Not all of us cook and at the weekend, many of us will be eating out more than we stay at home and cook.

Let’s talk about some of the ways that we can help ourselves keep on our path of maintaining healthy nutrition habits without sacrificing some of our favorite culinary locals!

Why Does Food From A Restaurant Taste Better?

Here’s the thing about food, it’s gotta taste good if you wanna eat it. When ever food is a business, they have to make it good so you’ll come back and tell your friends. While we can make delicious meals at home, somehow these chefs can always make something even better in their kitchens!

The secret you’ll find most chefs have found, as did our grandmothers, is that fat makes literally everything taste better.

Butter, canola oil, peanut oil, lard, and vegetable oil are all great ways to make food taste amazing. They are all also high in Omega 6’s (which aren’t evil, we just eat too much of them) and can increase the fat content of our meals beyond what we need for our daily intake.

Making a Small Change:

A constant diet of eating out will by no means kill you, or even be the end to a perfect diet. Just it requires a level of vigilance that can be exhausting when trying to live a normal life.

Now most of you reading this are busy and cooking at home is not always an option, nor am I suggesting eating at home exclusively as a solution to any diet problems.

But, we can attempt to replace 1 meal out with 1 home cooked meal either via meal prep for work OR at home for dinner.

By doing this we bring one meal totally within our control. Removing anxiety from the “am I eating well” anxiety the befalls us when having a specific weight goal in mind.

An at home meal also provides a chance for growth of our skills as a human by trying new dishes, as well as a time have meditation.

The tasks of cooking aren’t really exhausting. After we cut and clean everything, our appliances do most of the work for us. The tasks we do have to do, apart from knife work, are fairly mindless tasks. Meaning, once we get the ball rolling on these tasks, we can be alone with our thoughts and solve through problems in our day. This, along from the sense of accomplishment we feel from completing tasks, can leave us feeling happier about our days.

Now I know that sounded very Hank Hill, but, when I was working 16 hour days in the first 2 years of being a gym owner, cooking is the place where I found some of my best thinking time.

Putting Take-Out In Our Corner

For the rest of the meals that we won’t change, the goal is to eat “whole-foods” at the restaurants that we love most.

No, not the Bezos pantry. The foods we have been having y’all have this whole time. Foods that are found in nature. Things you can find in the perimeter of your grocery store. If you pull it out of the ground, pull it off a branch, take it out of a tree, or hunt it, it is most likely a whole food (don’t think about the drugs that also can be collected by these means. Here’s looking at you coca plant)

For an example of choosing a restaurant, we are gonna look at a menu and I’ll tell y’all what I would pick:

Torchy’s Tacos: https://torchystacos.com/menu/

Since you live in Texas, your employers probably order Tacos, BBQ, Donuts, or Kolaches to feed everyone during some all hands on deck days. So, let’s take a look at a classic restaurant of choice, Torchies!

On their menu you don’t have much in the way of options. You get about 19 tacos, a salad, and a burrito for main courses. What can you do to walk out of here still eating well, but making better choices.

The best way to do this is by going for the tacos. Avoid anything that is fried, made with processed flour (white flour), high fat meats, and has lots of cheese. What this will do is reduce things that add tons of calories and can make you feel sluggish later in the day.

This makes your options easier, the tacos should be on corn and you’ve nixed much of the menu. Leaving us with: Green Chile Pork, Brushfire, Democrat, and Mr. Orange. Tacos, that all include some vegetables and still taste great. Are they the healthiest things you can eat? Not compared to brown rice and grilled chicken, but they are the best things you could have when at this restaurant while trying to eat better.

Applying This To Your Favorite Spots

Eating at a restaurant/ ordering take-out is and will always be a part of our lives. Whether it’s to experience new flavors, to avoid making a mess after cleaning the kitchen, or because turning on the burner on your stove gives you anxiety, you are going to go to a restaurant or two. When you are out to relax and have an experience, go enjoy yourself! An occasional meal won’t throw off all the hard work you’re putting in!

If you are eating out often or don’t want to have that feeling of, “man tomorrow’s workout is gonna suck,” then use the tools ya learned here to breathe easier when looking at a menu. Making small changes to some of your favorite meals or trying different options from you favorite locations can be a fun experience, while still working towards what ever your health and fitness goals may be!

To talk with a coach today, click the link found HERE to schedule your No Sweat Intro