Guidelines for Dining Out
In This Chapter
▶ Figuring out how to make smart, healthy food choices in any restaurant
▶ Recognizing traits of restaurants with a wealth of low-glycemic options
▶ Recommending the best low-glycemic meal choices in a variety of cuisine types
Dining out used to be a once-in-a-while occasion to meet up with friends and family to enjoy the ambience of a nice restaurant, some good company, and a wonderful meal. Now people are eating out more than ever before, making it more difficult to make healthy choices because you have less control over what’s on your plate.
At home, you know exactly what you’re putting into a recipe and can even measure how much you’re putting on your plate. But in restaurants, you’re really just taking your best guess because a) you can’t be sure how much of a particular food item is being added and b) the dish is served on a plate the size of a trough. Although I can easily tell you that avoiding eating out as much as you can is wise, I know that doing so may not be very practical. That’s why having some good strategies in place is key.
The beauty of a low-glycemic diet is that it isn’t an all-or-nothing diet. It allows some flexibility for you to eat higher-glycemic foods in moderation.
In fact, research shows that using low-glycemic foods in moderation, even just one low-glycemic food choice a meal, still provides you with the benefits you’re looking for, making it easier to adopt low-glycemic foods into your lifestyle. This type of moderation is also the best way to get long-term results with weight loss. (Being too strict always backfires.) In this chapter, I show you how to make smart choices while dining out and present a variety of good lower-glycemic meal options for just about any type of restaurant.
Choosing Wisely
Although it can be tricky, you can eat in restaurants, follow a low-glycemic diet, and lose weight. But you have to be willing to make educated choices instead of just going with whatever you feel like eating. (Of course, even when you make the best choices, restaurant meals are usually going to be much higher in calories than what you’d prepare at home — which can make trying to lose weight an uphill battle if you’re eating out all the time.) The following sections present some strategies to help you make the best choices when you’re dining out.
Becoming more aware of what you’re ordering and how much food is on your plate can greatly enhance your ability to make healthier sit-down restaurant or fast-food dining choices.
Basing your choices on how often you eat out
Some people eat out several times a week; others prefer to dine out just a few times a year. These two groups of folks could make the same food choices while eating out, but I don’t advise it.
If you find that you eat in restaurants or order some sort of takeout two or more times a week, then moderation takes on a new meaning. Indulging a little once a month is one thing, but indulging two or more times a week will sabotage your weight-loss efforts. No, you don’t have to forgo eating in restaurants. That concept is no longer realistic in a society in which Americans spend 46 percent of their food dollars on dining out (compared to just 26 percent in 1970) thanks to fast-paced lifestyles and the convenience of restaurants. You do, however, have to change how you think about dining out.
For many people, going to a restaurant used to equal a special occasion where they could indulge and order whatever they wanted. This response can become hardwired into your brain, leading to an increased consumption of significantly higher calorie, fat, and sodium levels on a regular basis. It’s sort of like the healthy choices you’d make at home get “turned off” at a restaurant and you order whatever sounds good without thinking about calories, glycemic level, fat, and so on. You’re simply conditioned to get the item that sounds the best versus the item that’s the healthiest choice. If you’re eating in restaurants weekly, go ahead and pick a couple special outings each month (perhaps a birthday, a party with friends, or an anniversary) as your indulgence meals. Just make sure you’re indulging only on those occasions, not each and every time you set foot in a restaurant.
For those weekly convenience meals, select simple, healthy choices. (I share different low-glycemic food choices for a variety of cuisine types later in this chapter.)
Also, consider evaluating how frequently you eat out. Even though you may be making healthier selections when you dine out, keep in mind that you don’t always know or have control over how the food is prepared. How much oil was added to the pan before cooking? How much cheese was used? Did they really leave off the butter on your steamed broccoli? Because of these unknowns, people still typically consume more calories, fat grams, and sodium when they dine out than their bodies really need. Eating at home or preparing your own on-the-go meal isn’t always feasible, but making the effort by cutting back on how frequently you dine out can do a lot for weight loss.
Requesting low-glycemic substitutions
It’s possible to follow your low-glycemic lifestyle and find choices in restaurants by asking for a few (sometimes creative) modifications. Maybe you see that the restaurant serves a lower-glycemic brown rice with one dish but a higher-glycemic potato with the dish you want. Asking the wait staff whether you can make replacements is not only perfectly okay but also a simple way to work your way through a menu.
