As much as home cooked
meals allow you to control your nutrition and calories to a large extent,
eating out sometimes unavoidable. Eating out is a bit challenging when you are
trying to eat healthy. The food can be a bit expensive, sometimes the
ingredients are not paleo and finding a restaurant with a paleo-friendly menu
isn’t always easy. Here are a few tips for helping you stick to a healthy paleo
diet when eating out.
Choose Green Healthy restaurants
One good thing about
Google is it allows you to research restaurants and narrow it down to your
type. While doing this Google will provide a few addresses when you include
‘near me’ in your search e.g. paleo restaurants near me. Browse these options
and check out which menu is most suitable for your dieting choice. Be sure to
check out restaurant reviews on sites like Yelp.
Ask about the cooking oil
Many restaurants use corn,
canola or vegetable oil. It is hard to have a restaurant change their cooking
oil just for one person so you have to decide whether this is a big or small
compromise. Ideally, olive oil is what you want to hear.
Keep away from sauces
When ordering meats,
instruct the server not to put any source on it. Many sources contain non-paleo ingredients and flavors like MSG. You should ask
for the sauce on a side dish. When ordering seafood ask the waiter to keep off
the creamy based sauce that usually comes with seafood.
Let them know you are gluten sensitive or have
allergies
Many restaurant managers
are increasingly becoming aware of gluten sensitivity and certain allergic
reactions people have to foods. If you inform your waiter that you have gluten
sensitivity, they will provide appropriate suggestions.
Stay away from potato side dishes
It is common for meats to
be served with potato dishes like french fries or baked potatoes. Instruct your waiter to remove the side dish
and serve more vegetables instead.
Treat yourself to Mexican dishes
Mexican dishes are pro-paleo if you leave out
the tortillas. Fajitas can be a good choice if you are out with a friend. Offer
your tortillas to your friend while you enjoy the extra servings of vegetables
and meat.
Be specific on seafood preparation
Deep frying seafood is
the most popular method of preparing seafood in many restaurants. Breading is
also a commonly used technique to keep delicate seafood intact while deep
frying. You can instruct the waiter that
you want your seafood non-breaded and prepared as a grilled option or baked.
While eating out can
tempt you to stray from a healthy diet, there are plenty of healthy and
delicious paleo choices if you are willing to experiment.
