Jan
7
The Healthiest Restaurants
Filed Under Eating Healthy
My wife and I eat out very frequently. We’re both very busy and have little time to spend on cooking. We eat breakfast at home but almost every other meal is bought at a restaurant. We enjoy every type of food and, living in the Bay Area, we have quite a few selections of cuisine and food types to pick from. Over the years, I’ve tried to figure out which types of foods are healthy and which aren’t and wanted to share some of what I’ve learned with you.
American - I include of restaurants in this category, from Denny’s to Coco’s and Lyon’s and unfortunately, they’re all bad. These places rely on heavy meat dishes, supersized portions and potato sides to keep their customers fat and happy. There isn’t much on the menu here that’s healthy and even the salads are usually nothing more than a stack of lettuce with lots of ranch dressing.
Mexican - Overall, Mexican is healthy. There are quite a few veggie heavy options and the meat portions aren’t excessive. Mexican dishes frequently use vegetable salsas as opposed to creamy sauces which makes them even healthier. The only problem with Mexican food is the excessive use of dairy products, rice and chips. Avoid the premeal chips and ask the restaurant to make your food with no sour cream and less rice. You’ll get a relatively healthy meal at what are usually good prices. One of my personal favorites is Chipotle, but if you go there, make sure to get the healthier options. Substitute lettuce for rice and stay away from the sour cream. A Chipotle burrito can easily go over 1000 calories if you’re not careful.
Chinese - I include a few other Asian cuisines in this category such as Korean and Thai. Overall, these are good options. Again, meat portions are not excessive and side dishes are vegetable heavy. Try to stay away from the dishes with a lot of noodles and rice, those are processed carbs you just don’t need. Also try to avoid dishes that are breaded and fried like most sweet and sour chicken. For a really healthy option, try some of the Asian style soups (pho). They do contain some noodles but not too many and the tasty broth will fill you up without filling you out.
Japanese - Similar to Chinese but less emphasis on noodles and more on sea food. The same advice applies, try to stay away from the heavy rice dishes and avoid things that are fried. Contrary to popular belief, sushi is not necessarily healthy. Many sushi rolls are fried or filled with mayo. Try to go for sashimi instead. It’s the raw fish by itself.
Italian - Hit or miss. Some Italian dishes can be great, but a lot of American restaurants like to serve too much pasta and too much creamy sauces. By the way, an average serving of pasta in Italy is about one fifth of the average serving of pasta in the US. So enjoy, but save some for later. Also, try for whole wheat pastas and non creamy sauces.
Seafood - One of the healthiest options out there, although unfortunately not for vegetarians like myself. Plenty of lean source of protein and not too many of them are fried. Watch out for side dishes. Those stacks of mashed potatoes and rice will add up and destroy any benefit you got from eating fish. Also, watch out for the cooking method. Fried and breaded fish are not healthy, despite what the TV advertisements say.
Well, this post is getting a bit longer than I expected and I have to go catch my flight, so I’ll continue it with more information on Wednesday. In the mean time, I would love to hear from you all on the types of food you find healthy and specific dishes to watch or watch out for.
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2 Responses to “The Healthiest Restaurants”
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I love the Chinese and Italian food but I hate Seafood. Thanks for the article it`s really useful.
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