Treat Your Family Well – Eating Out for Better Health
The New Year is here and, chances are, it was ushered in with lists of resolutions. If your family’s New Year’s resolutions include health and nutrition-related goals, eating out at restaurants doesn’t have to be thrown by the wayside to achieve them.
As a Together Counts™ ambassador, we at Healthy Dining recognize the importance of adding healthy habits into each and every day, and that includes when you and your family are away from home. Many families typically eat out several times per week these days, and that equals a delicious opportunity for a healthier lifestyle now and throughout the year.
With a few expert tips like these and smart choices along the way, your family can enjoy dining out and still accomplish your New Year’s resolutions for better nutrition, more energy, a healthier lifestyle or whatever your health goals for the year may be:
- Be aware of portion sizes. Even a healthy meal can contribute to weight gain if portion sizes are too big. Share entrées or box up half your meal for later. Look for the smaller entrées now available on many restaurant menus.
- Use MyPlate as a guide. Encourage everyone in the family to make half of his or her plate fruits and vegetables and to opt for whole grains and lean proteins at every meal.
- Order Healthy Dining and Kids LiveWell menu choices whenever possible. These meals are hand selected by Healthy Dining’s team of registered dietitians and meet specified nutrition criteria, thereby enabling you to take the guesswork out of ordering at restaurants.
- Keep meals exciting with world cuisine. Opting for new cuisines can help your family get out of a meal time rut and introduce kids to new foods and flavors. Follow these tips for ordering the best choices at a variety of restaurants – from Mexican to Italian to Vietnamese.
The tips above – and also searching HealthyDiningFinder.com for dietitian-recommended menu choices at restaurants nationwide – can help your family achieve health-related New Year’s resolutions this year.
What are your family’s health resolutions for the New Year? How do you plan to stay on track away from home?
Healthy Dining Finder was born out of a passion to find menu choices with vibrant fruits and vegetables, hearty whole grains and flavorful lean proteins at every restaurant. Healthy Dining Finder believes that now is the time for every American to rediscover how to truly treat themselves well with all the best food, finding the health and vitality that comes from enjoying tantalizing culinary creations found at Healthy Dining restaurants nationwide.
For more healthy ways to mix up your meals, check out these other articles from Together Counts!