Dining Out Without 'Diet Cheating'

  Eating out occasionally can be a nice alternative to cooking at home, but it can also throw your healthy lifestyle for a loop. Restaurant food is often delicious, but can also have hidden health consequences. Here's the good news - there are healthier choices that you can make while eating out.

Whether you're trying to loose weight, manage high blood pressure or diabetes, follow these guidelines and your body will thank you later.

Go healthy...Most restaurants offer healthier, low salt alternatives on their menu. While most of us aren't willing to order a grilled chicken salad every time we eat out (me included), we can still make small, but important changes.

Order vegetables, like broccoli, as your side instead of french fries. Also, take a break from fried fish and choose the 'grilled' for a change. You get the picture? These small changes add up.

Eat less. Many restaurants serve fairly large portion sizes. Use this to your advantage and share a main dish with a friend or only eat half and take the rest home. A healthier choice, plus you'll save money at the same time.

Here's another strategy - Since it can be tempting to eat everything on your plate, divide the food in half before you ever begin eating. Just push one half to the side and you'll be ready when it's time to ask for a 'to go' box.

Savor your food. Eat small bites and pay attention to the taste and texture. Chew slowly and thoroughly and try putting your fork down for a while between bites. Staying focused on your food may help you feel satisfied while eating a smaller amount as well. If you find this challenging, make sure to have plenty of interesting conversation planned for dinner. It's difficult to eat and talk at the same time! This strategy has never let me down.

Say no to bread. It’s easy to scarf down multiple pieces of bread without even noticing, while you’re waiting for your meal. This can add many calories that you weren’t planning to consume. Want to avoid the temptation altogether? If it’s okay with your friends or family, ask the server not to bring bread to the table, or only to bring one piece for each person.

Fruits and veggies are your friends. Try to make fruits and vegetables a significant part of your meal. Choose a side salad as one of your sides (it's usually a choice). It will help satisfy your hunger, leaving you with leftovers and the yummy 'to go' box that I mentioned earlier (as well as a free lunch for the following day).

Final tip. Let's say that you can't help yourself and you pick the least healthy item on the menu every time. First of all, stop doing that...LOL. Secondly, how about making a deal with yourself to order steamed vegetables as a side. Oh, and not the ones that are sauteed in butter or covered with a heavy sauce. 

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with my social icon 'sharing' buttons at the bottom of the page.

----------------- Sensational Seasonings is a gourmet seasonings company located in Johnson City, TN. Our healthy and delicious product line includes:  Cajun Blackening Seasoning, Chicken Seasoning, Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, Italian Seasoning and Pork Rub. Each of our seasoning blends is either salt-free or low-salt (meeting all guidelines of the FDA). Reducing the salt content in our seasonings allows you to get more flavor from all the herbs and spices we include, while allowing you take total control of your salt intake.  

Sources: Helpguide. “Healthy Fast Food: Tips for Making Healthier Fast Food Choices.” Accessed January 17, 2014. http://www.helpguide.org/life/fast_food_nutrition.htm Medical News Today. “How Many Calories Should I Eat?” Accessed January 17, 2014. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245588.php USDA Choose My Plate. “Tips for Eating Healthy When Eating Out.” Accessed January 17, 2014. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-tips/tips-for-eating-out.html WebMD. “Estimated Calorie Requirements.” Accessed January 17, 2014. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/estimated-calorie-requirement

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'Fabulous Four' Must Use Flavors

At Sensational Seasonings we are all about great flavor and finding every possible way to maximize it! Imagine - it's Friday night and you're having some friends over for dinner, so you go all out preparing a delicious meal. Now imagine your frustration, when the dinner that you spent hours preparing, just doesn't have the 'zing' that you were looking for. It's bland, despite all the herbs and seasonings that you used.

What happened?

With most recipes, there are four distinct flavors that are necessary to make your dinners impress. Leaving out just one of these makes a big difference and may even cause you to overcompensate by making it more salty or sweet. Think about it...salt is inexpensive and that's why many processed foods have sodium levels that are off the chart!

So what are these four magical potions?

Well, I've already mentioned two of them...salt and something sweet. The other two are spicy and sour. However, let's say that you don't like spicy food...or you are trying to cut back on salt. That's the beauty of these fabulous four, they balance each other out so that you don't have to go overboard with any one of them.

Here's an example and a great marinara sauce recipe...

Let's put into practice by making a marinara sauce. Start by sauteing minced onions, garlic, carrots, and celery cooking over medium heat in olive oil. Next, let's enhance the flavor and add more ingredients.

Flavor #1 - Salt

Let's start with salt, 1/2 tsp to be exact. What salt does is actually bring out the natural flavors of food. There's a reason why marinara sauce from the grocery store tastes so good, it's loaded with salt! That's why it's better and healthier to make your own at home. Remember though, one of the benefits of cooking at home is to reduce your salt intake and make better choices, so take it easy with the salt.

Tip: Another way to incorporate some salt, without going crazy, is by using Parmesan cheese or bacon. Imagine finishing pasta with some Parmesan or adding some crispy bacon.

Flavor #2 Spicy

Back to our marinara recipe...Now add just a pinch of chili peppers or red chili flakes and a teaspoon of thyme (or for a nice mix of herbs and spices use Sensational Seasonings' salt free, Italian Herb. If using Sensational Seasonings, add two teaspoons along with a pinch of pepper flakes.  This is where spicy comes in. Spice works really well when it compliments some sweetness in a dish. Plus it really wakes up your pallet.

Tip: Here's another idea for adding just a little heat to a side dish that can come out tasting bland...Fried rice. If you're making fried rice, use  just a little sriracha or chili sauce.

Let's now add two heaping tablespoons of tomato paste. Even better, cook the tomato paste for a couple minutes which intensifies the flavors of the tomato even more and it gives it plenty of depth.

Flavor #3 Sour

Now for this flavor enhancer, we're talking about either acid or something sour. For this recipe, some red wine will do the trick. Add some wine to the pan and reduce it by half. Now add a can of pureed tomatoes.The flavor is going to become more intense and really create a good base. Something acidic, like this, works because it brightens things up and it cuts through the richness of some dishes.

Tip: With other dishes, lemon juice cuts through the richness and make the flavor bright and pop. This is why so many recipes call for it. Also, a touch of vinegar is great for a salad dressing because they're mostly made of oil which is rich. Balance it out with one part acid or vinegar. So much better!

Flavor #4 Sweet

For the fourth layer of flavor, we're going to add honey, which rounds out all the flavors perfectly. Especially for marinara sauce because tomatoes are very acidic and the honey helps cut through that acid. Another way to add sweetness is Molasses. Honey or some kind of 'sweet' is also important when making chili. Always add it gradually though and taste along the way.

Bonus Flavor - Richness

Here's a bonus to make your marinara sauce even better. If you'd like to add a rich, earthy flavor to this marinara sauce, try either mushrooms, soy sauce or Parmesan cheese (or all of the above). There you go! Don't forget these fabulous four, it makes cooking at home that much more enjoyable and fulfilling! And by cooking at home, you can take control of your diet, limit your salt intake and live a healthier life.

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Sensational Seasonings is a gourmet seasonings company located in Johnson City, TN. Our healthy and delicious product line includes:  Cajun Blackening Seasoning, Chicken Seasoning, Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, Italian Seasoning and Pork Rub. Each of our seasoning blends are either salt-free or low-salt (meeting all guidelines of the FDA). Reducing the salt content in our seasonings allows you to get more flavor from all the herbs and spices we include, while allowing you take total control of your salt intake.

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