6 Ways for Eating Healthy While Eating Out

Hello everybody,

Preparations for Diwali are underway and as we go to the market, we see most of the people wearing masks hanging around their chins and enjoying food at various stalls in the market. Not only is this dangerous in the face of the ongoing third wave of Covid-19, but also for weight gain.

Talking about weight loss is easy, but following the tips in real life can be very difficult, especially if you are eating out. I remember when I was on my weight loss program I stopped eating out all together. I avoided meeting people as it meant going to cafes or lunch and eating all that junk food. Now this may be possible for a few months, but it is impossible to keep track of it throughout life.

After a while, I decided to be smarter in my decisions. If you are suffering from weight loss and you don't want to sacrifice your social life, you can just make smarter choices.

Here's our guide to eating out – Ways to Eat Healthy Eat to make sure you don't deviate from your plan.

Coffee houses

When meeting someone for coffee, avoid the sugary smoothies and shakes that only add to the inches. Instead, you can choose a small serving of cappuccino with ½ teaspoon of brown sugar. If you're craving something ice cold, iced tea, fresh lime water, or frappe made from skimmed milk and without ice is a better option. Avoid sodas.

Choose a grilled or baked sandwich without cheese or salad dressing. Many of these outlets have introduced brown bread, multigrain products, and healthy wraps that fill up and don't have too many calories. Avoid french fries or french fries.

If you think the food on the subway is healthy, you can get a ride. If you choose multigrain bread with lots of vegetables and add dressings and extra cheese, you actually have more calories. The dressings and sauces used in the salads are loaded with preservatives, sugar, and corn syrup that add to the calorie intake. So if you feel like it, all you can do is add a little low calorie dressing.

Oriental

Now this cuisine is high in vegetables and therefore can be considered healthy, but that is far from the truth. The Chinese food we eat in India is fried and loaded with sauces that actually contribute to water retention and gas. All you have to do is be smart about your decisions. Replace the creamy sweet corn soup with clear soups or hot and sour soups, let fried starters steam over the fried ones or stir them. Fried rice or noodles should be replaced with steamed rice with vegetables and tofu / fish / chicken. Avoid fried foods and dishes made from coconut milk.

Italian

When we think of Italian, the first thing that comes to mind is pasta. You can enjoy pasta without worrying about the weight, but only if you have it right. Choose wheat noodles in tomato sauce and avoid white sauce. Add plenty of vegetables so that you get fiber and nutrients from them. If you are a pizza lover, choose a thin crust wheat base and veggies and avoid the cheese.

Sizzler

Whenever I go out, I prefer Sizzler. I just love it and it's comparatively healthy too. You can choose sizzlers with lots of veggies, grilled paneer / soy / chicken, and rice. Avoid fried potatoes and vegetables. You can ask the restaurant to grill vegetables and meats instead of frying them and using less oil. Most restaurants can customize the dishes to suit your taste.

South Indian cuisine

South Indian is considered a complete meal, but if you are on a weight loss regime then you need to be careful what you choose. Idli is one of the healthiest options, but only if you have it without the coconut chutney. Some of the combinations you can order in South India are: 2 idli with sambar and tomato chutney, 1 uttapam with sambar or 1 dosa with sambar and tomato chutney. Avoid the vadas as they are deep fried and high in calories.

North Indian

North Indian cuisine offers many options, but you can be a little careful and eat healthily. Instead of naan, you can also choose tandoori roti. The key is to replace refined flour or maida with wheat. The sauces in North Indian cuisine contain a lot of oil and cream, so it is better to choose the dry preparation. If you are in the mood for sauce then you have sauce preparation. This means that instead of daal and buttered chicken, you can only choose one preparation. Replace kaali daal with yellow daal and kadhai paneer or butter chicken with tandoori panner or tandoori chicken.

Avoid desserts if possible, but if you want to be pampered just take a bit of them and share with everyone. The key is controlling the portion size. Order food in small quantities and divide it up to avoid overeating. If you're going out in a small group, you can avoid the starters and just order the main course. Avoid eating out, but if you can't, limit it to just once a week and eat for lunch instead of dinner.

Image source – 1, 2, 3

What are your favorite ways to eat healthily while eating?

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