In times of dieting, the restaurant, synonymous with extreme temptations, is often a favorite. In fact, a good restaurant with a main course, dessert and a glass of wine is about 1000 calories.
In fact, it is possible to have fun lighting up the plate and keep this festive moment in your daily menu.
Lawrence Plumi, MD, nutritionist, author of How to Lose Weight Happily When You Don’t Like Sports or Veggies, gives us the commandments to follow to thwart the pitfalls.
In an Italian restaurant, bye tiramisu
There’s no need to venture into an Italian restaurant if you ban pizza and its 700 calories. Opt for half a slice of ham, an egg and a variety of vegetables instead of a large four-cheese pizza.
Same trick for pasta: ditch the carbonara and very greasy lasagna and opt for seafood or tomato pasta.
On the dessert side, the tiramisu’s lightness is deceptive. One slice is 300 calories. Go for the fruit salad.
Tip: choose a restaurant with a varied menu that also offers risotto, antipasti, grilled meats, seafood and more.
In a Chinese restaurant, we avoid spring rolls
If Asian restaurants have a reputation for being diet-friendly, still watch out for the fried items (2 spring rolls = 200 calories), the sauces (1 sugar cube per teaspoon of sweet and sour sauce), and the high carb content of steamed rice and dumplings.
The coconut ball should also be set aside in favor of fruit or a scoop of sorbet.
Chicken or fish accompanied by vegetables and some rice, a few steams as an appetizer will make up a balanced menu. Another temptation to thwart: the all-you-can-eat buffet. No need to trouble yourself.
Japanese cuisine is low in fat, except for the good omega 3s in tuna and salmon, but very sweet, including coleslaw.
Sushi and maki are false friends, they are cooked with rice vinegar and sugar.
A 12-piece set equals 350 calories. Better miso soup and sashimi with some rice. At dinner, we skip starchy foods.
In an oriental restaurant without tagine or merguez
Couscous or tagines? The former is much less greasy. The one with chicken with vegetables and some semolina will be healthier than the one with lamb.
Merguez sausages and mint tea, each cup of which can contain up to 6 sugar cubes, should be forgotten.
In an Indian restaurant, not in naan
Same rule everywhere, avoid fried. On the contrary, the tandoori chicken served with rice and vegetables is recommended.
For sweet tooth lovers, spiced yogurt is a lean and sensible dessert.
Although delicious, cheese naan should be excluded: one serving is equivalent to two slices of full-fat cheese.
In a French restaurant without alcohol or chocolate fondant
The ideal menu combines raw vegetables, grilled meat or unfried fish with vegetables and fruit salad, cottage cheese or 2 spoons of sorbet.
All without bread and without alcohol. The glass of wine (150 calories) and chocolate fudge add 550 calories to the plate.
Tip: a few fries with the vegetables.
And what to do in the lunch break on the go?
The least caloric sandwiches are those rich in raw vegetables, without mayonnaise. The famous buttery ham saves the furniture with 300 calories.
For kebab addicts (400 calories), forget the fries and skip the white sauce. To compensate, it will be necessary to favor fruit at breakfast and exclude starchy foods and bread at dinner.
On the fast food side, a simple burger, salad without dressing, fries and a light soda will do the trick. Better yet, if you have 20 minutes, check out one of the many soup bars. In the summer, consider green or fruit juices to quench your thirst.
For later:
Read The Right Choice in Restaurants by nutritionist Béatrice Pichoud (Editions Thierry Souccar), who deciphers the 200 dishes most often served in restaurants and their calorie intake.