Asking for replacements is generally no problem as long as your request seems reasonable and you’re approaching it in a friendly manner.
For a pleasant low-glycemic substitution experience on your next restaurant visit, just keep these tidbits in mind:
✓ If you don’t see an item on the menu, the restaurant probably doesn’t have it. You can always ask for the item anyway, but don’t expect the restaurant to provide you something it doesn’t carry.
✓ Some menu options are prepared in advance, meaning they’re already mixed together. Again, asking is okay so long as you realize that the restaurant may have certain limitations. For instance, it may not be able to replace white rice with brown in your chicken gumbo.
✓ Being extrafriendly goes a long way. Complimenting the chef and getting to know the servers means they may be more willing to go the extra mile for you the next time you come in.
For the most part, making simple substitutions isn’t a big deal. The low- glycemic diet allows you a lot more flexibility than other diet protocols.
Tricks o’ the trade: Calling ahead and making friends
You’ve probably asked for simple substitutions with your restaurant meals in the past, but how far can you go? If you have a friendly rather than demanding approach, a restaurant’s staff is often willing to go the extra mile for you. One of my good friends follows a fairly low-glycemic diet; she also has many food intolerances and allergies. I’ve seen firsthand (in amazement, I might add) the creative and wonderful foods that she gets when we go out to eat. Her trick? She calls ahead to talk to the manager or chef about the menu options.
She starts the conversation by letting the man- ager or chef know all the wonderful things she’s heard about his restaurant and how she’s looking forward to trying it out. Then she lets him know that she has some diet limitations and asks whether there’s anything he can do for her. Most of the time the manager or chef comes up with a variation of a menu item that works for her. Sometimes she even receives something completely special — almost like a challenge for the chef. My friend lets the restaurant staff know the time and date she’ll be dining there and then wow! I’ve seen her receive amazing entrees that the chefs cook up special just for her.
You’re welcome to try this tactic, which is especially handy if you live in a small area with a limited number of restaurants. I can’t guarantee every restaurant manager and chef will be receptive, but more often than not, you’ll find some winners. If the manager or chef does make an exception for you, do like my friend does and always make sure to thank him, either in person or through your server.
Watching your portion sizes
Restaurant portion sizes are growing and growing and growing. So much so that you can’t even recognize normal portion sizes anymore! They look tiny compared to what your eyes are used to seeing. A normal portion of pasta is 1⁄2 cup, or enough pasta to fit in the palm of your hand (a small-sized hand, that is). Seeing this size portion served in a restaurant would seem almost shocking. Even bagels have grown in size over the last 20 years. A regular ol’ 3-inch bagel has about 150 calories, but modern jumbo bagels measure about 41⁄2 inches across for a total of 300 to 400 calories.
Portion sizes in today’s restaurants have become almost comical. Case in point: I recently went out to eat with a group of friends. One of the men with us ordered a plate of ribs. When it came to the table, all eight of us looked at it in astonishment and then began laughing. The server had brought out an entire half of a cow’s rib cage in a trough. It looked like something you’d see on The Flintstones. This particular meal was big enough to serve all eight of us!
The average restaurant portion size is large enough to feed three adults. Furthermore, studies have found a direct association between eating out, higher caloric intakes, and higher body weights. (These are important facts to know because obesity rates have doubled in the past 20 years.) Although get- ting a lot of food for your money is great, science tells us that the more you see, the more you eat (and consequently the more you’ll eventually see on your thighs!).
Here are some tips to keep your restaurant portion sizes at bay so you can have better control over your calorie intake and glycemic load:
✓ Don’t clean your plate. Your mom may have made you practice this tactic growing up, but routinely cleaning your plate in restaurants will inevitably lead you to gain weight rather than lose it.
✓ Eat half or even a quarter of the regular entree or split the meal with a friend. You can eat the smaller amount and take the rest home for another meal. And if you’re dining alone, ask for a to-go box at the beginning of your meal. Then you won’t be tempted to eat more than you intended.
✓ Stay hydrated. Many times people feel overly hungry because they’re dehydrated. Try drinking a couple glasses of water while you wait for your meal to help you avoid overeating.
