A lot of Restaurants are well known for sneaking in unhealthy ingredients and some of us think that the only way to maintain a healthy diet is to avoid eating out altogether.   Another well known thought is that you can only eat at restaurants that are geared solely towards maintaining health.   These things are simply just not the truth.

The truth is that with a bit of careful research and forward planning, you can enjoy eating out at various places from fast food outlets up to the finest restaurants and still maintain a healthy diet.

Here are some important tips to bear in mind as you continue to enjoy eating out:

 1. Look for the light options on the menu.   Not all restaurants will offer such options, but a growing number of chain restaurants are promoting light alternatives without much searching.   You may even find light options marked on the menu.   You’ll soon find that light doesn’t always mean you’ll be giving up flavor, so go ahead and try the healthy alternative.

 2. Take half your dinner home.   Meals are being served in larger and larger portions all the time. Sometimes your meal won’t be unhealthy, but the size of your portion will be.  In an effort to avoid overeating and maintain a healthy diet simply ask your restaurant staff to serve you half the meal and box up the other half for you to take home with you.

3. Grilling is Great!   One way to eat smart is to opt for your food to be grilled instead of fried.  Fried foods have so many additional calories and fat. Grilled chicken or fish make great choices because they’re lean proteins and packed full of flavor so you stay on a healthy diet regime.

 4. Avoid drinking extra calories, if you are trying to stay healthy.   If you’re watching those calories, they add up very quickly once you add alcohol.  Drinking soda products or alcoholic beverages while you’re dining out can ruin a healthy diet and eating plan very easily.

 * Choosing water as an alternative is a wise move and then you’ll only need to worry about the calorie content of your meal.

 5. Be salad wise. You can choose a salad as your main dish as a way to lessen your calorie intake. You’ll probably find that there are bigger salads on the menu, which can be very satisfying, beyond the house or side salad. Many of them contain a bigger vegetable variety or meat such as chicken, beef or prawns.


 Ask them to serve your salad dressing on the side rather than on the salad.  That way you control the amount of dressing you put on your salad.    Remember, a little bit can go a long way. Avoid the creamy dressings. That’s the fatty stuff!

 6. Appetizers can make the meal. Most restaurants serve tasty appetizers, so you can order one of these as your main dish. If that’s not enough food, you might want to order two appetizers. Many times two appetizers will still be less food than a main course selection and be very satisfying and can help you maintain a healthy diet.

 7. Choose healthy sauces.  Be aware of the sauce in the dish of your choosing.   If you’re eating Italian always choose an option with a tomato-based sauce. This will provide you with a bigger benefit than a much richer cream based alternative. This is also the case when it comes to choosing your soups; avoid the cream based ones wherever possible.

 8. Include fruits and veggies with every meal.   They are an important part of a healthy diet for everyone,  so you should continue to seek them out when you’re making your selections at a restaurant. Steamed vegetables can be a great side dish, and fruits can likely be ordered in place of a dessert item.   Often they are served very differently, therefore making them a treat to eat!

 If you find along the way you need some guidance, I recommend you go to STRIP THAT FAT website and take a look at their product offering, it may be just what you need!

Keep in the mind the same healthy information you use when cooking at home to order your meals while you’re out.   Don’t be afraid to indulge yourself occasionally, but maintain an awareness of a healthy diet and portion size and your healthy eating plan with be full of success.

By MaryAnn Roche

www.completepersonaldevelopment.com

Tags: a healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy food choices, healthy foods, healty diet, Maintain Healthy Eating Habits

Healthy Eating and Nutrition for Best Body and Mind

How does healthy eating affect your nutrition and body and mind?

Your brain is a system of chemical connections firing off at each other so fast that it’s almost impossible to fathom. Well, the food you eat affects the chemical make up of your brain, altering how it acts and works.

Feelings and emotions also affect your brain. Obviously feelings are born in the brain, and, depending on the emotion, they can alter the brain chemistry. For example, some people with mental health issues do not produce certain chemicals in their brain, which radically changes their behavior patterns.

There are things you can do to regulate this chemical reaction on a daily basis, and it’s simpler than you may think! Eating certain foods can specifically affect different functions of the body, the chemicals in your brain, and your emotions.

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Everyone has heard the expression, “You are what you eat.” This very simple saying means more and more each day as we gain a greater understanding about how foods affect us.

* The food you put into your body has an effect on your physical appearance, energy levels, bodily processes and how well your brain functions.

Here are some healthy foods you can eat to help optimize both your body and mind:

1. Antioxidants.

We all recognize the health benefits of antioxidants in fighting diseases, but did you know a cup of hot cocoa has a higher concentration of antioxidants in it than either red wine or green tea? It’s true – as long as you use a dark chocolate.

* Serve a cup of rich dark hot cocoa after dinner, and know you’re actually taking good care of your health!

2. Green Tea.

Have a glass of green tea every day to help keep the cognitive functions of your brain in tiptop shape. Studies have shown 70% of people who drank green tea showed an improvement in the functions of the brain.

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3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Eating foods high in Omega-3s has a great deal of health benefits, including improving your brain’s development and functions. The Omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, is an important polyunsaturated fat found in the brain.

* Fish is a great source of Omega-3 Fatty acids, including DHA.

4. Cranberry Juice.

This beverage is not only good for your body, specifically, kidney and urinary functions, but it can also help prevent a stroke. Cranberry juice has also been shown to help reduce brain cell damage after a stroke.

