Choosing Meals with Confidence When Dining Out
Eating out while working towards health goals can sometimes be a source of stress. At times, it may seem as if certain options are off-limits if we want to make a healthy choice. On the other hand, eating out can be convenient when you are especially busy, such as taking kids to practice, completing a list of tasks, or when you just don’t want to cook. The good news is that going out to eat doesn’t have to feel daunting. With a few easy-to-adapt considerations, you can enjoy the experience of going to a restaurant or grabbing take-out and remaining aligned with your health goals.
The Plate Method
First, let’s explore a concept we use at Summerfield that simplifies the process of creating and selecting balanced meals. The Plate Method is a visual framework for building a balanced plate, helping to ensure you’re getting everything your body needs without having to worry about weighing, measuring, or counting. This concept guides us toward creating meal and snack pairings that balance blood sugar, satisfy hunger, assist with weight management, and support healthy hormones. The idea is to start with half a plate or two fistfuls of non-starchy veggies such as broccoli, asparagus, bell peppers, cauliflower, or yellow squash. The next section of the plate includes a quarter plate or one fistful of carbohydrates such as potatoes, corn, rice, or fruit. The final section of the plate includes a quarter of a plate or one palmful of protein such as chicken, tofu, fish, or turkey. This eating style is adaptable whether you are having a meal at home or a meal from a restaurant and can be a useful approach to guide your food choices while staying aligned with your health goals.
Balance on the plate
When dining out, how can you order a meal you enjoy that also aligns with the Plate Method? Start with the item you are the most excited about on the menu, then add what’s missing to balance it out. This could look like having a slice of pizza with extra protein/veggies added and a side salad, a burger with no bun and a side of veggies plus fries, or a burger with a bun and a side salad or non-starchy veggie without the fries. Other ideas could include pasta dishes with protein like chicken and veggies added and/or a side salad. When eating out, consider where all the components fit and what may be missing that can be substituted or added to make it a complete Plate Method meal.
Here are some additional things to consider when eating out:
What are your goals, and where are you in your health journey? Health goals can look like wanting to decrease added sugar intake to help with blood sugar control or to improve heart health by decreasing saturated fat and salt intake. Deciding how your meal choices may impact your goals can help narrow down whether you stick with the Plate Method or choose a non-Plate Method meal from time to time. One approach we like to emphasize at Summerfield is the idea of an 80/20 or 90/10 approach to nutrition. This means eating Plate Method meals 80-90% of the time and eating non-Plate Method meals 10-20% of the time. This allows you to meet your health goals in a way that feels more sustainable by providing flexibility in your food choices for special occasions, such as birthdays or holidays, or for a time when you choose to intentionally enjoy meals that are not aligned with the Plate Method.
Make a plan ahead of time. If you know where you’ll be going when dining out, consider pulling up the menu online ahead of time. Start by mulling over if you would enjoy an appetizer and don’t mind restructuring a meal to balance things out or if you’d rather focus your meal on an entree you’re excited about and want to enjoy fully. Looking at the menu ahead of time can help you consider what options are available to choose from, reduce the pressure of deciding quickly on the spot, and ensure confidence around your selections for the meal.
Consider cooking methods or meal additions that may contribute to extra salt, fat, or sugar in the meal. Does the meal have a sauce with added sugar, or is it fried, adding additional saturated fats? When possible, it’s ok to request modifications that fit your individual needs and health goals. This way, your meal meets your needs while also remaining enjoyable. Maybe that means decreasing added sugar and total fat by ordering the condiments and dressings on the side, or ordering grilled chicken instead of fried chicken to reduce saturated fat intake, or adding extra/double non-starchy veggies to increase vitamins, minerals, and fiber content for better blood sugar control and satiety.
Have some go-to’s to choose from at various restaurants to take out the guesswork. This can be done as you try new restaurants, and it can also be another wonderful thing to do online by perusing menus, picking out the best-sounding dishes, and keeping a running list for yourself.
Eat balanced meals and snacks and stay hydrated throughout the day. Eating a more balanced diet throughout the day rather than “saving up” for the meal out can prevent you from making a hasty decision on what to eat that may not align with your health goals. This also prevents you from approaching the meal overly hungry, where you may tend to eat more quickly and leave with an uncomfortably full stomach.
Practice mindfulness at mealtimes. Being mindful at mealtimes means being in a place where you can truly focus on and enjoy the task at hand, which is eating. When you do this, you’re remaining present, focusing on the delicious-looking plate in front of you, taking in the aromas, and the flavor in each bite of food you chew. Mindfulness while eating out can be a challenge since you may be there to socialize or have more distractions around that are outside of your control, like TVs or other social events. Here are a few mindfulness practices to experiment with at meals that you can do anywhere, especially when eating out. Try putting your utensil down between bites or eating with your non-dominant hand or a utensil you find tricky, such as chopsticks. You could also try taking 3-5 full, deep breaths before starting a meal to regulate your nervous system. Practicing mindfulness techniques can help you feel more in touch with your hunger and fullness cues as well as being present in your body so you can chew thoroughly and eat more slowly (which both optimize digestion) and eat until you feel satisfied.
Remove the Guesswork with our Plate Method Restaurant Guide
In the spirit of navigating restaurants and building Plate Method meals, Summerfield has created a Plate Method Restaurant Guide that helps you select balanced meals when eating out, traveling, getting take-out after work, or choosing to order in. This guide includes a multitude of restaurants sorted by cuisine type. We listed out options on the menu that are already aligned with Plate Method, as well as how to order other menu options that are not Plate Method and pair them with various choices so they align with the Plate Method.
We hope this resource helps to increase your confidence when dining out and making progress toward your health goals.