Eating Out - The healthy way!

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Dinner party tips

Skip the alcohol and keep control of your eating habits and calories

• Plan ahead for dinner parties. BYO low joule drinks such as plain mineral water. Act as the skipper and skip the alcohol.
  
• Don't go feeling hungry - have a small low-fat, healthy snack and some water before you arrive
  
• Avoid the pre-dinner high-fat snacks, such as potato chips, corn chips, spring rolls, curry puffs, cheese, dips, pate, crackers, cold meats and nuts
  
• Talk more and eat less
  
• Ask to help serve the meal and keep to smaller portions. Fill up on plain vegetables and salad without dressings
  
• Practise saying "No thank you" in an assertive but polite manner. For example "Thank you for an enjoyable meal....but I am full. Could I have another coffee please?"

Fast food guide

Limit takeaways and takeaway style meals to rare occasions

Occasional fast-food meals can be fitted into a healthy diet, but eating them regularly is not a good idea. This applies both to meals from fast-foods outlets and to similar types of meals bought from the supermarket freezer and prepared at home.

The concern is not only with the nutritional content of the meal, but also with the way this type of eating influences our attitudes to food, and - more importantly - the attitudes of our children.

The influences may extend into the family, with parents purchasing the growing number of frozen convenience products that attempt to emulate the foods of the fast-food outlets; such as frozen chips and french fries, frozen pizzas and pies, T.V. dinners.

Hints for wise choices

1. Choose chicken that has been rotisseried or barbecued rather than fried or deep fried . . . and save around 120 calories and 13g fat per quarter chicken. Remove the skin and stuffing and save an extra 130 calories and 14g fat . . . a total saving of 250 calories!
   
2. Avoid deep-fried foods such as chicken, chicken nuggets, fish, chips, onion rings, spring rolls, and banana/pineapple fritters
   
3. Avoid the salad dressing when choosing salads from a salad bar. Each tablespoon can add up to 80 calories and 8g fat
   
4. Request takeaway sandwiches/rolls to be made without butter or margarine and save at least 80 calories. Ask to 'skip the mayonnaise'. Most sandwich bars are happy to oblige. Choose wholemeal bread for a more tasty and satisfying sandwich/roll
   
5. Having Mexican? Choose a Bean Burrito over a Beef Burrito Supreme and save 100 calories. Bean dishes are usually lower in calories than beef dishes. Avoid corn chips and too much cheese. Avoid nacho dishes
   
6. When eating Chinese, always choose the items that have the lowest fat content, e.g. steamed rice, combination vegetables, seafood dishes (not deep-fried), steamed spring rolls, barbecued chicken or pork
   
7. Choose whole, jacket potatoes or mashed potato rather than chips. Chips have a larger surface area to absorb fat, and therefore calories. The smaller the chip size, the higher the calories. Coleslaw or bean salad are lower calorie alternatives to chips. Beans in particular are nutritious and add fibre.
   
8. Choose sweetcorn cobettes without butter where available. Corn is high in fibre and filling, yet moderate in calories.
   
9. Choose 'low joule' soft drinks, or plain mineral water. These give you big calorie savings over sweetened varieties. Orange juice represents a large calorie saving over thickshakes.
   
10. Avoid desserts. The limited range in fast-food outlets are usually high in fat, sugar and calories. Stop off at the fruit markets on the way home and treat yourself and the family to a fresh fruit dessert . . . just the thing to add some fibre and cleanse the palate!

Last updated: November 22nd, 2004