Birthday Dinner

Until now we have discussed how to eat in restaurants when our choices are being made for convenience or obligation. But on some rare occasions we go out to eat as a true celebration of life.

At these moments the only thing you should consider is enjoyment. That isn’t to say you should stuff yourself silly, but once in a lifetime occasions deserve your undivided attention. Diet and health should be the farthest things from your mind.

Unfortunately, defining these special moments can sometimes get a little tricky.

(This post is part of the series How To Eat In Restaurants. Part one is Healthy Tips for Real Life (or how I learned to stop worrying and never eat fast food), part two is Neighborhood Convenience, part three is Sit-Down Chains and part four is Advice From SF Food Critic Michael Bauer. Get future posts by signing up for email or RSS updates–subscribing is always free of cost and spam.)

The beautiful thing about special occasions is that you define them for yourself. A visit to the French Laundry is remarkable for anyone, but most of us don’t have the same childhood memories of the apple pie grandma makes from her tree every Thanksgiving. If you have the opportunity to experience rare food at a rare event, you should not deprive yourself of this treat.

But occasions like these happen three, maybe four times a year. And odd as it may seem, defining them is not always clear cut.

Take a look at your life. Chances are you have a rather large group of people who make up your extended family and close friends, all of which have annual birthdays, anniversaries and countless other events you will be invited to attend. You also have your own set of special food-related holidays like, well, all of them. Before you know it your “special” meals go from three or four times a year to three or four times a month.

Where do you draw the line?

Here it is important to make a distinction between special moments and special food. If you are honest with yourself about the quality of food in a given situation you will find that more often than not it is nothing to go nuts about. Your co-worker’s birthday at the Cheesecake Factory is special and important (sort of), but the food most definitely is not.

A specific food or meal can be special for any number or reasons. The exquisite quality and technical skills that you find in the world’s top restaurants can be the experience of a lifetime, like witnessing a rare piece of art. But personal memories and associations can also make foods special. These are the foods that are worthy of exceptions.

However, it is all too easy to get caught up in a moment and rationalize reasons to splurge when the food does not really justify such behavior. For example, food abundance like you find at a buffet or on a cruise ship can seem like something special, but it really isn’t. In fact, buffet-style all you can eat menus are a pretty good indication that the food being served is relatively cheap.

In these kinds of special occasions, shift your focus away from the food and onto your friends and family. If you are on vacation, enjoy your meals but focus more on actually doing all the fun activities you envisioned.

If you have trouble talking yourself out of a second pile of ribs, ask yourself when was the last time you made this kind of exception. If it was yesterday, this week or even this month, think twice before you eat and ask yourself if this meal is worth your quarterly splurge. Would you want this food on the menu if it were your last meal on earth? If not, put your fork down and talk to your friends instead.

Distinguishing between special moments and special food is critical, because only extraordinary food is worthy of making exceptions to your healthstyle. Learn to make these moments few and far between. If they occur more often, reexamine your criteria.

If you really like a restaurant but you go there all the time, is it really that special anymore?

Special occasions are what make life worth living and should not be skipped. Just be sure that when it comes to food, your choices are truly exceptional.

What are your exceptional foods?

Read more How To Eat In Restaurants:

1. Healthy Tips for Real Life
2. Neighborhood Convenience
3. Sit-Down Chains
4. Healthy Advice From SF Food Critic Michael Bauer
5. The Truly Special Occasions

by alicereneztay

Sit-down chain restaurants like the The Olive Garden and Chili’s vary in quality from very bad to mediocre to maybe-not-as-bad-as-you-might-think. But one thing we can say about them with confidence is that they are ubiquitous. Every small town and suburban neighborhood I’ve ever been to is sprinkled with sit-down mega-chain restaurants, and chances are you will find yourself in one eventually.

(This post is part of the series How To Eat In Restaurants. Part one is Healthy Tips for Real Life (or how I learned to stop worrying and never eat fast food) and part two is Neighborhood Convenience. Get future posts by signing up for email or RSS updates–subscribing is always free of cost and spam.)

Is it possible to navigate these calorie minefields without damaging your waistline or destroying your taste buds?

As was made clear in the recent debate over The Cheesecake Factory, there is a reason restaurants like this exist. For one thing, they are reliable. Since they mass produce the same meal at thousands of locations throughout the country, the quality of the food is consistently uniform. You always know exactly what you are going to get.

Another reason large chain restaurants continue to thrive is they have mastered the art of crowd-pleasing. The menus are massive and you can find something for every taste. They are experts at combining sugar, salt and fat to trick our brains into believing we are eating perfect food. Huge servings and reasonable prices also create the appearance of great value–even if most of what is on your plate qualifies as junk food.

But these restaurants aren’t all bad. While you are unlikely to find an organic salad or quinoa pilaf, the large menu can be amenable to healthy options if you make smart choices and substitute liberally. (Just try not to think about where the food came from).