5. Choline.

Choline is a chemical building block of every cell in your body. Choline has also been shown to help with retaining information in your memory. The more choline your lifetime diet includes, the less likely you’ll be to face extreme memory loss as you grow older.

* Eggs yolks have a high concentration of choline in them.

Can You use these simple Healthy Eating and Nutrition suggestions?

By taking simple steps to optimize your nutrition, you’ll also optimize your mind and body. Start making healthy, nutritious food choices today and enjoy looking, feeling, and thinking better.

Eating a well balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, protein, and some fat is the best way to nourish both the body and mind. Our bodies are highly complicated machines requiring many different things to function properly, and what we eat determines how it functions.

So, what’s it going to be? do you think you can include these healthy eating and nutrition tips in your diet to get your best body and mind?

Tags: body and mind, healthy eating, nutrition

How You Can Maintain Healthy Eating Habits

What are your eating habits like? good or bad?
Have you been struggling to keep your motivation to eat healthy, nutritious foods? Once you’ve set a goal to maintain healthy eating habits, how do you go about actually achieving that goal?

I find eating quite a hassle and Yes, I admit it – I have been known to struggle with my weight in the past, but not anymore!
The good news is that once you do something consistently for only a few weeks, it becomes a habit.

I thought I would write about a few simple techniques to help you avoid those tempting junk foods, so you can make wise and healthy food decisions in your daily routine, and get and maintain healthy eating habits!

Top Tips to Avoid Temptation:

1. Water, water, and more water. Drink a lot of water each day. Not only is this good for your whole body (both inside and out), it can actually make you feel full. Also, lots of times when you think you’re hungry, your body is actually thirsty, so keep yourself well hydrated.

2. Am I actually really hungry? Ask yourself if you’re really hungry or if you’re eating out of convenience or emotion or simple bad habit. Many times you probably aren’t as hungry as you think, so try to get involved in a different activity instead of snacking.

3. Divert your energy. Instead of putting all your energy into making two grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, try taking a walk or doing something that requires you to use your hands, like knitting(?) or woodworking. It’s pretty hard to do these sorts of activities and eat at the same time.

4. Allow yourself snack time. Choose healthy snacks instead of chips and salsa or chocolate bars. For snack time, try eating celery, popcorn without butter, fruits, or a make-your-own trail mix with raisins, nuts, and dried fruits.

* A good hint for snacking is to have healthy snacks readily available in your home, and unhealthy snacks completely out of the house; that way, the healthy stuff is easy to grab.

5. Try chewing gum. Putting something in your mouth like gum or hard, sugar-free candy can help convince your brain that you’re eating! ( I do this one all the time – it really works!)

How about tips to Choose Healthy Foods?

The next time you go food shopping, use these tips to help you choose the right foods and steer clear of the unhealthy stuff. These will definately help your quest to maintain healthy eating habits!

1. Buy fresh fruits and do some research on how to tell when fruits are at their freshest and when they’re in season. Try some of those exotic fruits you’ve always looked at but never purchased. Make your own fruit drinks and smoothies for a healthy, delicious treat. (try apricot nectar and ice cream, blend and YUM!)

2. Healthy eating includes buying lots of fresh vegetables that you can use to make up a quick and healthy stir-fry with chicken, brown rice, or even soy products. Buy easy to make salads where the lettuce and other veggies are already washed. These are easy, quick, healthy, and they taste good. The key is to choose vegetables that are dark green or orange or red in color.

3. Use the Food Pyramid. The recommended food pyramid from the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gears you toward whole foods and minimal sweets. Get a copy from the FDA and make your grocery list by following their guidelines. Lots of products now have this guide on their packaging too!

4. Stay away from preservatives. You don’t need that Twinkie that can outlast any environmental disaster! When you learn to read nutrition labels and ingredient lists, you’ll find that there are many snacks that are full of preservatives. You probably shouldn’t buy the food when the ingredient list contains more than a handful of items. Plus, if the expiry date isn’t until two years from now, it’s being heavily preserved.

Need some more top grocery store tips?

1. Always eat before you go! That way you are not hungry and are less likely to binge buy rubbish!

2. Make a list! This technique is a tried and true method to avoid buying foods that aren’t healthy. Stick to your list and, for fun, seek out healthy foods you haven’t tried before to tempt your taste buds.

3. Go alone. Leave your children in good hands and go alone to the grocery store. This way you can concentrate on getting only the healthy foods you desire without being pressured into buying junk. Alternatively, if you do bring your children, be prepared to spend extra time teaching them how to spot healthy foods.

4. Shop in a circle. Many nutritionists will tell you to shop the perimeter of the store. Grocery stores are usually set up with their fresh foods, fruits, vegetables, fish, and breads all around the perimeter. Preservative-laced foods are in the center and at the ends of each aisle.

Before long, you’ll be choosing healthy foods without a second thought, and those unhealthy foods you used to eat will no longer tempt you. Once you discover the benefits and better taste of fresh and healthy foods, you’ll never want to go back!

With some determination and strategies to maintain healthy eating habits in place, you can achieve your goal to eat healthy! By incorporating healthy changes into your diet one by one, you’re slowly creating a new habit.

It wont take long until you actually enjoy your new healthy eating outlook! You will feel and look better and have more energy too!

Use my tips on how you can maintain healthy eating habits and enjoy your new fresh outlook on life!

Tags: eating habits, healthy eating, healthy foods, Maintain Healthy Eating Habits