Eating out doesn’t have to mean letting out pants

By Ashleigh Livingston
If you’ve ever tried to diet, you likely know something about passing – passing on dessert, passing on a mid-day snack and maybe even passing on a meal at your favorite restaurant. After all, it’s easy when you’re counting calories to develop a fear of any food that you did not prepare yourself. It may seem safer to stay home and ingest only items with suitable nutrition facts printed on their packaging. The recent health care legislation has made it easier to make informed meal choices at fast food restaurants by demanding that many chains post calorie counts next to each item on their menu; however, restaurants with less than 20 outlets are exempt from this law. Still, it’s possible to enjoy a meal at a locally owned restaurant while still sticking with your diet, especially if you keep a few things in mind.
Firstly, control your condiments. Add-ons such as mayonnaise, butter, sour cream and salad dressing harbor a lot of calories from fat, says Jourunn Gran-Henriksen, certified dietician-nutritionist and assistant professor of nursing and nutrition at Plattsburgh State University.
“It doesn’t take very many bites [of these items] before you’ve eaten a lot of calories,” she says.
The good news is that just because you’re dieting doesn’t mean you are obligated to pass on these condiments all together, leaving your food dry and bland. Instead, Gran-Henriksen recommends asking for them on the side. That way you can put them on yourself and be in control of how much you are using.
Secondly, be familiar with menu terminology. Anything fried adds calories, Gran-Henriksen says, but there are different ways to fry foods, and some are worse than others. For example, Gran-Henriksen explains that sautéed is usually a better choice than pan fried, but pan fried is still better than deep-fried. If you’re looking to cut the most calories from your meal, however, Gran-Henriksen recommends sticking with foods that are baked or roasted because these cooking methods do not require oil, which is high in fat and calories.
Thirdly, just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you have to eat it. Gran-Henriksen explains that portions at restaurants are often much larger than the portions you would normally eat at home, so consuming everything on your plate may mean over eating.
“Make the decision, ‘I’m not going to have anymore,’ and then put your utensils down,” she says. “You can always bring home a doggie bag, [but] if you eat too much, you can’t bring anything home.”
If you know you will have trouble mustering up the will power to stop eating before your plate is empty, Gran-Henriksen recommends ordering an appetizer in place of an entrée since appetizers are generally smaller portions.
Lastly, ask questions. Gran-Henriksen points out that your waiter or waitress can be a good resource for finding out how food is prepared and may be able to guide you in making a healthy meal choice.
While these tips present a general guide to eating healthy while eating out, different restaurants present different menu options, and it may not always be clear which options are best for your waistline. Ethnic foods, for example, use a wide variety of ingredients that may taste good but may also leave you wondering what exactly it is you ate.
The good news is that you don’t have to pass on all of Plattsburgh’s ethnic restaurants just because you’re dieting. Once again, you just have to keep a few things in mind.
If you’re craving Italian food, you may end up at Arnie’s Restaurant on Margaret Street, where believe it or not, there are plenty of options for the calorie conscious.
One of the restaurant’s owners, Glenn Pavone, explains that the chicken cacciatore is a healthy Italian inspired dish because it is made with boneless, skinless chicken breast and the restaurant’s homemade marinara sauce, which contains no saturated fat.
The restaurant also has a great option for controlling portion size, according to Pavone. “We offer half portions of spaghetti for people that don’t want to overdo it on pasta,” he says.
When it comes to choosing a sauce for your pasta, Gran-Henriksen recommends sticking with tomato based sauces such as marinara, plain sauce or meat sauce. She says to avoid anything with cream or butter, such as alfredo sauce, as these will be higher in calories.
Though Gran-Henriksen says that pizza is tough to make healthy due to the cheese, she recommends cutting calories by requesting less cheese on your pizza, which Arnie Pavone, co-owner of Arnie’s Restaurant, says he welcomes guests to do. Arnie adds that the restaurant uses half-skim mozzarella on all of its pizzas, eliminating extra fat and calories.
Like pizza, Mexican food is also hard to make healthy because of the cheese that is generally added to most dishes, but there are still some options for dieters, according to Glenn LaBarre, manager of The Smoked Pepper on Bridge Street.
For one, Labarre says that guests may opt for balsamic portabella mushrooms in their burritos or salads, rather than meat; though, The Smoked Pepper does use boneless, skinless chicken breast, which Gran-Henriksen says is not a bad choice. Shrimp is also a healthy choice for a burrito or salad filler; however, Gran-Henriksen warns to stay away from beef and pork.
While sour cream and guacamole are some of those calorie packed condiments that are best used sparingly or not at all, Labarre says that the Smoked Pepper’s guajillo sauce, which is made of tomatoes and peppers, is great for adding a, “load of flavor” to dishes without adding a load of calories.
Once again, guests are welcomed to request less cheese on any of the dishes, and LaBarre says that baked chicken can be substituted for sautéed or pan-fried chicken on salads.
For dieters craving a taste of India, Karma Indian Cuisine on Cornelia Street can accommodate.
“Nobody could be more calorie analytical than I am right now, but believe it or not, I eat at my restaurant three times a day,” says Karma’s manager, Barinder Kaur, who is watching her calorie intake in preparation for her wedding in three months.
One of Kaur’s favorite dishes is the restaurant’s chicken curry, which she says can also be made with vegetables or lamb. She explains that the sauce is made of onions and spices, and has no dairy in it.
“It’s absolutely delicious because what happens is spices add on a flavor… India has over 200 spices, [and they] don’t have many calories what so ever; it’s just flavor,” she says.
Indian cuisine also has an abundance of breads associated with it, and Kaur recommends tandoori roti because it is made with whole wheat.
While the Atkins diet craze may have scared you away from carbs, Gran-Henriksen says there are actually some good nutrients in bread, and as long as you don’t overdo it, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a little bread with your meal.
In fact, it seems moderation is a key to maintaining a healthy diet. While it’s important to be careful about the foods you put in your mouth, you also don’t want to take all the fun out of eating.
“If you go out to eat a lot, I think you have to be much more careful,” Gran-Henriksen says. “ If you go out, and it’s just a once in a while thing, and you’re treating yourself, enjoy it.”