Healthy Dining Out Tips

Next time you plan on heading out for dinner, keep these healthy dining out tips in mind:

• If you splurge at one time during the day, make up for it later on. For instance, if you enjoy a 1,000-calorie sandwich for lunch, have a light salad for dinner. This will help balance out your calories throughout the day. Overall, you will not have a significant increase in calories.
• Drink water. Drinking water before, during, and after your meal will help you eat less. It fills you up.
• If you drink alcohol, limit it to one beverage. Besides helping your calorie count while eating out, your pocketbook will thank you. Drinking less alcohol means consuming fewer carbohydrates.
• Eat a light snack before going out to dinner. By doing this, your appetite will decrease prior to getting to the restaurant. Eating something containing a high amount of protein -- such as peanut butter on graham crackers, a hard boiled egg, plain yogurt with granola and fruit, or cottage cheese on a bagel -- is a great idea.
• Order your sauces, salad dressings, and/or condiments on the side. This will give you a chance to control what you eat. Restaurants will eagerly oblige.
• Order seafood dishes that are prepared in a healthful manner – such as poached, steamed, broiled, baked, or grilled. Some restaurants designate these dishes with an asterisk. Some simply have an entire section titled “healthy options.”

Dining out can be a healthy experience and fit well into your healthy living lifestyle. The key is knowing how to make the most out of it.

How to Order at a Seafood Restaurant

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of both your dining dollars and culinary tastes:

1. Ask the server where the seafood item you are interested in came from (its origin). Also ask how it was shipped (overnight?). You need to find out how fresh the seafood is before you eat it.
2. If you do not see something you like on the menu, simply ask the server if the chef can prepare it for you. Sometimes the menu size limits the items listed on it.
3. Ask about the daily specials. Your server should automatically tell you about them. If not, just ask. If you are not satisfied with the answer, or knowledge level, of your server ask for someone else.
4. Ask for any special dietary treatment. If you are on a specific meal plan, or are allergic to certain foods, just ask to have them removed from the dish you are interested in. Seafood restaurants, and any good restaurant in general, will accommodate your needs.
5. Ask for substitutions. Sometimes specials specifically state “no substitutions allowed.” Anything else on the menu will probably be able to be substituted.
6. If the seafood restaurant serves baked potatoes, ask when the potatoes were actually cooked. Many times a restaurant will bake them in the morning and keep them under a hot lamp (or warm area) until ready to be served. This may make for an untasty, unfresh baked potato.
7. Ask to have any leftovers put in a carry-out container. Do not be concerned about how it looks to others. This is an easy way to make two meals out of one.
8. If you are uncertain about how to eat a shellfish, ask the server how. Finer restaurants will train their servers to be prepared to help.

Restaurant Discounts

Here are some more tips to help you stretch your dining out budget by using restaurant discounts. There is bound to be something you can use here to make your pocketbook smile while you're eating out!

• Senior discounts. Oftentimes there are restaurant discounts offered to senior citizens. Sometimes the restaurant has their own card, other times not. Most restaurants have the percentage posted on their menu and by their checkout area. Look for it.
• Community cards. Some local communities sell a card that offers residents a discount at local businesses.
• Public television. Public television lives on donations. A variety of local public television networks offer a discount card to viewers. In addition to helping the television station, the viewer purchasing the card is rewarded with a variety of discounts. The discounts are listed in a business directory that the customer/viewer receives upon purchase.
• Grand openings. When a restaurant is new to the area, a great way for them to introduce themselves to the community is by offering restaurant discounts. Look in your local newspaper for news on this.
• Telephone book. Some phone books have a section containing information on restaurant discounts.
• Community directory. This is yet another great place to look for information about local restaurant discounts. You can usually pick these up for free at your local Chamber of Commerce.

Restaurant Gift Certificates

You have a special occasion coming up and want to surprise someone who loves dining out. What can you give her? A restaurant gift certificate is a great idea.

Most restaurants sell gift certificates. The price and terms may vary, but there is likely something that suits both you and your recipient. Many restaurants have a sign posted by their checkout area referring to their gift certificates. If you do not see a gift certificate offer located in a restaurant, just ask if one is available. If the restaurant has a website, you may be able to purchase certificates online and print them out.

A great place to get a restaurant gift certificate is at a nonprofit silent auctions. Simply find a restaurant gift certificate that suits your gift needs and place your bid on it. In addition to buying your recipient a restaurant gift certificate (which they will undoubtedly love!), you will be helping the organization raise funds.