✓ Opt for a half deli sandwich with vegetable soup or a side salad rather than a burger and fries at lunch. You can find these items in your local deli or supermarket, as well as at most sit-down restaurants.
✓ Choose an appetizer and side salad as your main meal. The size of today’s appetizers represents a more accurate portion size. Combining an appetizer with a side salad can make a satisfying meal.
✓ Avoid specialty breads. Choose whole-wheat bread over focaccia, baguettes, rolls, or other specialty breads. Whole-wheat bread has a lower glycemic load and a lower calorie level than many of the specialty breads out there.
✓ Get your salad dressings, sauces, mayonnaise, and gravies on the side.
Doing so puts you in charge of the amount used, which makes for better calorie control.
✓ Skip the extra cheese on anything you order. If you can live without the extra cheese, you can save yourself more than 100 calories.
✓ Avoid bread and chip baskets that come to your table before your meal begins. Can’t resist? Tell your server to skip bringing the basket to your table altogether.
✓ Steer clear of burritos. They’re often very large, plus many restaurants use a sticky white rice that has a very high glycemic index. (Not to mention they give you way more than the ideal 1⁄3-cup portion.)
✓ Choose lean meats. These include chicken, turkey, and fish. Eating a turkey sandwich in place of a roast beef sandwich can save you 100 calories and 10 grams of saturated fat.
✓ Hit the salad bar. Doing so allows you to build up a healthy salad with vegetables, beans, and lean meats while avoiding any high-glycemic foods.
✓ Go easy on stuffed entrees. It’s hard to know whether the stuffing has a higher glycemic load. Plus stuffed entrees, such as casseroles, are often loaded in fat and calories. One exception is tortellini and other stuffed pastas. These are typically lower-glycemic (unless of course you load them up with a heavy cream sauce).
✓ Avoid “supersizing” combo meals. Supersized meals may be an economic value, but they can add up to 2,000 calories for just one meal.
That’s more calories than most people should eat in an entire day.
✓ Skip fried foods. They just add unnecessary calories and fat.
✓ Go for grilled vegetables, fruit, or salads as a side. Doing so can help you save calories, lower your glycemic load, add important nutrients, and help you feel fuller for a longer period of time.
✓ Share one dessert. Splurging is fine, but most restaurant desserts are also as large as the entrees. Sharing a dessert is a good way to have your cake and not feel guilty about eating it too.
Is your favorite coffee drink making you gain weight?
Many people frequent coffee shops more than they do restaurants. Coffee in general is a low- glycemic item, which is good. Even when you add milk you’re still in pretty decent shape. However, after you add all the others bells and whistles to your coffee, that once-low glycemic load increases — along with the amount of calories.
If you’ve ever wondered how many calories and sugar grams are in your favorite coffee drinks, then the following list can give you an idea. Oh, and just for reference, consuming 250 extra calories per day will lead to a 1⁄2-pound weight increase each week, or about a 24-pound weight increase in a year.
Regular coffee drinks:
✓ Medium brewed coffee: 10 calories, no sugar
✓ Medium Caffè Americano: 15 calories, no sugar
Gourmet coffee drinks:
✓ Medium Caffè Latte: 260 calories, 19 grams sugar (5 teaspoons)
✓ Medium Caffè Mocha: 400 calories, 33 grams sugar (8 teaspoons)
✓ Medium Caramel Apple Cider: 410 calories, 68 grams sugar (17 teaspoons)
✓ Medium Caramel Macchiato: 310 calories, 34 grams sugar (9 teaspoons)
✓ Medium Chai Tea Latte: 240 calories, 41 grams sugar (10 teaspoons)
✓ Medium Hot Chocolate: 350 calories, 40 grams sugar (10 teaspoons)
✓ Medium White Chocolate Mocha: 510 calories, 55 grams sugar (14 teaspoons)
Gourmet coffee drinks are good, but as you can see, many of the popular ones are equivalent to eating a dessert. (A couple also exceed the daily recommended sugar consumption of 12 teaspoons or less.) If you’re trying to manage your weight, keep the gourmet coffee drinks to a once-in-a-while treat rather than an everyday habit. But if you must feed your gourmet coffee addiction, consider these alternatives and tips, which will decrease the calorie, sugar, and/or fat counts of your favorite coffee beverage:
✓ Order regular brewed coffee or a Caffè Americano (hot or iced).
