How to eat healthy at a restaurant?

This is an automatically translated article.

Eating out at a restaurant can be a habit for some people. To be able to ensure a healthy diet like preparing at home is not easy. The following article will introduce readers to healthy restaurant dining experiences.

1. Don't Break Your Diet

When eating at a restaurant, many people often break their own inherent strict eating habits. The American restaurant experience suggests that there's no reason why you can't eat healthy. To know about the exact nutritional composition, calories and fat in the dishes you want to order, do not hesitate to ask for the advice of the service staff.

2. Which fat is good for the body?

In foods there is a form of fat called monounsaturated fat and they are substituted for saturated fat in the diet. It works to help lower bad LDL cholesterol and not good HDL cholesterol. Foods such as canola oil, olive oil, olives, avocados, nuts, and nut butters contain this ingredient.
There are also polyunsaturated fats with cholesterol-lowering effects, thereby preventing the possibility of cardiovascular diseases. They are found in fatty fish, vegetable oils, nuts and sunflower seeds.

Khi đi ăn tại nhà hàng bạn nên lựa chọn các món ăn có chất béo không bão hòa

3. Fish is good for heart health

One of the restaurant experiences is choosing fish dishes. Seafood like salmon and tuna help add omega-3s to the diet. This is a type of polyunsaturated fat that helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, we can find another type of omega-3 in walnuts and soybeans.

4. Limit fried foods and added cheeses

If you are a person who often eats at restaurants, it means that you are overloaded with saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and calories. Did you know that saturated fat mainly comes from meat and full-fat dairy foods. In addition, tropical oils such as palm oil, coconut oil and avocado also contain this fat. Animal fat is a food that contains a lot of cholesterol, so consuming too much will lead to increased cholesterol levels in your blood.

5. Don't eat too much sodium

Restaurant food can contain a lot of sodium or salt. Some dishes to watch out for are likely to contain many of these ingredients including:
Foods pickled, smoked, in broth or au jus Cocktail sauce, soy or teriyaki sauce MSG You have your choice a low-sodium soy sauce and when ordering may be asked not to add salt or MSG to the food.

6. Heart icon

Currently, some restaurants are gradually moving towards a heart-healthy diet, so they have provided menu items that contain less fat, less salt, and less cholesterol and will be represented by an icon. heart. Therefore, do not confuse this icon with the favorite symbol, which can be a popular and especially healthy choice.

kinh nghiệm đi ăn nhà hàng — Kinh nghiệm đi ăn nhà hàng với việc lựa chọn món ăn tốt cho sức khỏe

7. Don't hesitate to ask questions

In restaurants that serve cooked-to-order food, you can order food prepared to your liking for a different price. If you're on a strict diet that counts calories or tracks saturated fat, cholesterol or sodium, don't be afraid to talk to staff about it.
You can ask more questions like what's in a dish, find out how it's cooked? Can chefs often prepare food using little oil, no butter, or no added salt? These are all restaurant skills that help you have a healthy diet.

8. Information about unhealthy foods

If you are worried about health problems such as high cholesterol, diabetes, or weight loss, you should read the menus carefully and avoid foods such as:
Fried, braised, creamy, au gratin, butter, pan fried ; Hollandaise, cheese or cream sauce.

9. Choose nutritious food

When eating out, limit the use of fried and fried foods, but instead look for keywords for healthier foods with less saturated fat such as:
Grilled; Boiled, roasted, steamed; Fruits, vegetables and their juices.

10. Cutting Fat Can Help You Lose Weight

You can refer to some fat alternatives to help lose weight such as:
A vegetable or fruit instead of chips; Roast chicken with skin removed instead of frying whole; Low-fat milk for your coffee instead of cream.

11. What if there is no alternative?

In case the staff tells you that there are no alternatives on the menu, try these tips:
Order something else instead of fries as planned; Peel the fried chicken skin; Skip the butter; Use teas instead of coffee or ice cream.

12. Don't eat your entire meal

If you are in a strict eating period by monitoring calories or blood sugar, you should not eat all the dishes you have ordered. You can try the following instead:
Exercise self-restraint and ask the staff to put food in a box to take home; Share food with others at the table; Ask your waiter to close the box in half before bringing the meal out.

13. Cutting down on choices is a restaurant experience

If you are counting calories and saturated fat, items such as burgers, ribs, porterhouse roast or T-bone steak are not recommended. Instead, choose dishes such as:
Grilled meat or grilled chicken, grilled lean meat, lean meat loaf; London loin, sirloin, sirloin steak, head loin, sirloin; Seafood, boiled shrimp, half shell oysters.

14. Chinese dishes

Limit the use of too many dishes such as: Egg rolls, egg soup, fried wontons, Lo Mein, Moo Shu, General Tso's Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork and fried rice. All of these dishes are made with lots of oil, MSG, and sodium.
You can substitute: Steamed or sautéed seafood, chicken, green beans, or veggie dishes that - along with steamed rice - are heart-healthy. If possible, ask the chef to use less oil, soy sauce, and MSG.

15. Greek dishes

Not recommended: Moussaka, gyroscope and baklava. If you're counting calories and saturated fat, dig into the high-fat meats like lamb and beef, cheese, and butter in these dishes.
Chickpeas, eggplant, tomato, cereal dishes - like hummus, tabouli, baba ganouj, dolmas can be used as appetizers.

16. Indian dishes

Samosas and cream curries should be limited. Some dishes in Indian cuisine contain high levels of buttermilk, coconut oil, and milk. If you are on a diet, please read the menu carefully.
You can order dishes like Tandoori beef, vegetable or dal curry, and beef jerky. South Indian food offers spicy vegetarian dishes - with cauliflower, peas, tomatoes, eggplant, lentils, rice and chutney.

17. Mexican Fiesta

Be careful before ordering foods that are high in saturated fat and sodium such as french fries, fried tet, fried beans, quesadillas and chimichangas.
You should start with black bean soup or grilled shrimp. Try to enjoy grilled fish or shrimp combined with fresh salsa.

18. Italian Food

Pasta is a staple of Italian cuisine, but it can be a disaster in terms of saturated fat and calories.
Be careful when ordering dishes such as cream sauce, cheese (like Alfredo), fried veal, macaroni stuffed with cheese.
Instead you can order a light sauce like primavera (vegetable), marsala (wine, mushroom, braised beef), marinara (tomato, onion, garlic) or clam sauce. A beginner minestrone can be used, along with a glass of heart-healthy red wine.

19. How to eat pizza to be healthy?

You can refer to the following restaurant skills to get a healthy portion of pizza:
Order a thin crust; Put the vegetables on top and omit the meat; Ask for extra sauce and half cheese; Start with a salad; Stop in after eating a slice or two and take the rest home. Going out to restaurants can disrupt your healthy eating plan. Don't worry, just using the above restaurant eating skills will help you eat comfortably and still be healthy, without worrying about gaining weight.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.

Reference source: wedmd.com

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This article is written for readers from Sài Gòn, Hà Nội, Hồ Chí Minh, Phú Quốc, Nha Trang, Hạ Long, Hải Phòng, Đà Nẵng.