Dining Out in Houston

Catherine Kruppa, MS, RD, CSSD, LDAdvice For Eating

Nutrition and Wellness Consulting

General Guidelines to Dining Lean

• Preparation:– Do not starve yourself all day.– Choose restaurants with a varied menu.– Decide ahead of time what you will order.– Do not hesitate to ask how foods on the

menu are prepared.

Dining Out Statistics

• Typical American eat out more than 4 x a week

• 56% of us say we “always” or “usually”find it hard to eat healthy away from home.

• Women who consumed meals out 5 x per week or more ate 300 more calories = weight gain of 2 lbs per month.

• “It’s better to waste it than to waist it.”

Proximity Can Be a Problem

• Stay away from all you can eat buffets.• Have bread, chips and butter removed

from the table or at least away from you to avoid temptation.

• Ask that food you don’t want be left off the plate.

• Ask the server not to bring the dessert cart to the table.

Portion Size

• Restaurant portions are 2-3 x what we truly need.

• Order 2 appetizers as your meal.• Share an order with a friend.• Ask for only half of your meal to be

delivered to the table and box up the other half

• Measure food at home so you will be familiar with the portion sizes.

Menu Terminology

• Leaner ways to cook meats and veggies include broiling, roasting, chargrilling, grilling, poaching, stir-frying, boiling and steaming.

• Most restaurants will brush or baste the meats with fats during or after the cooking process. Ask for “no oil, no butter”.

• The term “Prime” often refers to meat that is very high in fat.

Menu Terminology

• Most restaurants add margarine, butter, oil, or other sauces before serving boiled or steamed vegetables. Ask that it be left off.

• Béarnaise, hollandaise – heavy sauces• Bisque – cream based soup• Crusted – coated with nuts, breadcrumbs, or potato and pan-

fried until crispy• Grilled – not necessarily light – butter or oil may be added

during grilling• Sautéed – lightly fried; ask the chef to easy on butter or oil• Steamed – may not be light (butter or oil sometimes added

after steaming)

Don’t Drink Your Calories

• Choose a calorie-free beverage such as water, mineral water, club soda, unsweetened iced tea, black tea or diet soda.– Know the calories you are drinking:

• Beer 12-oz can 150 Light beer 12-oz can 100 Mixed drink 8 oz 195

• Margarita 8 oz 500• Wine 3-1/2 oz 85

Salads

• Salad dressings are about 80 calories per level tablespoon. Usually put 3-4 tablespoons (~300 calories) on a small garden salad.

• Oil & vinegar – oil has 125 calories per tablespoon.

• Ask for dressings on the side.• Lower calorie options: flavored

vinegars, salsa, lemon.

Breakfast

• Select skim or low fat milk.• Most cold cereals are low in fat.• Oatmeal is typically the best choice on

the menu.• Order egg substitutes.• Order ham or Canadian bacon.• Hash browns = French fries.

Breakfast

• Pancakes are made with whole milk and eggs = 510 calories, 6 g fat for 2.

• Waffles are worse = 830 calories, 64 g fat.

• French toast = 150 calories, 7 g fat• Before butter and syrup!

Navigating a Steak House Menu

• Rib-Eye Steak •• Porterhouse •• Petite Filet Mignon •• Strip Steak •• Grilled Tuna Steak •• Prime Rib •

American/ Steak Houses

• Leaner cuts of meat – London broil, filet mignon, round or flank steak, sirloin tip, tenderloin.

• We only need 6 oz of protein per day.• Order the baked potato dry = 240 cal• Loaded = 572 calories, 39 g fat

Chinese

• Appetizers:– Order steamed dumplings– Fill up on soup

• Accompaniments:– Side of steamed rice =

220 calories– Savings = 130 calories vs

fried

Chinese

• Entrees:– Order dishes that contain more vegetables

than meat.– Avoid sweet and sour entrees – deep fat

fried.– Avoid dishes with nuts- 200 calories, 20 g

fat.– Ask that your dish be prepared with as

“little oil as possible”

Chinese

• Order steamed foods with sauce on the side.

• Order fewer meals than the number of people at your table.

• Select seafood, chicken or tofu over beef and pork.

• Ask for foods prepared without MSG.

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS20 Years Ago Today

500 calories1 cup spaghetti with sauce and 3 small meatballs

How many calories do you think are in today's portion of spaghetti and meatballs?

Dining Out

Hamburger = 660 calories

Chicken Caesar Salad = 660 calories

Italian

• Appetizers– Minestrone and bean soups– Request that Bruschetta be prepared with

very little oil.– Avoid Caesar salad – 270 calories, 21 g fat– Watch the high fat additions of olives, pine

nuts, cheese and oil.– Remember that you have a lot of food

coming, do you really need an appetizer?

Italian

• Pasta– Pasta noodles are low in fat. – Each half cup portion of pasta

has 100 calories. Restaurants serve between 2-4 cups.

– Sauces: red is good; white is bad.– Avoid dishes that are pre-made – lasagna,

manicotti.– Avoid parmigiana meals – floured, fried, and

topped with marinara and cheese.– Hold the oil.

Mexican

Most of the portion sizes are double the amount

you need.

Each Tortilla Chip = 25 Calories

1363 calories

Margarita = 500 calories

Mexican

Grand Total = 2130

Mexican

• Appetizers:– Move the fried chips. 25 calories per chip,

1.4 g of fat.– Order baked chips.– Ask for corn tortillas.– Enjoy the salsa.– Ask about tortilla soup.

Mexican

• Salads:– Taco salad in Taco Shell = 1065 calories,

70 g of fat.– Select the chicken fajita salad.– Use the picante sauce for a low calorie

dressing.– Don’t eat the shell.– Limit or hold the sour cream and

guacamole.

Mexican

• Entrees:– Best option: fajitas, watch the high calorie

accompaniments – refried beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream and cheese.

– Trim the meat – save 100 calories.– Corn tortillas over flour – save 50 calories

each.– Little or no oil.– Other lower calorie items: soft tacos, soft

burritos, arroz con pollo.

http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator

Mexican

• Entrees:– Limit high calorie entrees –

chalupas, chimichangas, beef or cheese enchiladas, flautas, tacos, tamales

– Be selective with accompaniments: you don’t need chips, rice, beans AND tortillas.

– Ask for cooked pinto or black beans instead of refried beans.

Thai

• Appetizers– Soft Spring Rolls– Hot and Sour Soup– Vegetable Soup– Seafood Salad– Avoid: crispy spring rolls, chicken wings,

chicken coconut soup, ground beef salad.

Thai

• Entrees:– Coconut milk is the culprit.– Baked chicken or steamed shrimp dishes

are you best options.– Steamed or grilled fish and jasmine rice.– Watch out for pad thai – oily, eggy,

peanutty noodles.– Watch out for chicken curry.– Avoid thai fried rice.

Catherine Kruppa, MS, RD, CSSD, LDAdvice For Eating – Nutrition and

Wellness Consulting281-974-1559

catherinekruppa@adviceforeating.comwww.adviceforeating.com