for gut health and is rich in fibre and protein. Eating idli will help you fight off the risk of cardiovascular disease. It’s also low in calories, helping you reduce weight. Like Idli, Dosa is great for gut health, and it improves digestion. It is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and good minerals. It’s a great source of carbohydrates. Very little fat is used in making it, so it’s low in fat.
- Salads
Salads are a super dish, whether it’s your ordinary green salad, or more intricate and sophisticated versions. Look for salads packed with a wide variety of nutrients, from olives, cheeses, seeds, chicken, and other things. Generally, you want a salad that has leafy greens, vegetables and/or fruits, healthy fats and protein. Breads in the salad will add calories, so avoid them. Instead of a sauce, use olive oil as a dressing. If you’re a vegetarian, instead of meat, you can have tofu.
However, restaurant salads are seldom “light”. For instance, the Steakhouse Salad at Outback Steakhouse has 910 calories. A sirloin, grilled asparagus, and baked sweet potato with brown sugar, honey butter and cinnamon, has just 750 calories. So you should consider a salad not as a side dish, but as a main meal.