Your Go To Eating Out Menu Items

So, obviously it's best when we can prepare our own food and track exactly what is going into our bodies, but sometimes, you're going to eat out.  What are your go-to menu items when you do?  And an added bonus is you probably always have leftovers.  =)

Shrimp ****tail.  And almost every restaurant has some sort of grilled chicken or fish.  Or you can eat the innards of sandwiches or tacos with refried beans.  Salads with some sort of protein, and I use salsa, pico, or a fat-free dressing.

Fish!!!  I love fish, so that's not a hardship for me.  Shell fish, too.  Then I either get a side veg or small salad.  And take most of my food home lol!

great tips already...if I'm in a pinch and there are some really slim pickins I will get a burger with no bun and no fries.

Also, a lot of places lately are having larger size appetizers aka "little plates" or tapas style and they are really a great choice for us VSGers! 

Easy answer - What would you eat at home?

Look for the same keywords - grilled chicken, turkey, etc.

The best thing to do is to plan eating out the way you do your menu at home.  Do not frequent restaurants that do not publish nutritional info.  Research the menu items at your favorite restaurants.  Plan your meal choices and substitutions.

I travel quite a bit for work.  What I do is research the restaurants in a new area.  Find a range of choices, and then look at the menus for ingredients and preparations - filter out anything fried, or with creamy sauces.  Then I look at the nutritional info for whats left.  From that I can plan my portion sizes and know what to log.

You also have the option of ordering off of the kids menu.  I never had a restaurant question me when I did that.  If someone did, I would just explain that I had an abdominal surgery and needed to.  My Dr. Gave me a wallet card to carry incase I needed it.  I never have.

Some of my go to choices:

Joey Menu Grilled Chicken on the Barbie and Steamd veggies from outback

Ruby Tuesday Barbecue Chicken with Grilled Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash

Chipotle Chicken Bowl with Cheese (no rice, chips, etc)

TGI Friday Asian Chicken Skewers

PF Changs Moo Goo Gai Pan (pick out the chicken, shrimp, and veggies)

Pei Wei Mongolian Chicken

Great choices on here, Rob!  I'm keeping this list so I can remember these options when I'm on the road.  Thanks!  

Thai Fresh Rolls

Cheesecake Factory Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Jimmy John's Turkey sandwich, sans bread

Grilled fish, grilled chicken, omelettes, VSG friendly soups (I usually will not order heavy cream soups or bisques, but have had wonderful gazpacho, cold pea soup, minestrone). Shrimp ****tail, crab ****tail, scallops, tuna salad, chicken salad, poached eggs with side of canadian bacon or turkey sausage, at bbq joints I usually look for smoked chicken which is often free of sauces and is moist if done correctly, Sashimi at sushi restaurants.

I've only eaten dinner out 1 time since surgery but I went first to the appetizers and then to the soup. I decided to get both. And that of course was a mistake. I didn't even get through 1/4 of the soup before I was done done done and wishing I had stopped earlier. Next week I have a biz trip and I've made plans for a seafood restaurant with a customer.

Lunch out is sushi (sashimi) generally speaking. Just a couple of pieces - a much much cheaper alternative than it used to be!

Oh, and I do have breakfast on Saturday mornings with my girlfriends. I usually order the 2X2X2, which gives me 2 eggs, 2 sausage, and 2 pancakes. I eat some of the protein and give the rest of the food to my 2 year old, who thinks it's the best thing in the world to share a plate with Mommy.

I don't eat out often but when I do I look for something grilled. I have gotten burgers and just taken the bun off. If I eat a sandwich from starbucks I will eat the egg cheese and meat, no bread. Im currently eating (for the 3rd time and will eat again tomorrow) a bowl from Boston Market. It is just chicken, steamed veggies and Im a corn lover so I did get the corn but I only eat a little bit and toss the rest. I eat pretty much anything within reason of course. :) For breakfast out I would order scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa! delish!!!