It can be tricky eating healthily in restaurants or cafes when you don’t know what ingredients are in the dishes, but you can minimize the damage with these tips:
- Order pasta or baked potato. If it comes with a high-fat creamy sauce or sour cream, ask for it on the side and eat sparingly
- Order fish or chicken rather than red meat, and have it baked or grilled
- Go easy on margarine, butter, and fried foods
- Eat a little wholemeal rather than hunks of white bread
- Always get a sandwich without mayonnaise.
- Split dessert with your partner or, better still, have a straight mint tea
- Fill up first with a salad, with little or no dressing
- Eat vegetables first and resist ordering French fries. Steal a few from your partner instead
- Drink water instead of high-calorie soft drinks
10 quick healthy snacks
- Baked potato with chives and fat-free sour cream
- Veggie burger with lettuce and tomato
- Tablespoon of hummus on one piece of wholemeal bread/rice cake
- Celery sticks with hummus or peanut butter
- Piece of fruit
- Tablespoon of light cream cheese on a wholemeal roll
- Handful of soya nuts (roasted soya beans), unsalted
- Half a melon or papaya filled with low-cal yogurt
- Rice cake with low-fat cottage cheese and a slice of tomato
- One oatmeal biscuit
