Avesta Good Earth Foods

Eating healthy, either at the restaurant or take-out - is no small task, but it is possible!

Restaurant eating can be a challenge, if you are on a meal plan. You need willpower and perseverance. It's tough enough to be able to eat healthy in your own house. But even more challenges confront you when you pick and choose from a menu, and you do not know what and how the food you ordered will be cooked.

You can't march into the kitchen and hold the cook's hand when he or she adds more butter or shakes more salt on your food! To add to the problem, are the other pit-falls such as serving size, unhealthy cooking methods and so on? Most servings in restaurants are large, and the portion sizes are sufficient for two persons. The other problem faced when eating out is the unhealthy cooking methods like deep-frying, using sauces rich in butter and fat, which are employed by most restaurants.

Very often restaurants have few healthy choices on the menu. However, with working knowledge of nutrition, you can cat healthily in most restaurants. You need to ask questions about the choices on the menu, make a special request to get an item delivered the way you want it, and to control the amount you order and eat.

Decide when to eat out. Take a look at how often you are eating out. If eating regularly it is important to watch what one is eating. In case it is a rare occasion a few excesses may be ok

Be selective to seek out restaurants that offer healthier options or the opportunity to seek modifications

Avoid buffets – Buffets promote overeating. With all the temptation in front, it becomes easy to overindulge one feels it is value for money, but may be not health. For those eating from a buffet, the plate model may be used to eat healthy

Become a fat detective and recognize high-fat foods. If unsure ask how a special dish was cooked and the style of cooking. Avoid curries which have butter cream added to it like butter chicken as they are rich in fat

Understand portion sizes. A typical Naan available in a restaurant in equal to 4 home made rotis. If a serving size is very big, ask if it can be shared. If not, get the left-over food parceled for later

Make a request- Restaurants and chefs are increasingly conscious of special requirements

Exercise control. The best way not to eat too much is to order less. It is not important to order an entrée and a dessert even if the steward keeps asking for the entrée order

When ordering - Select foods which are either steamed, broiled, baked, roasted, poached, lightly sautéed or stir-fried. Look for foods which are cooked healthily. Order sauce and dressing on the side as this is an easy way to control portion sizes

	Healthy choice	Not healthy choice
Cereals / Pulses	Plain roti, plain naan, plain rice, idli, brown bread, bagel, bun, yellow dal, rajmah chole	Puri, parathas, kachoris, butter naan, bhaturas, biryani, croissant, dal makhni
Vegetables	Steamed, or stir fried vegetables, tawa or tandoori vegetables or those cooked with less gravy.	Vegetables cooked in thick gravy or deep fried like koftas, pakoras, aloo dums, potato chips, bhindi fry.
Meat/Fish/Chicken	Poultry and fish better than red meat, any dish which is boiled, steamed, tandoori, stirfried, or grilled, like tandoori chicken, or kababs, steamed or grilled fish.	Red meat with high fat content, fish or chicken that is deep-fried or cooked in rich gravy, like butter chicken, chicken kormas, fried fish, meat koftas.
Milk and its Products	Plain low fat milk, curd, yogurt, raita with vegetables. Paneer, Buttermilk.	Milk shakes, ice creams, dahi vada. Cheese in baked dishes.
Snacks	Idli, khaman, khandvi, dhokla, fruit chaat, upma, poha.	Vadai, pakora, samosa, bhajiyas, pies, patties.