What to order at a restaurant to eat healthy: 6 basic tips

When we eat at home it is very easy. In the fridge we have our vegetable drawer, the avocados ready and creamy to spread on the gluten-free cracker, and the glass tupperware filled with quinoa or cooked legumes to quickly prepare a legume salad. But what? Don’t panic, my friend!

First of all, you’re not weirdLike you, we are many and more and more who opt for a healthier and more conscious life, so you will see more and more often many more like you wherever you go… 😉

Furthermore, following a philosophy eat clean one does not try to follow what everyone else does, but what makes you feel good about yourself, letting yourself be guided by intuition and your own experimentation with food and your body. Be authentic and don’t try to fit in!

1. Do not take the aperitif

When the waiter approaches the tableAsk them not to bring the bread to spread with the oil, nor the potato chips to snack on while you read the menu.

Directly, ask him to bring you a salad green to start with, from which you are all going to chop some leaves, a starter full of fiber, water, vitamins, minerals and enzymes that will make a good cushion to receive the concentrated foods that follow.

The dressing, if it is a special one, ask for it separately and, before mixing it with the salad, if it has cheese or derivatives or is too artificial, easy, ask for vinegar or a few lemon slices to squeeze and a little extra virgin olive oil.

2. Ask for a change in the menu

Surely the dishes will not be the same as you would prepare them at home, but try to do the best you can with the combination of foods and keep the dishes as simple as possible (easier to digest).

For me it is always a game and a challenge, I even like to go to places that are not “vegan-friendly” because that way I must “break my coconut a little more” to create the dish that meets my needs. I have learned something in America, and that is that you are the one who pays for the food, so you have the right to ask for what you want on the plate and how you want it (always with good manners and not becoming irritating with the poor waiter who is doing its job).

The Americans are very clear about this and… shame? They don’t know this word.

3. Think carefully before choosing

Here are some ideas

• Asks 2 first coursesusually tend to be lighter

• Mix vegetables with carbohydrates, is a good couple. In Asian restaurants you will have it easy, a rice with vegetablessome fresh rolls with rice wrap, some noodles with vegetables Pad Thai style… All restaurants have some salad option and, not even as a garnish, they have rice, quinoa or some cooked legume. If you don’t have a better option, and now roadside restaurants on the long highways of the Nevada desert come to mind, with these two ingredients you can create your own dish.

• If the option is an Italian restaurant, you already know, a good salad for a start. Gluten-free pastas and pizza doughs are increasingly being found. Ask for your vegan pizza, without mozzarella cheese and double tomato sauce. If there are no gluten-free options, ask for mushrooms and a mix of grilled or sautéed vegetables with a little seafood or tomato sauce.

• When we go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, again it starts with a good saladhuge, with black beans or with rice and red sauce (not the white or cheese one) or have a salad with guacamole and a few corn chips Fried (I confess that these are my weakness and I find it hard to control, the crispiness makes me crazy…).

• If you are in transition and still consume products of animal origin, you can opt for a salad (ask to have the cheese removed) accompanied by baked fish or chicken with vegetable garnish. As long as they are baked or grilled, but never battered or fried.

• In Mediterranean restaurants, the hummusthe babaganush, the dolmas together with a green salad and some vegetable sticks like crackers for the dips, they make a very good meal.

• You fancy sushi? I never say no to a Japanese. I always start dinners with a miso soup, followed by a seaweed salad and edamame for nibbles. My main dish: some vegetable makis with avocado that I season with tamari sauce and a little wasabi. Some restaurants are even starting to serve sushi with brown rice.

do you see how there are options for everyone? These dishes that I suggest are easily found in these restaurants, it’s just a matter of politely asking for a few small modifications without seeming too complicated or “tiquis-miquis”, and everyone is happy.

4. Watch out for desserts

If you know the correct combination of foods, you will know that fruit is eaten alone or before meals. It is preferable that if you want to end your meal with something sweet, or you know that the rest of the diners are going to have fun with the desserts, you take a piece of dark chocolate with you in your bag.

If you decide to throw a gray in the air, it is preferable that you avoid those with fruit, which would remain trapped on top of the previous meal and would end up fermenting, causing gas and discomfort. It is clear that a dessert with refined flour, fat and white sugars will not be the best option either…

The best option will be don’t order anything for dessert and go directly to the tea or infusion, although I know that this is not a realistic situation on many occasions. But that’s okay, do what you feel you have to do in the moment. You can always split some desserts with someone, for example.

5. Always ask for water to drink

Asks always water to accompany your meals as a drink to relieve thirst, even so, try to be hydrated before sitting down to eat and only take small sips while eating. If you drink a lot of water while eating, it will dilute the gastric juices in your stomach and slow down digestion.

6. Be clear about what you should never ask for

• Fake meats: usually made from textured soybeans (possibly GMO) or seitan (which is 100% gluten).

• Mix abundant dishes of animal protein with carbohydrates (arroz con pollo), which will make digestion difficult.

• Cheeses and sauces with creams

• Fries

It is true that sometimes you must awaken your most creative vein, but it is your health and it is a learning. In addition, the more we are asking for healthier options than what the menu offers, we will give ideas and create a need for restaurants to start serving healthier options.