✓ Drink unsweetened iced tea or hot tea brewed from tea bags.
✓ Choose skim milk over regular milk with lattes and chai teas.
✓ Ask for half the syrup or powder in flavored lattes and chai teas.
✓ Skip the whipped cream.
Picking Low-Glycemic-Friendly Restaurants
Eating out when you want to lose weight frequently means you need to pay a little more attention to the restaurants you’re choosing, which in turn means you should know a little something about what a low-glycemic-friendly restaurant looks like. Such establishments tend to
✓ Offer a wide variety of menu options
✓ Feature multiple choices for breads, rice, and pastas (rye, whole-wheat, brown, and so on)
✓ Have menu items that contain low-glycemic food choices, such as vegetables, beans, and whole-wheat bread
✓ Serve side vegetables or salad entrees On the flip side, some restaurants may leave you hard-pressed to find much of anything that’s low-glycemic. Restaurants that aren’t so low-glycemic- friendly generally have these characteristics:
✓ A very limited menu
✓ A lack of vegetable choices (think sides, soups, or salads)
✓ Fries, potato salad, or potato chips as the only side options
✓ A lot of pasta, noodle, or rice dishes
If you live in a small town with limited restaurant choices, don’t stress about not immediately being able to find low-glycemic dishes on the menu. Instead, try to make friends with the owner, chef, or wait staff. If you do, the restaurant just may be able to accommodate your needs. For example, maybe it has a soup of the day that changes frequently. You can send in your request for a lowglycemic-friendly soup. Asking never hurts so long as you’re friendly about it.
When it comes to the glycemic index of foods, you’re really looking at carbohydrates. Think about the different types of restaurants that you can choose from. Do they offer whole-wheat or rye bread rather than white? Do they have entrees that include lots of veggies as opposed to dishes loaded down with starches? Restaurants that don’t offer low-glycemic-friendly foods can make selecting the best food choices much more difficult (not to mention your body’s response to the meal will be tougher to handle). Make a list of restau- rants that offer food selections that help maintain your low-glycemic focus. Then try to stick to these options.
If you’re going out with friends and family and you aren’t able to select the restaurant of your choice, don’t fret. You can still make the best decisions with the options you’re given. After all, living a low-glycemic lifestyle isn’t an exact science. Just choose foods that have a lower glycemic index and pro- vide a nice nutrient balance; then monitor your portion sizes.
Presenting the Best Low-Glycemic Food Choices for . . .
To make finding low- (or lower-) glycemic dishes at your favorite restaurant — be it Italian, Thai, or Mexican — a little easier, I’ve come up with several options that are also low in fat and calories. Keep in mind that each restaurant cooks foods differently, so you still need to use your best judgment. Note: The recommendations in the following sections are based on using low-glycemic foods; these menu items haven’t been officially tested for their glycemic loads.
American restaurants
Most American-style menus offer many choices. You can select an entree salad, certain soups, or meat entrees with a side of your choice. The list goes on, but here are some good low-glycemic picks:
✓ Entree salads with grilled chicken, salmon, or shrimp: Ask for the dressing on the side to control your calories and skip the toasted bread if the salad comes with it.
✓ Turkey or grilled chicken sandwiches on whole-wheat bread or buns: Avoid fries or potato chips as your side; they’re a double whammy because they’re high in glycemic load as well as calories. Instead, choose a side salad, vegetable, or soup.
✓ Broiled, baked, or grilled chicken or fish entrees with a side salad or vegetable: If the restaurant has starchy sides, ask whether it offers brown rice or another lower-glycemic option.
✓ Minestrone or vegetable soups: Avoid cream soups or those that have a significant amount of noodles or rice.
✓ Chicken, shrimp, or beef stir-fry: If you can find a restaurant that carries brown rice, stir-fry can be a great lower-glycemic option.
Chinese restaurants
As you can probably guess, finding low-glycemic Chinese food is tough given that rice and noodles are a main part of almost every dish. Most of the meals in the following list automatically come with fried or white rice, so ask your server whether you can have brown rice. If the answer’s no, then eat a small amount of the rice or just skip it altogether.
Following are your best bets for lower-glycemic Chinese meals:
✓ Egg drop soup: This very basic soup contains primarily broth, spices, and eggs. It’s generally very low in calories as well and acts as a good starter for your Chinese meal.
