Preparing for All Eventualities

Wine and Fish on Plates An important part of life-long wellbeing, particularly when you are changing your habits, is being prepared for all situations. Real life can sometimes ambush you, and you don’t necessarily want to have to plan your way through life to the point where you can’t possibly do anything spontaneous!

If a friend asks you meet them for lunch, or your partner wants to whisk you off to a restaurant, there’s no need to stress about what it’s going to do to your diet. Going out for a meal with family or friends is usually a time of celebration and and can be treated as such.
Regular restaurant visits however will mean that you have to be much more careful and conscious, making informed and deliberate choices from the menu.

Here are a few really helpful guidelines to ‘eating out consciously’:

Eating Out Guidelines

• When you arrive at the restaurant, ask for a glass of water straight away. Still water – no ice and twenty minutes before you eat is perfect, as you will not be flushing away your precious digestive enzymes.

• Don’t starve yourself beforehand – either to make room for more or to make up for eating out. Either way is not your healthiest option! Remember that it is not about gorging as much as possible, even if it’s a tempting ‘eat-all-you-can’ buffet!

• Enjoy the whole process; remember to choose the food that feels good, the food that offers vibrancy and life-force. After enjoying your selection process, then appreciate the colours and textures of your food. Then simply enjoy each mouthful – savouring it, chewing it slowly to maximize on your nutritional absorption.

• A trip to a restaurant does not need to translate into mass over-consumption of alcohol and fizzy drinks. Instead order water or herb teas. I always have a pot of green tea if I go to a Chinese restaurant. If I do want wine, I choose organic as it is cleaner, with fewer chemicals – or as a real treat, champagne. The process that Champagne goes through is different to wine and therefore it is not ‘yeasty’ – which is something many people react to.

• Don’t be swayed by what other people are ordering – make your choice(s) for you and stick with them.

• Vegetable and light soups are great for filling up on, but avoid the cream-based ones. The same is true of pasta dishes – tomato-based sauces would normally be free from cream, and even better with a squeeze of lemon juice to break up the acidity!

• Ask the waiter how the food is cooked. Don’t be afraid to check whether the dish you fancy can be cooked without butter, and ask them to serve it without the dressing – request olive oil and lemon juice instead. If I eat Chinese food, I always ask that they do NOT use monosodium glutamate –a flavour enhancing chemical it’s in all junk food. Instead they can use a good quality tamari / shoyu / soya sauce for a fuller flavour, or extra garlic or ginger. There are always alternatives.

bcb_side_salad • Remember that you are the customer, and you are paying for the food, and it is perfectly ok for you to make appropriate enquiries about the food you want to eat. Any chef will tell you that they want their customers to truly enjoy their food, and by ensuring that it fits with your dietary needs – it’s a win win.

• If the menu seems to be limited in selection, check out the starters and side dishes for healthier options. You can usually order a selection of starters and side dishes as a substitute for the actual main course. (You know, sometimes that’s the best route to take, I’ve enjoyed some great food by ordering from those sections – streamed veg with a side salad, hummous and olives, hmmm!)

• Eat slowly. Chat between mouthfuls, and put your cutlery down between each mouthful too. Don’t be swayed if everyone else is eating faster than you. Eat in manner that you know will serve you best. Remember, the more you chew your food, the more nutrition you get from it! Observe that those who wolf their food down suffer with wind and digestion problems.

bcb_dessert • Desserts in most restaurants are normally far too big and rich. You could always share desserts among your guest(s), sharing gives you a chance to taste and sample a couple of different desserts, and if it’s a cosy meal for two you’re enjoying, it can be quite a bonding experience! Again though, don’t invest heavily in the creamy desserts – you may suffer with a dairy mucus hangover the next day!

Bearing those points in mind will mean that eating out need not be a problem when you’re eating more healthily – preparation and consciousness is the key!

A pleasurable meal spent with special people in your life is a joyful occasion. Your carefully-honed conscious appreciation of that meal will absolutely add to it.

Most importantly – in-joy it!

Happy dining!