Menu Language

One of the first steps in navigating the Appleby’s menu is learning the language and knowing which code words signify unnecessary calories.

Avoid dishes that use words like:

• Glazed
• Crispy
• Melted
• Smothered
• Breaded
• Creamy
• Honey-dipped
• Crusted
• Gooey
• Cheesy

All these words code for either added sugar, added flour (refined carbohydrates) or extra cheese and cream. Skip these items or find an appropriate substitute (see below).

Instead, look for words that signify flavor without extra calories.

Healthy menu words are:

• Roasted
• Baked
• Broiled
• Rubbed
• Seared
• Grilled
• Scented
• Sauteed
• Spiced
• Seasoned

These words can steer you in the direction of healthier food, but you will quickly find the best choice is not always clear cut. Unfortunately, most entrees involve some combination of grilled, melted and glazed.

Substitute and Modify

Once you have found the most appetizing healthy-leaning dish, figure out the one or two things about it that likely add the most calories. Get around these annoyances by making use of the giant menu to get exactly what you want out of your meal. In other words, don’t be afraid to modify your order.

Menu substitutions are not appropriate in every venue (high-end dining comes to mind), but at large chain restaurants substituting is a way of life.

The number one thing you want to avoid is refined carbohydrates. Stay away from the pastas, breads, potatoes, pot pies and anything else made with flour. Also avoid breaded and battered foods that are covered in flour then deep-fried. This can get tricky, however, because sauces and dressings can be a hidden source of sugar, starch and other unnecessary calories.

With sauces, ordering them on the side and using just what you need is an easy way to cut down on calories. For salads I frequently trade in the dressing for oil and vinegar. Salad oils are healthy, but sugar and salt can be a problem in dressings.

One of my favorite tricks for restaurant salads is substituting iceberg or romaine lettuce for spring greens. I also like to swap out bacon for a boiled egg or avocado. In essence, I try to create more balanced meals by trading empty calories for nutritious foods.

Entire side dishes can also be replaced upon request. Potatoes in any form I swap for salad, vegetables or fruit. Brown rice can sometimes be ordered instead of white rice or pilaf.

Share

Even though you have found something reasonably healthy to order, portion sizes at these restaurants can still sabotage your health. Our brains are wired to eat everything we see on our plates–hunger has almost nothing to do with how much we decide to eat.

The best way to get combat restaurant portions is to decide in advance to find another use for half the food on your plate. Sharing with a friend is a great solution, particularly if the table is ordering appetizers as well. Alternatively you can take the rest of your food home and eat it later.

I usually estimate cake, ice cream and other desserts to come in around 50 calories or more per bite (take a minute and let that sink in). Do not be the one who orders dessert in these restaurants. Remember, just like in neighborhood restaurants this food is not particularly special. You can get it anywhere and it will always taste the same. Save the extra calories for meals that are truly special.

Conclusion

Deciphering the language of hidden calories is the first step to surviving a meal at sit-down chain restaurants. Take advantage of the mega menus to find healthy alternatives for the worst calorie sinks in your order. To cancel the colossal portions of less-than-special food, recruit a friend to share or have another plan to prevent overeating–you really won’t be missing anything.

How do you handle sit-down chain restaurants?

Read more How To Eat In Restaurants:

1. Healthy Tips for Real Life
2. Neighborhood Convenience
3. Sit-Down Chains
4. Healthy Advice From SF Food Critic Michael Bauer
5. The Truly Special Occasions

Neighborhood Restaurants

I spent a lot of time last week bashing fast food and all other convenience foods in general. And I stand by every word of it. But today I would like to clarify that I have nothing against quick, affordable restaurants. By this I mean your local taco joint or phở spot, which can be the perfect place for a quick bite before the game or to meet up with friends.

(This post is part of the series How To Eat In Restaurants. Part one is Healthy Tips for Real Life (or how I learned to stop worrying and never eat fast food). Get future posts by signing up for email or RSS updates–subscribing is always free of cost and spam.)

The distinction between convenient, local mom-and-pop restaurants and multinational fast food chains is huge. For one thing, smaller operations have better access to fresh food and are more likely to use real ingredients. For this reason, the food can taste a hundred times better than anything you could find at Burger King. Of course the food is not guaranteed to be good, but it is certainly possible.

For me, the biggest difference between places like this and fast food is that what you get is actually tasty. A BigMac doesn’t tempt me in the slightest, but a carne asada burrito is pretty hard to resist. These burritos can be large enough to feed a small village for a week though, so how do we know where to draw the line?

I never let food rules interfere with my ability to have a good time (okay, I do occasionally), but there are a few things I try to keep in mind when I’m going to one of my favorite local restaurants to make sure too much damage isn’t done.