✓ Tofu with vegetables: Tofu has a relatively low glycemic index. Mix tofu with vegetables, and you have a winning combination.
✓ Curry tofu or chicken: This simple dish is deep in flavor. Many establishments make this dish with potatoes, so you can ask for them to be left out.
✓ Dim sum (chicken or fish with vegetables): Dim sum is always a good choice when you want to get some vegetables in your Chinese meal.
✓ Barbequed pork with mustard and seeds: This dish makes a great starter. You can also combine it with soup and a vegetable to make it into a whole meal.
✓ Chicken or scallops with vegetables: To keep this meal low-glycemic, make sure the meat or seafood isn’t fried.
✓ Stir-fried chicken, shrimp, or tofu with vegetables: Stir-fry dishes are simple and delicious. They also offer a variety of foods in one dish, making it easy to forgo the rice or eat much less of it.
✓ Moo Goo Gai Pan: This simple and light meal combines chicken with mushrooms and often other vegetables.
✓ Shrimp and snow peas: Another light meal, shrimp and snow peas is also a relatively lowfat dish.
Fast-food restaurants
Fast food falls into that category of not-so-low-glycemic-friendly foods. However, there are a few choices that you can get by with when you’re out and about and need to pick up a quick meal:
✓ Salads: I know fast-food salads may not sound that appealing, but their quality is continually improving. Many fast-food chains now offer premium salads, such as Caesar salads and grilled chicken salads, that are much more exciting than the small side salads they used to serve.
✓ Apple slices: Many fast-food restaurants are now offering apple slices as a healthier option for kids’ meals. Well, apple slices are pretty darn good for adults too!
✓ Sub sandwiches on whole-wheat bread: Whether or not you can get a sub sandwich on whole-wheat bread depends entirely on the restaurant, but some do offer whole-wheat options. Stick with turkey, chicken, or veggie sandwiches to keep your calorie level down.
✓ Half a sub sandwich and soup: Many of the sub sandwich shops feature a variety of soups. If you really want to keep your calorie level and glycemic load down, pick the smallest sandwich choice (even if it’s a kids’ size) and get a side of vegetable or minestrone soup.
✓ Soft tacos: This fast-food pick has a lower glycemic load and a lower calorie level when prepared with corn or whole-wheat tortillas. (The soft flour tortilla shell actually has a higher glycemic load than the crunchy corn taco shell.)
Italian restaurants
Selecting low-glycemic dishes from an Italian menu can be tricky because most Italian menus feature a lot of pasta dishes, which fall within the medium to high glycemic load range. Italian restaurants are obviously known for pasta dishes, but they’re also well-known for tasty seafood and poultry. Following are your best low-glycemic picks at an Italian restaurant:
✓ Cheese- or meat-stuffed ravioli: Although stuffed ravioli is still a pasta dish, the stuffing actually helps lower the pasta’s glycemic load down to at least a medium level. This dish is a good choice when you want a little pasta.
✓ Cheese-stuffed tortellini: Again, the stuffing lowers the glycemic load of this pasta dish to a medium level.
✓ Chicken cacciatore: This entree often has some sort of pasta served with it, but the main focus is on the chicken. Order a side salad with this meal and eat less of the pasta.
✓ Frittata with vegetables: This egg dish is a very good low-glycemic choice. If it’s served on toast or bread, ask for the whole-wheat variety.
✓ Minestrone soup: This veggie-and-bean-packed, broth-based soup is always a good bet. Some minestrone soups also include pasta in a small amount.
✓ Cioppino (fish soup): If you think soup is too light for a meal, you haven’t tried fish soup. Cioppino is a hearty soup that often contains up to ten different types of fish and seafood.
✓ Pollo a la Romana (chicken in wine sauce): You may see this item listed under different names, but if you want to try it, just look around at the poultry dishes. Make sure the wine sauce hasn’t been converted to a cream sauce (otherwise you’ll be eating too many calories).
✓ Muscolidella Riviera (steamed mussels in red sauce): Italy is known for its amazing seafood dishes, one of which is Muscolidella Riviera. This is a great example of a main course with a lower-calorie sauce. If it’s served with pasta, just eat a smaller amount of the pasta and focus on the steamed mussels.
✓ Zuppa di Vongole (clams with white wine and shallots): This dish is another Italian seafood favorite for many. Yes, you have to really enjoy seafood to like Zuppa di Vongole, but mussels and clams can be a great low-glycemic menu option.
