Happy Tuesday Divas! How are your “Cut the Crap” efforts coming? Weekends are hard but sometimes Mondays are even harder in terms of staying on track.
I JUST posted about planning ahead and alas….I did NOT plan ahead yesterday. I got home a lot later than usual yesterday because I had a CPR class. I FORGOT to take out our lean ground beef. Soooo, I tried my Mother’s method of putting the frozen meat container in cold water for 30 minutes. NOTHING, still frozen solid.
My children are chanting about how hungry they are and my husband says….”Let’s just go and pick up something”. Just before the horror music started to play in my head, my oldest daughter asked if she could pick the restaurant since she made an “A” on her math test.
She studied really hard so we let her choose. MISTAKE! She chose a local diner/dive that sells breakfast 24 hours a day. This is not my favorite place to eat normally but now that I am “Cutting the Crap” it is soooo NOT on the list.
So we get to the restaurant and slide into the booths. It takes me at least ten minutes to read the entire menu then decide what I was going to order. I ended up ordering some ol dry chicken, asparagus and water.
Let’s just say I left that meal unfulfilled. However, I DID laugh and talk with my family which is priceless!
So Divas, learn from my mistake! Follow these tips when eating out and ENJOY your food:
1. Research the restaurant BEFORE you go. (Here we are right back at planning–smh!) Most restaurants have their menu online. Most large chains also have the nutritional information and ingredients online as well. (Local dives like where we went…not so much.)
2. Eat something at home before getting to the restaurant. This will make passing on the appetizers and bread easier because you won’t be famished.
3. Drink water. Free refills are an easy way to large amounts of sugar or chemically altered products that are turned into sugar. For a little flavor, add lemon or lime to your water. If all else fails remember, drinking water saves you almost $3.00 per meal!
Do you have any tips for eating out while following a healthy meal plan?
Be picky! That’s my biggest tip, be the one to speak up and pick the place to eat so you don’t end up at the Mexican place with the irrestable margaritas. Also ask for substitutes. My family loves JP Looneys. But instead of getting a Philly cheese steak with fries I get a chicken Philly with no bread (so chicken breast, onions ADD peppers no cheese) and fruit or side salad. It may cost extra to get the salad but you are saving money NOT ordering a soda. Also, pass up the “free foods” say no to the bread or chips and salsa. If the other people in your party want bread ask for the number of people minus 1. None left for you =no temptation. Finally, I always ask for a box when they bring my meal. If I box half of it up right away I won’t overeat! Good luck ladies. With a little planning you can enjoy a night out without blowing all your hard work!
In the second week of the challenge I wanted to share some fab. food finds and ask fellow Divas for great ideas to keep the menu varied. My biggest find is backyard produce, you can find them on FB. They bring fresh organic produce to our door every week!!! So excited about this! Also, Boom Chicka Pop popcorn has replaced my processed chips (avail at Costco) and we found Hodgson mill whole wheat pancakes and agave nectar maple (avail at Harris Teeter) for breakfast treats that are natural and in my 4 year olds words “Delish!” What fab food finds have you discovered on your Cut the Crap journey?