BEING SENSIBLE
- or defeating the object?
The following snippets of advice for financial and physical health when eating out were found on the net. I present them here for your interest and edification - or maybe amusement.
EATING OUT CHEAPLY
Choose a restaurant with cheaper prices. This does not mean you are limited to McDonalds or KFC. There are a number of good franchise establishments providing excellent food and comfortable surroundings. Restaurant that do not serve alcohol also tend to have more reasonable prices.
Drink Water - by cutting out soft drinks and alcoholic beverages you will automatically cut down a lot on the final bill. If water is not your favorite drink try adding a sweetener and ask for lemon slices.
Sharing Meals - restaurants typically provide very large portions, why not share one. This is a good idea for children as well. Most kids will not finish an entire children's meal, so share one between two.
Cut out the starters. If you really like what’s on offer, try having one as your meal and just adding a side salad.
You will often find coupons for local restaurants. Make sure to carry them with you so you will remember to use them. They will often offer a percentage off of the entire bill, which can make for substantial savings.
But be sure to still give a good tip especially when using the water trick or when sharing meals. The staff are still working hard to serve you so your normal tips would be appreciated rather than a percentage of the bill.
EATING OUT HEALTHILY
It's bad business for restaurants to tell you how many calories, how much fat, how much salt and how many carbs are in a meal. Some of these things have to be disclosed by law, but they don't need to put it in front of you unless you ask. But, there are a few guidelines you can use so that you don't need to ask for this information.
First, what is the main part of the meal or what takes up the majority of the plate? The answers to that should be vegetables, and at least half of the plate should be healthy vegetables. In this case, a white potato doesn't cut it.
Next, how much meat is there? The meat of the starter should only take up one quarter to one third of the plate. It should also be a whole cut of quality meat. Smaller local restaurants often have fresher cuts of meat than larger chains because they can choose where to buy their meat. Larger chains often receive their food from a single distributional resource, which means their meat might be frozen or several days to weeks old.
Finally, what is the rest of the meal? Is it something healthy like multigrain rice or whole wheat pasta? Or is it something cheap like a white roll, white rice or white pasta?
Look for other hidden wells of high calorie and high-fat areas. These can look like tasty sauces on the meat or vegetables. They are often loaded with sugars, chemicals and bad fats. In fact, some of the sauces can have more calories and more fats than the rest of the meal combined!
So, how easy is it to find a meal like this? It's actually not that hard as long as you ask for it. I have no problems asking for vegetables instead of the pasta and taking home half of a meal. I don't skip the extra sauces, I just ask they be put in a small container on the side.
This really isn't very different from what you do at home. Making half of your meal vegetables, a quarter to a third meat, and using whole grains to fill in the rest. This simple principle lets you eat out without worrying or stress.
Well yes, all very sensible suggestions. But when having a meal out, isn’t the whole point to relax and enjoy yourself? For me at least this is the time to forget the constraints of the everyday and have a treat!
Put these suggestions into practice at your own discretion.