How to Make Any Place the Best Restaurant for Healthy Eating

The pursuit of a healthy lifestyle is swiftly taking over society, and it’s not uncommon these days to find nutritious fare in fast-food restaurants, casual dining spots, and even gas stations. In fact, with the right focus and a bit of determination, you can nearly always make the restaurant you’re in the best restaurant for healthy eating. Here are a few tips to help you eat right wherever you go:

Avoid Spontaneity

The best restaurant for healthy eating is the one you’ve chosen in advance. Plan your destination before you leave the house so that you have time to peruse the menu, choose your meal, and plug its ingredients into a calorie counting program. If you find that your chosen dish(es) will cost you more calories than left in your budget for the day, you’ll have time to reassess and make a better selection. 

Avoid Sugary Drinks and Alcohol

Drink water instead of soda, sweet tea, or alcohol. Not only does water help fill you up — helping you eat less — it contains zero calories, making it the perfect choice for people who are watching their waistlines.

Avoid Large Portions

Think about ordering an appetizer rather than an entree or splitting a meal with a friend. Sometimes just a bite or two is enough to satisfy a craving. Alternately, you could ask your server to box half your meal before bringing the rest of it to the table. You’ll still be eating less upfront, but with the added bonus of having another (smaller-sized) meal ready for you the next day. The goal is to gratify your tastes with smaller portions while still keeping your overall resolve intact.

Avoid the Rush

People looking for the best restaurants for healthy eating aren’t usually in a rush. Choose to eat earlier in the evening when the dinner rush isn’t in full swing. Being able to linger over a meal — to savor the flavors and company — allows you time to fully enjoy your food. It also allows your brain the time it needs to register that your stomach is full, permitting you the opportunity to put your fork down when your body has had enough!

Avoid the “Extras”

Special condiments and dressings are often the draws for certain dishes, but they can add a lot of unnecessary calories to a meal. Ask for sauces and other seasoning agents 

(like salt, butter, ranch dressing, ketchup, etc.) to be delivered to you on the side so that you can dip your food into them rather than drench it with needless fat and sugar (and, thus, calories). You should also reconsider bread and dessert. The bread basket might seem like an added treat, providing you with a “free snack” to tide you over while your meal is being prepared, but its contents can add hundreds of extra calories to a meal. It’s much the same with desserts, their “extra” value really only existing as extra calories and not much else. Skip the bread and ditch dessert so that you have room (and calories left in your daily budget) for the food that you’re really there to experience.

Better Yet, Consider the Lean Kitchen Advantage

Of course, the best restaurant for healthy eating is the one that gets you excited about healthy living. Instead of having to worry about menu items and what you should avoid while eating out, wouldn’t it be easier if your meals could be thought out for — and delivered to — you?! Our chef-created meals here at Lean Kitchen are healthy and delicious and are ready to be enjoyed without all the planning and restrictions that traditional delivery, fast food and sit-down restaurants so often require. Indeed, we make it easy for people to stay on track with their weight loss goals and still eat well by balancing lean proteins with just the right amounts of vegetables and carbohydrates to keep you feeling full, satisfied and energized whatever dish you choose. Please take a look at our menus here and browse our website here to learn more about using Lean Kitchen to make your kitchen the best restaurant for healthy eating (and living) in town!