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Love Eating Out? Love This!

Love Eating Out?  Love This! Adore eating out, but afraid of the consequences? The truth is that almost any cuisine can fit into a healthy lifestyle. Whether your passion is American, Chinese, French, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Thai or Middle Eastern, you'll find that by adhering to a few basic principles, you can sample all the tastes the world has to offer--with gusto instead of guilt! We'll look at a few tips here. For more, visit our new “Dining Out” course at the Atkins Learning Center.

• Eat foods high in protein. Protein boosts your metabolism and provides energy for your body to build and repair muscles, bones and other tissue and keeps you satisfied longer. Meats such as fish, chicken, pork and beef are a great source of protein.
• Choose carbohydrates that maximize your intake of fiber and nutrient content and minimize the impact on your blood sugar level. These smart carbohydrates can be found in unprocessed grains such as brown rice and in most fruits and vegetables.
• Select foods to maximize your intake of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Dark, leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are all good choices.
• Avoid refined sugars--no matter what they're called--and emphasize fruits and vegetables that have a low glycemic impact. Berries are a great selection. 
• Avoid trans fats--also called hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Trans fats have been linked to heart disease and diabetes, as well as other illnesses. Trans fats are most likely to show up in products that have been deep fried, but they also appear in many packaged goods.
• Don't hesitate to ask your waitperson what goes into a dish--and if he or she doesn't seem to know for sure, ask him or her to go check. Be polite, but be firm if necessary.
• Don't hesitate to request a substitution, or to request a dish either without sauce, or with the sauce or dressing on the side.

Thai Tips
If you love the spicy flavors of Thai food but worry that it doesn't fit your healthy diet, think again. The following substitutions are designed so you can enjoy a delicious Asian feast without fear.

• Try tom yum goog, a shrimp soup with straw mushrooms that's seasoned with lime juice, lemon grass and hot peppers, instead of dumplings or spring rolls. It's high in protein and low in sugar.
• For a protein-rich meal, order sautéed shrimp or beef with basil, chiles and onion as a replacement for noodle dishes like pad thai.
• To maximize your intake of crucial vitamins, eat sautéed mixed vegetables instead of fried rice.

Beyond Pizza & Pasta

When you're craving a taste of Italy, remember that Italian food encompasses more than familiar basics like spaghetti and meatballs or pepperoni pizza. Next time you eat Italian, try the following:

• Rather than an appetizer of fried mozzarella sticks, order mixed grilled vegetables or grilled portabella mushrooms.
• Instead of garlic bread, enjoy a salad of arugula and fennel with shaved Parmesan cheese.
• Have an escarole or stracciatella soup--an Italian version of egg drop soup--or a roasted or grilled seafood dish instead of any pasta
• Have a grilled, pounded chicken breast or pork loin in place of any risotto dish.

More Great Mexican Options

Mexican has a lot more to offer than rice, beans and cheese enchiladas. Try the following and you may begin to wonder what you ever saw in them in the first place:

• Instead of stuffed jalepeño poppers or chiles rellenos, maximize your protein with grilled chicken wings.
• Instead of quesadillas, try sopa de albondigas, a meatball and vegetable soup that will boost your protein and vitamin intake.
• Substitute a crunchy jicama salad for nachos. You'll reap benefits in the form of vitamins C and E, plus plenty of fiber.
• Replace any of the taco, tamale or enchilada platters with proteins such as the grilled fish (pescado) special of the day.
• Try pollo asado--grilled chicken--instead of chimichangas or flautas.
• Shrimp are even better in camarones al ajili--shrimp in a garlic sauce--than they are in shrimp enchiladas, which contain unnecessary carbs that can cause blood sugar spikes.
• A stunning substitute for any chicken-in-tortillas dish is a protein like turkey or chicken in a complex, dark mole sauce.

For a more detailed look at tips for dining your way through ten popular cuisines, take the time to enroll in “Dining Out: Your Guide to Healthy Restaurant Eating,” one of the great new courses available at the Atkins Learning Center.