No one forbids gourmets from having lunch and dinner at the restaurant whenever they wish. Whether it's work, a romantic date or an evening with friends, it is a good rule to follow some rules to keep your weight from rising too much.
First of all we must focus on two fundamental aspects which are the quantity and quality of the foods we eat. The two things do not always go hand in hand and the consumer, considering also the economic aspect, generally seeks a good compromise between the two.
A first course a second course a dessert and a little wine can safely make us reach 1500 calories. If we order a pizza and a dessert, things are certainly not better since even in this case, 1000 calories are easily reached.
A meal like this is enough to nullify the caloric restriction of the previous days. At this point the choice is up to the consumer who, if he does not want to put on weight, or reduces the frequency of appointments with the restaurant or avoids excess food. There would actually be another choice, namely to practice a bit of sport during the week in order to enjoy some extra dietary luxury.
To keep the quantitative aspect under control it is best not to overdo the various portions and to eliminate the sweet at the end of the meal which in the best cases leads us to take at least 400 Kcal more. First courses are often considered to be the main culprits of excess calories but the latter must also be checked.
First courses: first and foremost, don't overdo the quantities. Avoid those cooked with added butter or those too greasy. If you order only a first course, try to prefer those that are balanced in the distribution of the various nutrients, as too often they are unbalanced in favor of carbohydrates. Examples of balanced first courses are: chicken spaghetti, olive oil and peppers, pasta with tuna, olive oil and tomato, pasta with minced meat and vegetables. Instead, they are unbalanced because they are too rich in carbohydrates and poor in proteins carried like: pasta with oil, pasta with tomato sauce, orecchiette with turnip tops. Even the addition of too rich in fat sauces like for pasta with amatriciana or carbonara unbalance the dish also raising its caloric content.
The second: choose the leanest cuts of meat. Boiled meats are excellent, grilled meat is a good choice but not perfect due to the carcinogenic substances that develop at the high temperatures to which it is subjected. A similar argument for fried foods that have the disadvantage of being high calorie. To the roasts we attribute a discreet score on condition that we use cuts that are not too fat and do not go overboard with the seasonings.
Fish is most often a healthy choice. Also in this case there are more or less fatty dishes but we recommend choosing it based on individual preferences, limiting yourself only to not exceed the quantities too much. In fact, the polyunsaturated fats contained in the fish, even if they bring the same calories as the other types, contribute to keeping cholesterol under control.
Try to order at the restaurant:
- Sliced beef with rocket instead of mixed grill
- Veal, lemon and vegetable carpaccio, instead of mixed cold cuts and croutons
- Swordfish fillet and green beans instead of mixed fry
- Spaghetti with parsley, zucchini and shrimp, instead of spaghetti carbonara
- Rice with olives, capers and tuna instead of Milanese risotto
- Grilled potatoes instead of fried potatoes
Quality. Not all that glitters is gold. Or if you prefer, everything that looks good is not all good. Preservatives, artificial flavors and additives in general are increasingly used to improve the characteristics of the products. Except for a few exceptions, homemade foods are better in terms of quality than those that are pre-cooked and / or frozen. Unfortunately, even restaurants have a whole range of ingredients that are not really healthy to enhance the flavor of their dishes.
Both in the industrial field and in the restaurant sector there are controls on the quality of the food and the ingredients used. If on the one hand we cannot trust the advertising that we see on TV but we must read carefully the ingredients and nutritional values shown on the label, on the other hand a higher cost does not always correspond to a better quality of the ingredients (although we cannot think that a menu including first course, water and coffee for 10 euros was prepared by carefully choosing the best ingredients).
In any case we can ask the waiter for information or if possible the chef to evaluate the seriousness of the place. If, for example, the chef also offers diet menus or for people with particular food intolerances, the impression we will get will certainly be good.
If the restaurateur emphasizes the genuineness of the ingredients proving to have a good food culture in all probability it is a place that is also attentive to the dietary and qualitative aspect of its dishes.
It is better to stay away from super crowded places that focus on quantity, on price containment and that offer only "binge" menu. In these cases love, care in preparation and the choice of ingredients is necessarily reduced to the minimum terms.