Things to remember when eating at neighborhood restaurants

• Don’t go nuts By its very nature this food is not particularly special. Sure it can be delicious, but we have just defined it as being convenient and affordable, so the fact is you can get it whenever you want. Show a little restraint with your eating and don’t act as if this is your last meal on earth. If it’s that good you can come back and have it again next week.
• Ordering is half the battle The first minefield you encounter in these places is the menu. In my experience neighborhood restaurants tend to have expansive menus with a zillion options. In many of these places, most of the stuff on the menu tastes pretty good so ordering something a little smaller or a bit healthier is not a big sacrifice. A good decision can save you hundreds of calories and an hour on the treadmill. Keep that in mind when perusing your choices.
• Seek out extra vegetables Personally I just don’t feel right without having something green on my plate, and I always try to make sure there is a pile of at least something healthy. At some of my favorite Mexican places this can sometimes just mean a side of guacamole, but at least I know I’m doing something good for me. The nice thing about vegetables (and healthy fats) is they contribute to your feeling full and can help your self-control when attempting the next point….
• Watch the carbs Carbs are usually the biggest problem at places like this. Most small restaurants assume that Americans are expecting giant portions and so they fulfill that expectation by piling on cheap and unimpressive refined grains. Rice, noodles, bread and chips are the biggest offenders. I avoid these by either ordering something vegetable or meat based, asking for substitutions or just not eating this portion of my meal.
• Remember to substitute I don’t know why this is so easy to forget, but try to remember! Substitutions and special requests can mean the difference between a healthy meal and an “oops” meal. Swap out fries for a salad, lose your white rice for brown (or beans or vegetables) and trade in iceberg lettuce for the spring greens. People often look at my plate with envy when we’ve ordered the same thing but mine shows up filled with vibrant salad instead of a pile of soggy potatoes. Don’t be the one who thinks, “I should have thought of that.”
• Learn to share Like the idea of having a salad but want to try a couple fries too? How about make a deal with your dining partner to share the two, so you can each enjoy a little salad and a few fries. Another easy way to cut down on calories is to share an appetizer and entrée between two people. This is always more than enough food for me and friend and allows for a small indulgence without completely throwing your health out the window.
• Don’t clean your plate Again, no matter how it tastes this food is not particularly special. Do not feel obligated to eat it all at one sitting. You can take the rest home or just leave it for the wait staff to haul away. It’s cheap, remember? Eat slow, drink your water, eat what you like and then stop. I know this is different from everything we’ve been taught about the value of food, but your health is far more important than 25 cents worth of rice. It can be a little easier if you take your leftovers to go and offer them to a homeless person. I do this all the time and they seem to really appreciate it.

What are your healthy tips for eating in neighborhood restaurants?

Read more How To Eat In Restaurants:

1. Healthy Tips for Real Life
2. Neighborhood Convenience
3. Sit-Down Chains
4. Healthy Advice From SF Food Critic Michael Bauer
5. The Truly Special Occasions

Quarter Pounder

In my vow to stay home and eat healthy for the rest of the week, I’ve had a lot of time to think about all the places I’m not eating.

I’m not going out to meet a friend for one of San Francisco’s best burgers, for example. Nor am I going to another friend’s place to drink beer and play Rock Band.

Not today anyway.

I have many guiding principles for health here at Summer Tomato, but for me personally (and based on the emails I get, for many of you as well) the hardest part about upgrading your healthstyle is integrating it with your social life.

How many times have your best intentions to go home and cook a healthy dinner been derailed by an invitation to go out with work buddies or go to the movies? How often are your weekend’s best intentions ruined by birthday dinners and bar hopping?

That’s life. And it can make being healthy really difficult.

I always stress that the best way to combat these special occasions is to automate your health whenever possible. From my perspective, setting up your life so that healthy choices are your default–the path of least resistance–is your only chance at weathering the birthday cakes and holiday BBQs.

But it seems that for many of us these “special” occasions occur a little too frequently. A week rarely goes by that doesn’t offer an excuse to break our routine and indulge in something a little extra. And though this behavior is psychologically healthy and generally a good idea, too many exceptions can start to become the rule.

Not only do we sacrifice our health in these moments of celebration, we also begin chipping away at our good habits and before we know it they are gone.

Too many fun weekends and we give up on buying groceries and going to farmers markets for two, three or four weekends in a row. Then we go out more because we have no food at home (“Gotta eat somethin’!”), skip more workouts and the pounds start climbing back on.

Pretty soon your life is consumed with bad habits again, your jeans stop fitting right and you don’t even know what hit you.

So how do we deal with these events?

For me one important step in breaking this cycle has been to develop a clear understanding of how to navigate restaurants. Not all restaurants serve the same function. Some are simply cheap and convenient, while others are divine dining experiences to be remembered for a lifetime. And there are dozens of choices in between.

