Friends and Food... Dining out health tips

Life is better with good friends sharing it. For all the unconditional love and the fun memories I couldn't imagine life without them. It's not only the similarities that we embrace but our differences. I love health and they may love fashion or music and we'll learn and inspire each other in different ways. We need to find the right balance between fun nights out and healthier nights in.

Sometimes a client will feel guilty because they've had too much of a good time that weekend... They had been doing amazingly well in regards to changing habits, feeling better and getting healthier and now they're contemplating how to integrate their health goals with their social life. Or they have a limiting belief that they can't be healthy AND have fun.

First you have to consider what the state of your health is. If for example you have a serious health condition or are aiming to lose a decent amount of weight then yes, realistically your health needs to come first. However, if you're all OK and just want to stay balanced then you have more freedom.

It is my belief that if we become too rigid with our thoughts and our habits, our well being will suffer. Is it better to be 100% healthy but avoid all social activities? Or is it healthier to live a little and have some fun? I know my answer... but it doesn't involve MacDonald's.

So, when it comes to going out I've come up with a list of healthy habits and food choices to follow *most of the time... *Birthday's don't count- the older you get the more you should celebrate.

Dining out...

* Eat a little less at lunch time to compensate for extra kilojoules at dinner. Make sure it's only a little so not to encourage over-eating in the evening.

* Snack on something light before you go. In most cases we're left waiting a while and you won't attack the bread or appetisers.

* Don't drink too much alcohol before you eat. You'll get tipsy and likely eat or drink more than you hoped for.

* Drink water instead of flavoured drinks. Always drink water if you drink any alcohol.

* Ask for entree sized main meals, skip the fried chips and always replace it with salad or vegetables.

* Avoid bakery's, buffets or all-you-can-eat restaurants.

* Choose quality over quantity.

Menu ideas...

*Pay attention to the descriptions on the menu

* Choose grilled, broiled, roasted, steamed or fresh over fried or battered.

* Always have a side of vegetables or salad.

* Avoid creamy, buttery, rich sauces and go for tomato or clear based ones.  Ask to have dressings and sauces on the side.

* Avoid pastries, biscuits, cakes (unless it's someones birthday)

* Pizza bases should be thin and ideally vegetarian.

What to order when you eat...

Italian

Enjoy: Pasta or rice with tomato based sauce, side veggies, salads, thin based vegetarian pizza and soup.

Avoid: Cream sauces such as Alfredo or butter sauce as well as parmigiana, beef lasagna, sausage dishes, garlic bread and dessert.

Japanese

 Enjoy: Miso, nori rolls, green tea, soba noodles, seaweed salad and sushi.

Avoid: Tempura, pork, salty dishes and any brightly coloured desserts.

Chinese/ Thai

Enjoy: Brown rice, steamed basmati rice, cold rolls, clear soups, clear sauces, stir-fried, steamed, broiled, vegetarian and salads. Choose dishes with a higher portion of vegetables. Green tea

 

Avoid: Deep fried, fried rice, battered, tempura, peanuts, egg noodles, fried dumplings, egg rolls, wontons, MSG, pork, imitation meats and deep fried ice cream.

 

Indian

        

Enjoy: Rice, legumes, soup, tandoori, green sauces, roti (unleavened bread baked in clay oven), raita (cucumber, herb and yoghurt salad) and salad.

Avoid: Creamy sauces, poppadom's, dessert, samosas and anything with excessive spicy/ chili (so not to cover up a bad taste!).

Mexican

Enjoy: Gazpacho, rice, bean dishes, vegetable fajitas, salsa, soft tacos and chile con carne (no cheese)

Avoid: Nachos, chips, chimichangas, chalupas, taquitos, crunchy tacos, chile relleno, (all of which are deep-fried), burritos, guacamole and sour cream.

Greek 

  

Enjoy: Hummus with pita, tabouli, couscous, dolmades, tzatziki sauce, stifado stew, legumes and bean dishes, char grilled vegetables, green vegetable dishes and Greek salad (no cheese).

Avoid: Yiros, filo pastry, baklava, most desserts (always sweet pastries).

Fast Food

I was going to put a section here but I don't count this as real food, with any real healthy options. If you're going to eat out make sure it's at a nice place.

Love

Ulyana...