There is nothing more appealing on a warm summer evening than finding a restaurant with outdoor seating where you can share delicious food and wine with friends.  Unfortunately eating out does not always equal healthy food choices.  But does this mean you can never go out to eat?  Absolutely not.

With these smart tips you can ALWAYS find a delicious, healthy option on any menu. Don’t be shy about asking questions about the menu, or making special requests.  As long as you are polite and appreciative a server will be happy to accommodate your needs.

1. If you choose meat, poultry, or seafood for an entrée, always look for the words “baked”, “steamed”, “grilled” or “roasted” in the description of the meal as these are healthier options.   Avoid “fried”, “sautéed”, “stuffed”, or “breaded”, “batter dipped” or “tempura” which are synonymous words for high fat and high calorie choices.
2. Salads can be a healthy choice for an appetizer or an entree, but can also hide hidden saturated fat and calories.  For example, if a salad is listed as a “crispy chicken” salad you are essentially ordering fried chicken over lettuce.  Pay attention to the description of the salad and watch out for salads that include cheese, bacon, eggs, sour cream, avocados, croutons which are all ingredients that add to the calories of the meal.  Choose grilled meats or beans over your salad for healthy protein.  If you just have to have cheese on the salad (who doesn’t love feta or goat cheese on a salad) then ask for half the amount, and avoid the other extras listed above.
3. Dressings are also sneaky ways of adding fat and calories to your meal.  Avoid cream based dressings such as bleu cheese or ranch, and look for oil and vinegar based vinaigrettes.  Even if your salad comes with a different dressing on the menu you can always substitute.  Ask for your dressing on the side so you can control the amount that goes on your salad.
4. There really is nothing better than warm crusty french bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  But warm crusty french bread adds a significant amount of calories to your meal (about 100 calories a slice).  If you could care less about bread before your meal just avoid it and save your calories for other treats such as an appetizer or a dessert.  However, if bread makes the meal for you then go for it, just limit your intake to 1 or 2 pieces and make it replace an appetizer, dessert, or beverage.  You have to pick your battles and decide what is more important to you.
5. Order your vegetables dry.  There is nothing worse than thinking you are getting a healthy side of veggies with your entrée only to discover they have been completely doused in butter or oil.  Most restaurants are happy to deliver them to you sans oil.
6. Replace sides such as french fries or mashed potatoes with salad or vegetables.
7. More often than not the portion sizes at most restaurants are much larger than necessary.  Appreciate each bite, take your time eating and listen to your appetite.  Stop eating before you get that “oh no I ate too much please roll me out the door” feeling, and instead bring part of your meal home.
8. Finally, be careful about your beverage choices.  Splitting a bottle of wine can significantly add calories to your meal (approximately 100 calories per glass of wine, 150-200 in beer) as well as decrease inhibitions when ordering the rest of your meal.

Eating out should be a pleasurable experience and these tips will help you enjoy your food and feeling healthier after you leave.  Remember it is all about balance and making smart choices.

It’s been almost two months since New Year’s Eve which means that many of us who made resolutions earlier this year are losing motivation. But what is a New Years resolution anyway?  It’s nothing more than a time to set goals, and truthfully, goals can be set all year long.  So don’t worry if you haven’t started that new exercise or eating plan you swore you would start on the first of January, you can start today.  It’s time to set your March resolution.

Many people try to give us information about resolutions, how to stick to them, and how many of us make them.  Instead of bogging you down with all of the advice floating around I’ll share one common theme on how to succeed with your resolution: make it detailed and focused. What do I mean? Instead of saying, “I want to lose weight” think more along the lines of “I want to lose five pounds by the end of March. I’m going to do this by: riding my bike 3x a week, joining a running club, hiring a trainer, running my first 5K…” whatever your task may be. Instead of “I want to eat more healthy” try “I want to make sure I have at least 3 servings of veggies a day” or “I will cut back on my diet sodas to only 2x a week” or “I’ll start limiting my sugar intake to one cheat day a week”. Pinpointing something specific makes your goal much easier to stick with, and also easier to spot when you are slipping back to old habits.  Detailed goals keep us accountable.

Write it down. Not only your goal, but also why you chose it, and put it somewhere accessible so in times of weakness or forgetfulness you can remind yourself why you originally wanted to make the changes.  Sometimes we need a little inspiration to send us out into the world feeling like, “Ok, I can do this.” If you start feeling like you aren’t quite following the path you set out for yourself, go back to that inspired feeling of hope when you set your goal and read what you wrote to remind you of the possibilities you felt for the coming year even when it’s the middle of May. Resolutions might be set in January, but goals can be met all year long.

It’s never too late to make that change, or set that goal, all it takes is the motivation to get there.  If you need a little extra motivation try enlisting the support of a friend to be your workout partner.  Or come to the club and take a class when you can’t quite push yourself hard enough.  But stick with your goal; you will be healthier and happier that you did.