Dinner with friends is one of our culture’s most treasured experiences. Warm, pleasant atmosphere, friendly ambiance, delicious food; many a business deal or marriage proposal has been planned at popular restaurants. But what we’re now realizing is that “the good life” is not the best life when it comes to long-term health and well-being.

It’s a social pressure to which no one is immune. Jim Rohn describes this fact of life in this way, “It’s not the blowing of the wind that determines your destination, it’s the set of your sail.” In other words, we’re all subject to the same storms of life, it’s how we respond to these winds that determines our success or failure. So with respect to the pressures of “dinner with friends”, we need a strategy to help us navigate the storm of oily, salty or sugary menu items.

Below is a list of questions we’ve created for the purpose of helping you make better, healthier choices when going out to eat. These are just a sampling and will most likely need to be adapted to the specific location/situation you find yourself in. Remember, the goal is to find the most nutrient-dense item. In some places, there may be no such meal, in which case it’s best to go somewhere else. The “Must have” ordering tips are the ways you absolutely must have your meals served. The “Ordering options to ask” are the questions you should ask to help you make the best selection off the menu.

Appetizers
1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese/butter/white bread/deep fried anything
b. Lemon on the side
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Which appetizer would you say is the healthiest?
b. Can I add fruits or vegetables?
c. Can I get nuts on the side?
d. Can I get the vegetables raw or slightly steamed?

Breakfast dishes

1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese/butter
b. No syrup/white sugar/jams
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Do you have egg substitute? Or can I get just egg whites?
b. Do you have whole wheat/multi-grain bread or pancakes?
c. Do you have almond milk or soy milk?
d. Can I get raw nuts & raisins with my oatmeal?
e. Can I get extra fresh fruit?

Italian/Pasta dishes

1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese/alfredo sauce
b. Lemon on the ide
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Do you have whole wheat/grain pasta?
b. What type of oil is used? Is olive oil avail?
c. Can I get extra (fresh) mushrooms/spinach/tomatoes/red bell peppers/green bell peppers?
d. Can I have the pasta sauce on the side?

Salads/Veggies

1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese/bacon bits
b. Lemon on the side
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Can I get raw nuts? i.e. walnuts, pecans, almonds.
b. Can I get extra greens? Avocado?
c. Can I get the dressing on the side?
d. What oil is used in sautéing the veggies?

Soups

1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese
b. Little to no added oil
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Can I get the soup with Tofu?
b. Can I get extra veggies?
c. Can I substitute brown rice or multi-grain bread in place of white bread?

Mexican Cuisine

1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese
b. No lard
c. Lemon on the side
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Do you cook with lard? In the beans? In the rice?
b. What oil is used to sauté the fajitas?
c. Can I get Tofu in place of meat?
d. Can I get whole beans (Frijoles de la Olla)?
e. Can I get extra veggies? Avocado?

Breads/Sandwiches

1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese/butter/white bread
b. Little to no added oil
c. No mayo
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Can I get whole wheat/multi-grain bread? Gluten free?
b. Can I get extra veggies?
c. Can I get avocado?

Asian Cuisine (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese)

1. “Must have” ordering tips
a. No meat/cheese/deep fried/tempura
b. Little to no added oil
c. Lemon on the ide
2. Ordering options to ask
a. Can I get Tofu?
b. Do you have whole wheat or brown rice noodles?
c. Do you use MSG* in any of your recipes?
d. What brand sauce do you use? Does it have High Fructose Corn Syrup?
e. Do you have low sodium soy sauce?
f. Can I have the sauce (curry, teriyaki, etc.) on the side?

Remember, the primary goal is to select the most nutrient-dense options!

* Other names for MSG: hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed casein, hydrolyzed soy, etc.

“RULE-OF-THUMB” NUTRITION TIPS
Inspired by Jeff Novik’s “Should I eat that” video

The purpose of this strategy of asking questions and making changes/substitutions when ordering at a restaurant is to identify the nutritional red flags in those menu items that you love, even if the dish is a “salad”.

For example, the house salad at Olive Garden has 110 calories (of which 80 are from fat), but has 680 mg of sodium – and that’s just the salad – add the bread, the entree and dessert and you’ve indulged in a tasty treat loaded with oil, fat, salt and sugar.

Even the healthiest dish off the “Lighter Italian Fare” tips the scale away from being a nutrient dense meal. Use these rules of thumb to make the best selection possible (values are daily values).

1. Sodium content should be less than 1:1 ratio of calories per serving to mg of sodium. This requires the restaurant have nutrition facts available. Most chain restaurants have this information, most “Ma & Pa” restaurants do not. If this is available, then do the calculation. Example: Calories/serving: 110 x 10% = 11 mg of sodium. Most menu items will fail this test (the Olive Garden salad has 170% more sodium than you need) so you must decide if this will be a one-time indulgence, share it, or if you pass on ordering the dish.
2. Fat content (calories from fat) should be less than 20% of calories per serving. Example: Calories per serving: 110 x 20% = 22 calories from fat or less.
3. Added sugar** should be no more than 3 grams (1 g = 4 calories). To put this in context, there are 4.2 grams of sugar in a teaspoon or 16 calories per teaspoon; a 12 oz can of Coke has 39 grams or 160 calories. When selecting a dessert item, keep in mind a slice of cake with frosting has at least 10 grams of sugar; one scoop of vanilla ice cream has about 15 grams of sugar.
4. Total calories for any restaurant meal should be between 600 – 700! This is assuming you comply with the 2000 calorie per day dietary recommendations for the average person.

Final thought: The more you practice, the better you’ll get at this strategy, the better you get, the more your taste buds will adapt. In the end, you’ll eat better.

** Unless the menu item is fresh fruit, you can safely assume most desserts have added sugar.