Traveling and the Phit Lifestyle

Part 3 - Dining out in Phit style

Okay you say, packing snacks and small meals are no problem, but how do I handle eating out. I mean you aren’t the chef, right?

Dining out doesn’t need to be a scary experience. As with anything we need to go into it with a plan. Knowing what restaurant we will eat at is a great start. Also, go into it having some sort of idea of what you want to eat. I mean just the basics. Is this your MB (metabolic boost) meal or do you just want a good healthy dinner? Chicken, steak, fish? What is your poison?

Personally, I don’t even look at the menu if I know that I’m trying to keep within my menu style of clean eating. I mean why even tantalize yourself with the many options? My philosophy is that if I don’t own it I can’t eat it and once the order comes out of my mouth, I in essence, “own it”.

Last night, I decided that I wanted salmon. I love salmon and if I can get it I will. As soon as the waiter came and asked me for my drink order I told him that I would like “dry grilled salmon” over a plate full of steamed veggies. I’m not picky on the veggie part so what ever they have is fine with me.

Now I will say that you will be asked if you want a potato, salad with dressing, rice anything because someone asking for this kind of food is not the norm for most restaurants and this is where you need to be strong. If you have your plan in mind then you must stick to it and if you must, write it down and read it off to him/her.

There are a few vocabulary words that you should learn during your dining out experience.

Avoid:
• Heavy or cream sauces
• Blackend – this sounds healthy but to get that nice crispy part, normally lots of butter or some type of oil is used.
• Fried, breaded or stuffed ANYTHING
• Sour creams and butters. (These aren’t the lo-fat version, folks)
• Skip the bread and rolls. If you can see that it is offered on the menu just tell them you don’t need it.

Ask for:
• Baked, broiled or grilled, poached or steamed
• Extra veggies
• Salad dressing on the side or just choose balsamic vinegar and olive oil that YOU apply to the salad
• Choose, water, diet drinks or unsweetened tea and coffee.