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Dining out is a necessity for many families.
Finding time to cook between soccer practice and the junior high band
concert is impossible. Parents working overtime at their jobs ease their
time crunch by bringing take out home for dinner. It's a way to cope with
hectic schedules, yes, but families also dine out to celebrate birthdays,
anniversaries, good report cards and raises. Another phenomenon has arisen alongside the
increased number of meals eaten out: obesity of children, teens and adults
is continuing to climb. There is no need for the two to go hand-in-hand,
whether picking up fast food or sitting down to a four-course meal served by
tuxedo-clad waitstaff, there are ways to keep to a healthy diet.
1
Limit or avoid visits to fast food restaurants.
The temptation to pick
up burgers and fries once in a while isn't inherently bad; it's the size of
what you order, and the frequency of visits, that make or break a healthy
eating plan. If you cannot or do not wish to, avoid fast food, keep visits
to once a week at most. Order the smallest size fries as a treat, ignore the
ice cream or shakes, and order a simple one-patty burger, or grilled chicken
sandwich. If you have very active teens who need more sustenance, encourage
them to add a salad to their small sandwich and kid-sized fries. Choose
milk, not soft drinks, for beverages. Ordering sandwiches or subs from a
deli can be much healthier when you limit yourself to one cheese or meat and
load up on the veggies. Choose mustard over mayo and skip the chips.
2 Read restaurants menus for hints on what to order, and make friends with
the staff. Chefs tempt us through the restaurant menus. Look for hidden fats
and calories. Avoid buttery hollandaise and béarnaise sauces, garlic and oil
on pasta, cream or cheese sauces on beef, vegetables or eggs. While they all
add flavor, they all hike the calories of each entree. Choose entrees that
rely on fruit coulis, wine reductions, and mushroom sauce made with beef
juices. These sauces pack taste without breaking down your resolutions to
eat well. Family restaurants may even have notations by the menu items
identifying low-fat, or hearth healthy meals. More expensive restaurants
have better educated staffs that can answer your questions about sauces,
portion sizes and side dishes. Make friends with your waiter who will be
your sole advocate in the kitchen when you wish to have substitutions or
specially prepared food served to your table. Encourage your children to
order their entrees from the appetizer menu: steamed clams, shrimp cocktail,
vegetable and dip platters, cheese and fruit plates, big salads (dressing on
the side, please) and bowls of bean soup or vegetable stew are filling and
healthful.
3
Skip the fried foods. This sounds obvious but can be tricky. Even when
you order a seafood platter to be broiled, it will arrive with a broiled
fish fillet but breaded and fried shrimps, scallops and clams. Stopping in
for lunch? Ask if the chips that come with every sandwich, or the fries that
come with each burger can be substituted with a small side salad, applesauce
or raw vegetables. An alternative is to hold the chips on two out of three
lunches and share the pile of chips between three people.
4
Cut the fat and satisfy craving for flavor.
Rotisserie chicken, prime
rib served au jus, slow pit-cooked pork and roasted turkey are all moist,
tender meats with the flavor of herbs infused throughout. Where's the fat?
Not here. Look for non-meat entrees: chile stuffed with cheese and baked in
an egg batter, eggplant, grains cooked in vegetable broth and mixed with
steamed vegetables, smoked tofu on whole grain bread, and fruit salads
provide solid nutrition for growing children and are becoming mainstream at
family restaurants.
5
Order from children's menus. Ask questions first, though, for many of
the items on children's menus are not made in the kitchen. Instead they come
prepared from the restaurant supplier. A regular diet of individual cheese
pizzas, chicken tenders, and fried mozzarella sticks are not the healthiest
choice for children. The pluses of children's menu are small servings, low
prices and food children adore. Embrace the children's menu if you can order
dishes like spaghetti with marinara sauce, small hamburger patty, stir fry
vegetables or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
6
Healthier portions for everybody: share with your child. It's worth an
extra plate fee to be able to cut back on your own over-sized entree and
give a portion to your child. It's also a wonderful way for you to introduce
your favorite foods to your children. If this doesn't appeal to you, and
your child still wants a full-sized entree (or if they are teens and can eat
a full-sized entree) you can cut the entree in half, and as for a take-home
box to keep the food for another meal.
7
Explore ethnic restaurants. Continental cuisine, down home Southern
cooking, roadside barbecue pits, and hot dogs at the ball games have their
delicious place in our culture, but if you are looking for an experience in
dining to share with your family that won't harm their health, go ethnic.
Indian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African restaurants provide highly
seasoned dishes for those craving flavor. Curried lentils, roasted
vegetables, cooling yogurt sauces, meats used sparingly to accent entrees,
sharp cheese and lots of vegetables - all promise exciting flavor and a
healthy alternative.
8
Celebrating? Break your healthy rules once in a while, and your children
won't feel deprived. Go ahead and splurge, but try to limit each person to
two courses, three if one is a salad.. Pay attention to what is in each
course. A creamy seafood bisque for an appetizer plus a salad with dressing
on the side and roasted chicken with steamed vegetables is a better choice
than fried vegetables, Chicken Parmesan with butter garlic pasta and
chocolate-fudge layer cake. If planning on a dessert, skip the appetizer
(unless someone wants the appetizer as their main dish) and suggest
splitting desserts.
9
Plan ahead before leaving home to go to any restaurant.
If your
destination is the local diner and you know what is on the menu, discuss
what the children might order and steer them toward a ham and cheese on rye
with lettuce and tomato or a vegetable omelette. If it is a new restaurant
and you are not sure what will be available, investigate the restaurant's
website, or call the restaurant and ask them to either fax a copy of the
menu or to answer your questions about healthy options on their menu.
10 Go vegetarian!
What a great idea. Vegetarian children enjoy healthful
meals easily when dining out. Most cuisines have vegetarian specialties;
ovo-lacto vegetarians, vegetarians that eat dairy and eggs, have a wider
variety to choose from. Warming pintos and rice topped with cheese and lettuce, spicy tofu and kidney bean chile with cornbread, vegetable burgers
loaded with fresh lettuce and tomatoes, bean cassoulets seasoned with fresh
herbs and colored with red peppers and orange carrots, eggplant parmesan,
and pepper-squash ratatouille.
Entering the 'drive-thru' lane or being greeted by a formal maitre d' need
not create a feeling of defeat when it comes to your children's healthy
eating. Stay informed, know what to look for on menus and sharing portions
will keep you and your family healthy despite time pressures and family
celebration obligations.
Pamela White, mother of three and restaurant reviewer, writes on food and
families for newspapers and magazines, teaches food writing from her
website, and has had several mystery short stories published.
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