Just plan a little...

With the spring weather upon us we are more likely to get out and about with family and friends which often leads to eating out. Eating out can derail even the most determined healthy eater without a little planning!

Here are a few tips to keep in mind...

You can go out to dinner and still eat healthfully. Just remember to plan ahead. Visit the restaurant's online menu and decide ahead of time what you want to order so that you bypass those last-minute temptations. Avoid anything that is sautéed or pan fried. Instead, order your food grilled, steamed, baked, broiled or poached.

Determine how much you're willing to eat before looking at the menu. You can give yourself some leeway by scheduling some exercise on or near days you plan to eat out. Putting in gym time or going for a brisk walk will help offset a little extra eating.



You're paying good money for that meal, so you're entitled to make special requests or slight modifications. Why not say:

• Can I have that without butter? Grilled? With the sauce on the side?
  
  
• I'd like mixed greens instead of fries with my sandwich.

Salad bars and garden salads grace menus across the country. But those extra toppings can sabotage your seemingly diet-conscious choices:

• Go light on croutons, grated cheese and bacon.
  
  
• Opt for small amounts of low-fat or nonfat dressings on the side.

Eating Out Reminders...

You can go out to dinner and still eat healthy.

1) Just remember to plan ahead.

2) Visit the restaurant's online menu and decide ahead of time what you want to order to avoid those last minute temptations.

3) Avoid anything on the menu that is sautéed or pan fried. Instead, order your food grilled, steamed, baked, broiled or poached.

4) Ask questions about the food on the menu. If the kitchen can't tell you how something was prepared or what the ingredients are, then stay away.

What restaurants don't want you to know...

Dunkin Donuts doesn't want you to know that its muffins are worse than its donuts. Even the reduced fat blueberry muffin still has 450 calories-more than all but two donuts on the menu!!

Cold Stone Creamery doesn't want you to know that every single one of its small shakes has at least 1,000 calories, 92 grams of sugar, and 1.5 grams of trans fats. Key word "small"-the larger varieties have up to 2,010 calories and two days' worth of fat.

Starbucks doesn't want you to know that most of its lattes pack more sugar than a two-scoop ice cream sundae.

Taco Bell doesn't want you to know that you're better off ordering a Cheesy Double Beef Burrito than its Fiesta Taco Salad. The salad is actually the most caloric item on its menu-with 840 calories, 45 grams of fat, and 1.5 grams of trans fats, this is not a healthy choice. Cut almost half the calories by either opting for the shell-less salad, or the Double Beef Burrito, as mentioned above.

Ruby Tuesday doesn't want you to know that the Veggie Burger has 1,007 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 73 grams of carbohydrates, there's nothing "healthy" about this deceptive dish. Their Colossal Burger-appropriately named, considering the 2,014 calories, 141 grams of fat, and 95 grams of carbohydrates contained within its buns.

Subway doesn't want you to know that you'll eat more calories there than you would at McDonald's. The researchers found that when people eat at "healthy" restaurants, like Subway, they tend to order 131 percent more calories in side items than they do at known "unhealthy" restaurants and they underestimate the calorie counts as well.