Gazette Online, IA
08-13-07
Take Control
By Anne Kapler
The Gazette
anne.kapler@gazettecommunications.com
Eating healthfully is all about making good choices.
That's true at home, sure, but more so at a restaurant where you're confronted
with a menu listing fried appetizers, never-ending bread baskets and meaty
entrees made with rich, creamy sauces.
It can be done, though. Nine years as a Weight Watcher (and seven years as a
Weight Watchers leader) has taught Joanne Margolin of Iowa City this: "You can
find healthy choices anyplace."
"When people say to me, `Is this restaurant Weight Watcher friendly?' My answer
is, `Every restaurant is Weight Watcher friendly,' " says Margolin, 59. "You just
have to know how to choose.''
So we asked Margolin to share her best healthy dining tips with us. Also
weighing in are Jan Temple, nutrition and health field specialist with Iowa
State University Extension in Johnson County, and John Huntington, owner
of Huntington's Restaurant in Marion and chairman of the board-elect of the Iowa
Restaurant Association.
Do your research.
It's easier to order a healthful meal when you know what those dishes contain.
Many chain restaurants post nutrition information online, so check the Web site
before you go. www.CalorieKing.com is also a good source of nutrition
infformation.
Read carefully.
Pay attention to how a dish is prepared. Look for words like baked, broiled,
grilled, poached, roasted. These cooking techniques use less fat and are
generally lower in calories. Not sure how a dish is prepared? Ask.
Look, too, for the "healthy'"or "lite" section on a menu. They're becoming more
common.
"There's a very big trend in (adding healthier options) right now,'' says
Huntington, who, over the past two years, has revised his menu to include about
15 items that cater to the health-conscious.
"I would say that about 25 percent of our orders come off that portion of the
menu," he says.
Order wisely.
Ask for your sauce on the side or that your chicken be grilled instead of fried.
Requested steamed vegetables instead of fries, or ask the chef to go light on the
mayo.
It may take a little longer to prepare a specially ordered item, but "we're there to
accommodate the guest,"Huntington says.
Practice portion control.
The average restaurant portion contains two to three times more food than a
persson needs in any one meal, according to the Harvard School of Public
Health.
So the problem comes not when we order something like, say, spaghetti, but
when we eat that entire super-sized portion.
"In the Midwest in particular, we like getting the best value for our money ... but
it's so easy to overeat because we're just determined to get our money's worth,"
Temple says.
So try ordering smaller portions. Consider getting just a salad and an appetizer or
asking for something off the children's menu, she says. Another option: Split an
entree in half, and either share it with a friend or take half home for another meal.
Watch your liquids.
Soda, lemonade, alcohol and other beverages can quickly add calories to your
meal, so stick with water, diet soda or iced tea.
Remember that free food has calories, too.
Mindless munching from that basket of bread or chips and salsa can rack up
calories quickly.
"If you know you're not going to have the discipline to keep from overeating that,
you
should probably say, `Please don't bother to bring it,' " Temple says.
Pace yourself.
"Eat slowly enough to allow yourself to think about when you're getting full,"
Margolin says. "Pay attention to when you've had enough."
Remember that food is not the only focus of the meal.
"Remember that part of the reason that you're eating out is usually because you
want to spend time with the other people you're with," Temple says. "Enjoy the
entire experience."