What You Don't Know About Eating Out Could Hurt You

What could be bad about a restaurant meal? We're out of the kitchen, out with friends or family, and no clean up! I'd like you to read the "fine print" when it comes to restaurant eating. What you don't know can be harmful to your health. You can't assume the same rules apply in your home kitchen and the restaurant kitchen. From fast-food to high-end eateries, it's time to learn more about why your restaurant foods are so much tastier than your homemade version (yes, it's not your imagination!), how hidden calories, fat and salt add to this - and how to make some smarter choices.

Multiple lawsuits aimed at restaurants now focus on the "uninformed consumer". It's time to stop being the "food victim" and gain some control over what you're eating, no matter where you're eating. Ask for what you want, downsize your portion sizes, or just go out less often. The choice is yours.

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Before you go to a restaurant again, check out these 5 essentials:

1. Many restaurant foods are scientifically studied and designed to optimize tastiness. It's not just the individual sugar, fat, and salt content of foods. Studies show that the proportions of these combined ingredients in foods can be optimized to maximize a preferred taste. Think sugar/fat combinations (ice cream) or fat/salt combinations (French fries); their special blend boosts the flavor of either one alone. So, when you think that restaurant foods taste better than the same ones at home, you're right!

2. Calorie-controlled restaurant meals are not tested every day. While you might think that the 350 calorie entree you've ordered because the menu makes the claim, you might not get a calorie savings. Your meal can be off by hundreds of calories, as well as much more fat and salt than listed on the menu.. A dish is prepared once, or up to several times, to determine the specific calorie content, and content of fat, protein, and carbohydrates in that particular serving, to get the endorsement of particular group (like Weight Watchers and Applebees). It doesn't mean that every serving is like that. A finicky chef, an inattentive kitchen worker, or some other food handler might add extra fat, salt or sugar, or provide a bigger serving.

3. Restaurant food contains a lot of hidden salt. Salt is a major flavor enhancer. Restaurants want their foods to taste good. Many foods are loaded with salt - but don't have to taste "salty". The response is for food to taste "great". It works. Even healthy foods can be loaded with salt. Some entrees contain about half the salt recommended for healthy people in an entire day (about 1300 mg)! If you have high blood pressure, you've got to be even more careful of dietary salt.

4. Extra "hidden" fat is often added to keep foods "moist". Just like salt, your food doesn't have to taste greasy or oily for there to be a lot of extra fat. This "hidden" fat is translated to a mouth feel of "moist". Ever wonder why your baked fish tastes is so soft and juicy in a restaurant, and a lot drier when you're at home, monitoring the added fat?

5. You can only change your own eating behavior While lawsuits bring attention to this area, it's not going to change anything. We're not a nation of food victims, and we have to snap out of this mentality. You DO have a choice. Stay out of many restaurants, and cook at home. When that "formula" of tasty foods is out of sight, and out of mind, it makes it easier to stay in control.

Save restaurant eating for a special indulgence. If you're a restaurant regular, order simple foods, with sauces and salad dressing on the side; ask for "no butter" on grilled foods and vegetables.. Downsize your portions by sharing a main dish, or choosing two appetizers or small plates. You CAN take control of your restaurant eating!