Eating a Healthy Diet - Away from the Home By, Jim Hicks Now that you know the truth about nutrition, you have probably realized that most restaurant foods on the menu are woefully lacking in nutrients and contain far too much fat, salt, oil and animal protein.  Most people think that a pretty healthy meal would be anything with the word “salad” in it. Well, that's simply not the case, since most salads on the menu derive the majority of their calories from the dressing, the cheese, the bacon and other unhealthy items that are piled on top.  The fact is, with the exception of the offerings in a growing number of vegetarian specialty restaurants, most menu items do not pass our test of being a health-promoting entree…because the majority of the calories do not come from whole, plant-based foods.  That's the bad news; now for the good news. The good news is that it's really not that difficult to eat a healthy meal while eating away from home, and it can actually be a fun adventure to create healthy options at local restaurants, while traveling, or when at dinner parties & banquets.  We have put together a recommended strategy for dealing with the following "dining-away-from-home" situations:   Dining Out in Local Restaurants Seek out restaurants that are likely to have some healthy foods in the kitchen. We find that Asian and Mexican restaurants tend to be your best bet. They may not have the healthy entrée items on the menu but they will be able to put together a healthy option at your request.  Italian, Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants are also good options. 1.  First, scan the menu, searching for healthy side orders and entrees that could be fairly healthy with a few modifications.  Also look for vegetables and other whole foods that might be matched on the menu with certain not-so-healthy entree items. 2.  Modify An Entree. Select an entree that features healthy whole foods and modify it. We frequently order the Tiger Shrimp entree at one favorite restaurant and tell them to "hold the shrimp" and add extra vegetables and seaweed. The price usually works out to about half of the listed entree. 3.  Ask if the chef will create a vegetable plate for you and request that they use little or no oil, salt or cheese in the preparation.    4.  Look for side orders on the menu.  At one local restaurant, we frequently order a side order of black beans & rice with a triple order of the vegetable of the day (usually broccoli or green beans).  At $1.50 per side, this works out to $6 for a very nutritious, delicious and filling meal (menu entrees average $18). 5,  Order a huge salad, add things like beans or cooked vegetables and maybe a side of whole grain rice or pasta to help fill you up. Ask for dressing like balsamic vinegar or lemon juice on the side. 6.  If four of you are dining together, consider ordering one full entree with salmon or chicken and then a bunch of sides to suit your personal tastes. Then, eat family style, with everyone eating a much smaller portion of the rich, and not-so-healthy entree...using the "main" course as somewhat of a condiment. 7.  If you dine out often, the staff at your favorite local restaurants will enjoy creating things for you or will happily prepare one of your favorites. 8.  A word of caution: Many restaurants today will have the "obligatory" single vegetarian entree option. But as we all know, just because it is vegetarian doesn't mean that it is necessarily a healthy choice. You're probably better off creating your own and being very specific about how you want it...leaving out the white flour, oil, salt and cheese that you will frequently find in the vegetarian entrée as listed on the menu. 9.  For example, a typical Pasta Primavera will have lots of white flour pasta, precious few vegetables and a thick, rich, creamy sauce.  We suggest ordering an appetizer portion of the pasta with the sauce on the side; then ask them to bring all of the vegetables by themselves in a plate, making sure that they add enough vegetables to fill the plate. Eating on the road…While Driving All Day When available, seek out the local restaurants and follow the above guidelines; otherwise, you can usually create a pretty healthy meal at many of the national chains like Applebees, Olive Garden, etc. In these situations, follow the same general guidelines as for the local restaurants above. At Subway, you can create your own vegetable sandwich. Keeping a bag of fruit and/or nuts in the car is also a good idea. Finding Healthy Food in Airplanes and Airports Pack easy-to-eat foods like apples, oranges, raisins, bananas, nuts and trail mix in your bag. Eat the fruit portion of the served lunch on the plane and offer the remainder of your meal to the person next to you (It's not that we don't care about our seat-mate's health, we just don't like waste if it can be avoided). If you have layovers at major airports, you can frequently find healthy food combinations at the Asian and Mexican restaurants within the airport. At Parties, Banquets or in a Friend's Home What you do in these situations depends on how well you know the people. Here are some tips: On occasion, you may be able to select a customized healthier option in advance. Before leaving for the function, go ahead and have a healthy snack at home so that you will not be that hungry when you arrive. During cocktail hour, load up on the healthy hors d'oeuvre items before sitting down to dinner. If it's a buffet style dinner, no problem; just load up on the things you want and no one will notice anything unusual, as you will certainly have a full plate. If the host is serving your plate, just quietly explain that your doctor (Dr. Fuhrman) has you on a special diet and that you would like to forego the entree and add more vegetables or salad items to your plate. ***************************************** While sometimes challenging, eating on the road can be satisfying and fun if you follow some of our simple guidelines.  You will likely experience more success if you learn to be very specific, while being as courteous and polite as possible in all situations.  When explaining to others what your dietary preferences are, we recommend that you tell them precisely what you would like to have.  Since the most nutritious foods are plant-based, some people tend to use words like “vegetarian” or “vegan” to convey what they want to the chef.  We find that using those words often backfire on you because they only convey some idea as to what "you DON'T eat," and leave a lot to the imagination as to what "you DO eat."  Leaving the contents of your meal to others' imaginations can be hazardous to your health…so Be Specific!   More good news:  Healthy eating is rapidly becoming trendy, much more acceptable and available. It is also a very environmentally "green" way to eat, and that too is growing in popularity.  We think it's already fun to eat out, but it's going to be a lot more fun in the future. And you will be glad to know that your dinner tab will cost about half of what you have been spending in the past. Bon Appetit!