✓ Grilled or baked poultry dishes in white wine or red sauce: You’ll find many different choices for poultry depending on the Italian restaurant you choose. Just make sure the one you select is light on cheese and cream sauces.
✓ Grilled or baked fish dishes: Depending on the restaurant, you may find some unique Italian fish entrees. These can be a great choice if you stick with light sauces.
✓ Thin-crust pizza: Feel free to opt for this type of pizza, but remember that pizza generally comes with a lot of calories. Have a couple slices with a side salad for the perfect balance.
If you go for a pasta dish at an Italian restaurant, know that even if it’s a lower glycemic load choice, most tested measurements are using around a 3⁄4-cup portion size — a size that’s much, much smaller than what you’ll be served. Recognize this fact and order a side salad so you don’t eat too much pasta.
Building a healthy pizza
Pizza can actually be a low-glycemic meal option, but with its white-flour crust, melted cheese, and high-fat meats, it can add up in calories and fat fast, leaving your weight-loss efforts in the dust. Following are some tips for making over pizza so it can be a truly beneficial part of a low-glycemic diet:
✓ Choose a lower-fat crust . Thin- or regular-crust pizzas are a better choice than pan pizzas because pan pizzas have more fat added to the crust. That extra fat may make the crust richer and, well, crusty, but it also adds about 80 more calories per slice.
✓ Avoid cream and oil- or pesto-based sauces . Many gourmet pizzas these days offer a variety of sauces that can quickly add up in calories and fat. Stick with a traditional tomato sauce to avoid those additional calories.
✓ Stick to the small size . Have you ever noticed that your pizza slice is a different size at different restaurants? This observation is so important because one slice of pizza at your favorite pizza parlor may actually be two servings. One medium slice of pizza should be around 6 inches long. No need to break out the ruler, but do be aware of how big your slices are.
✓ Have a side dish . Traditionally, when you eat pizza, that’s all you eat for the entire meal, which can lead to excess calories thanks to large portion sizes. Order a side salad with your pizza so you can eat fewer servings of pizza and still have a complete meal. Having a side salad rather than an extra slice of pizza saves you around 100 calories.
✓ Avoid the high-fat toppings . Pepperoni and sausage contribute a significant amount of calories and saturated fat to pizza. Choosing Canadian bacon, vegetables, or just plain cheese is one of the best ways to keep your pizza on the healthy side.
✓ Don’t add extra high-fat toppings . Opting for extra meats and cheese (think meat lovers’ pizzas or five-cheese pizzas) adds anywhere from 50 to 100 extra calories per slice.
Here’s an example of a pizza meal makeover so you can see how to put the preceding tips into action:
Original pizza dinner
1 slices of pan pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni 12-ounce soda Nutrition facts: 1,140 calories, 48 grams fat, 18 grams saturated fat
Pizza dinner makeover
2 slices of thin-crust pizza with tomatoes and mushrooms
1 side salad with ranch dressing Water
Nutrition facts: 470 calories, 17 grams fat, 7 grams saturated fat
Making a few simple changes to your pizza routine can help you manage all of your health goals and also allow you to have some fun foods now and then.
Japanese restaurants
Are you a sushi fan? Well, depending on what kind of sushi you prefer, you may be happy or disappointed. For the most part, rolls that include rice tend to have a higher glycemic load than other kinds of rolls.
Some sushi restaurants offer brown rice on their rolls, so be sure to ask for it. If you can get this option, it’ll lower your meal’s glycemic load compared to the traditional sticky rice.
Other than nonrice sushi rolls, here are some other good lower-glycemic options for Japanese cuisine:
✓ Sashimi (raw fish without rice): Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy that pairs very fresh raw seafood with an appropriate dipping sauce or other condiment. It’s a great low-glycemic option because fish contains no car- bohydrates.
✓ Chicken teriyaki: Most of the time this dish is served with rice. You can either ask for brown rice or simply eat less of the white rice.
✓ Kaibashira (steamed scallops): Ask for a veggie side to go with this dish, and you’ll have a great low-glycemic meal.
✓ Maguro (broiled tuna): As long as you forgo the sticky rice, this is another stellar low-glycemic option!
