Thursday, January 22, 2009

Healthy eating

Change is the only thing that never changes in life. So we prefer dining out once in a while. People on strict dieting fear eating out. So here I will be outlining some strategies to eat healthy food even while eating out.

Food is not costly in this country, and as a result the portions of food are often large. If you are smart about what you eat, you can get a healthy meal without interrupting your diet.

Avoid fried foods. Frying adds more fat than any other type of cooking. Restaurants often use cheap oils(hydrogenated oils), a source of trans fats.

Avoid dishes cooked with gravy and heavy sauces. Most of the gravy dishes are prepared with fatty pan (butter, ghee, drippings from meat, etc.,). It is considerably high in saturated fat. Sauces are made from cream, which is also high in saturated fat.

Ask the waiter for the size of your serving. If they are bigger than your usual meal, consider sharing your meals with someone else. And it is not a compulsion to eat everything on your plate. Take the leftovers to your home for another meal.

Investigate on how the dishes are prepared. Ask the waiter, whether the meal you are interested in is prepared with butter or ghee or animal fat. If it is, consider asking the waiter if the dishes would be prepared with olive oil instead, or that it be steamed or baked with less fat. Stay away from meal prepared with lots of cream and cheese.

Eat a light snack before going out. Munch on a piece of carrot or fruit before going out. That way you won’t be ruthlessly hungry on your dining table in the restaurant.

Share your dessert. If you have a sweet tooth, consider sharing your dessert with others on your table. This way you will get the full taste, but with only a fraction of the calories, sugar and the fats.


5 comments:

  1. For weight watchers:
    As always, drink water before your meal. This will reduce your calories intake.

    Regards
    Citizen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Murali,

    I read an article in a forum which deals about the carbohydrate intake for those who wants to gain weight as well as to lose weight.

    Please go through the link.

    http://www.obesitydiscussion.com/forums/weight-loss-forum/carb-cycling-carbohydrate-intake-tips-4186.html

    Hope this will be useful.

    All the best for your contest preparation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Murali,

    Is it ok to eat potatoes for dinner? I usually have lentil soup with veggies like carrot, beans, potatoes and quinoa...

    thanks,
    sri

    ReplyDelete
  4. sri4ever ,

    potatos can be avoided when ever possible...

    cheers

    ReplyDelete

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