Over the next few weeks I will be describing each of the major restaurant categories and how to approach them to balance health and enjoyment. If you have any specific topic or issue you would like me to address in this series please send me an email and let me know.

(To continue following the How To Eat In Restaurants series, be sure to subscribe to Summer Tomato through email or your favorite news reader (RSS)–subscribing is always free of cost and spam.)

Today I will begin by describing the kind of restaurant you should never eat in: fast food chains.

Fast food restaurants are so unhealthy, evil and downright nasty tasting that there is really no good reason to eat in one for the rest of your life.

“Convenience!” They will shout.

But I don’t buy that argument. Wanna know what is inconvenient? Diabetes.

There is always a better option than fast food. If I find myself starving, behind schedule and in an unfamiliar neighborhood I do not consider pulling into a Wendy’s drive-thru and ordering a value meal. Instead I find a grocery store or local café. These places are just as ubiquitous, but instead of poison burgers I can get fresh food at reasonable prices. You’ve already given up on taste for this meal, there is no reason to give up on health too.

If you find yourself regularly eating in restaurants for “convenience” you still have some work to do toward upgrading your healthstyle. I am not in these situations very often because I plan ahead and make sure I always have something to eat.

The Summer Tomato guide can help you get started eating healthy.

The most important thing to remember about eating in restaurants is that you should save your indulgences for moments that are truly special. If you are desperate and just need some calories, eat the healthiest thing you can find. A bag of nuts, a piece of fruit, jerky or even a protein bar is a better option than a Quarter Pounder.

That burger in the photo looked exactly the same after sitting on my counter overnight as it did when I first bought it. Ick.

How often do you use “convenience” as an excuse to eat unhealthy?

Read more How To Eat In Restaurants:

1. Healthy Tips for Real Life
2. Neighborhood Convenience
3. Sit-Down Chains
4. Healthy Advice From SF Food Critic Michael Bauer
5. The Truly Special Occasions

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Thanks to everyone who voted for me for A Really Goode Job! I ended up with over 100 votes in just a couple days, which is very flattering. The top 50 were announced this morning and I was not among them. I guess my other two jobs will have to suffice for now. 😉

This week around the internet I found several reminders of why heart disease is not the only reason to worry about excess body weight and how industrial food is a threat to your health. I also discovered a fantastic article about how psychological barriers prevent us from being healthy.

B.S. of the week, once again, goes to Diets in Review for promoting a new “tomato pill.” Because eating real tomatoes for health is SO 1909!

If you would like to see more of my favorite articles each week or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I am also experimenting with the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious, and would love to share articles with you there.

Submissions of your own best food and health articles are also welcome, just drop me an email using the contact form. I am currently accepting guest posts at Summer Tomato for any healthy eating and exercise tips.

For The Love of Food

• Obesity Greatly Raises Endometrial Cancer Risk <<In case you thought heart disease was the only problem with excess weight, don’t forget about cancer and all the other fun diseases out there. (HealthDay)
• Pancreatic cancer and obesity linked <<Got that? Most cancers are related to diet and body weight. (Los Angeles Times)
• Excess Pounds, but Not Too Many, May Lead to Longer Life <<In light of the last two articles, I’m a bit frustrated with the New York Times for spreading misleading information about the dangers of excess body weight. Correlations do not prove cause and effect, and this is a dangerous message.
• Tomato Pill for Heart Health <<This horrific article by Diets in Review beat out the New York Times for B.S. of the week. As you probably know, this defies all the logic of the Summer Tomato philosophy, especially the role of supplements in health.
• Fast Food: Would You Like 1,000 Calories with That? <<Interesting discussion of the value of food labels at restaurants. Would more information stop you from over-indulging? (Time)
• What makes the Mediterranean diet work? <<According to this study, alcohol is the only significant contributor to increased health from the Mediterranean diet. Not sure I believe this one quite yet, but it is an interesting study. (Los Angeles Times)
• A Food Safety Update: 41,000 Lbs of Ground Beef Recalled <<Have you had your E. coli today? Another reason to go see Food, Inc. (La Vida Locavore)
• How could E. coli O157:H7 get into cookie dough? <<Fascinating look at the flaws in industrial food. These outbreaks are particularly baffling to me because packaged foods don’t even taste good compared to real foods. Are we really that lazy? (Food Politics via @marionnestle)
• The Psychology of Passive Barriers: Why Your Friends Don’t Save Money, Eat Healthier, or Clean Their Garages <<This is an older article, but it completely fascinated me. What psychological barriers are preventing you from having good habits? (Get Rich Slowly)
• Summer Squash Gratin Recipe <<The perfect solution for my abundance of summer squash from the farmers market. (101 Cookbooks)

What great articles did you read or write this week? Leave your links in the comments.