✓ Steamed/grilled fish or skinless poultry with vegetables: Glance over the menu to see whether the restaurant has some basic fish and poultry dishes served with vegetables.
✓ Yakitori (skewered chicken or scallops): An excellent carbohydrate-free choice, this dish can be served with a side of vegetables.
✓ Yosenabe (seafood and vegetables in broth): Adding the seafood turns this healthy vegetable soup into a hearty meal.
Mexican restaurants
Although you need to be very careful of your portion sizes and calories, many of the staples of Mexican restaurants (think whole-wheat or corn tortillas, peppers, and pinto beans) are low-glycemic foods. Unfortunately, most foods in Mexican restaurants are high in fat and calories, but finding a happy medium is possible. Look for any of the following dishes for a healthy choice when you’re having Mexican:
✓ Chicken enchiladas: This dish can be a good choice, but be wary of the calories because chicken enchiladas are often made with a significant amount of cheese.
✓ Chicken or beef fajitas: Fajitas are by far your best pick for glycemic load and calories in a Mexican restaurant. They’re lower in fat and calories, and you can choose corn tortillas (or whole-wheat if available), which have a lower glycemic load than white tortillas.
✓ Soft chicken or vegetarian taco: Soft tacos are a great option. Just remember to watch your portion sizes because soft tacos can come out quite large.
✓ Ceviche: This dish, a citrus-marinated seafood appetizer, is a fabulous option for seafood lovers. It’s heavy on the seafood, so you can order it with some sides and easily make a meal out of it.
✓ Pollo picado (chicken and vegetables): This is a simple meal that for-goes any high-glycemic foods — so long as you skip the Mexican rice side dish.
✓ Grilled fish and chicken breast: Depending on the restaurant, you can typically find some chicken and fish entrees served with vegetables or beans.
✓ Frijoles: Boiled beans are a staple with just about every Mexican entree.
Black beans and pinto beans in particular are great low-glycemic
choices. Ask your server whether the restaurant has a vegetarian option that isn’t cooked in lard to save on some calories.
✓ Tamales: Tamales use corn dough (masa) that can be filled with meats, cheese, and chiles.
When it comes to tortillas, your lowest-glycemic option is a whole-wheat tortilla. If the restaurant you’re at doesn’t serve those, ask next for a corn tortilla, followed by a white-flour tortilla.
Middle Eastern/Greek restaurants
Middle Eastern and Greek dishes use such a wide variety of foods that you can find some great low-glycemic options if you’re willing to be a little adventurous. Check out the following:
✓ Chicken Souvlaki: This basic shish kebab can either be made with all meat or mixed with vegetables.
✓ Chilled yogurt and cucumber soup: Yogurt is a low-glycemic food, making this soup a nice, light addition to your meal.
✓ Imam Bayildi (baked eggplant stuffed with vegetables): This hearty dish is packed with nutrients from all the plant-based foods.
✓ Stuffed grapevine leaves: The small amount of rice in this dish means it’s still a good low-glycemic choice.
✓ Spinach with lemon dressing: This is a great side to go along with your shish kebab or other meat entree. Mix and match to come up with the perfect meal.
✓ Vegetable and lentil soup: Soups that use low-glycemic foods are always a good choice. Most broth-based soups are very low in calories and can often leave you feeling fuller and more satisfied with your meal — a perfect fit for your weight-loss plan!
✓ Hummus: A bean dip made primarily out of chickpeas, hummus is often served with pita bread or vegetables. It’s a very low-glycemic food and an overall healthy choice. Ask your server whether you can get whole- wheat pita bread to go along with it.
Thai restaurants
Some of the most popular Thai dishes feature noodles and rice (making them higher-glycemic choices). For healthy, low-glycemic Thai choices, turn to any of the following:
✓ Thai vegetables with chicken and chili sauce: This is a pretty basic but spicy meal. If it comes with rice, either omit the rice or just eat less of it.
✓ Seafood kebab: Like any kebab, a Thai seafood kebab is an excellent choice to order with a side dish of vegetables.
✓ Tom Yum Goong (hot sour shrimp soup): This soup will warm you up.
Its low calorie level and low glycemic load make it great as a starter or as part of a meal.
✓ Stir-fried shrimp or chicken with vegetables: Thai stir-fries may be a bit spicier than regular stir-fries, but that’s why you like Thai food anyway, right?
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