Ten Tips: How to Eat Healthy at Your Favorite Steak House

Ten Tips: How to eat healthy at your favorite steak house.

1. Read entire menu. If you do flip out and choose something sort of unhealthy, ask the server for a box prior to eating. As your dinner is served, immediately box up everything but small servings of heavy duty items.

2. Order a bowl of clear soup. It will likely have few calories and will help to satisfy your hunger.

3. Order a "small" salad. [Do not let yourself believe that a huge salad with tons of dressing and tons of items containing fats piled on top is low calorie.] Ask to have dressing served at the side. Oil and vinegar or low cal dressings are often best. Dip your salad pieces into the dressing rather than lathering dressing over your salad. If you do want to enjoy regular dressing - again - just use less.

4. Order a small size steak. The portion size should be about the size of a woman's palm - around three inches. A small fillet is often a good choice as it should also be quite lean.

5. Choose a baked potato. A baked potato itself makes for very healthy eating. Ask for sour cream and/or butter at the side if you absolutely must have it. Use a small amount as needed. Do not get the "loaded" potato.

6. A side of veggies is good. However, ask how veggies are cooked. If they come to your table rolling in butter etc., their health status quickly is lowered. Ask for steamed veggies served without sauces. Maybe you will ask for a double serving of veggies and delete another item that would be less healthy.

7. Yes, you can have some of that delicious looking dessert. The trick is to order one or two desserts for your table with enough forks for all to have a taste. One taste of most desserts contains perhaps 100 calories and could satisfy your sweet tooth. Enjoy a good cup of tea or coffee with that dessert to make it seem more special.

8. Choose steak served kabob style with veggies. Often these are grilled with special herbs and spices and the taste is wonderful. You will be able to enjoy a tasty meat selection for only a few hundred calories.

9. Check appetizers prior to ordering an entree. You may decide to choose a shrimp cocktail and small steak salad rather than a large entree. Again, you would be enjoying the best of offerings, yet being very healthy.

10. Try to leave the bread in the basket. You can ask not to be served bread or you can have a taste and then have it removed. If you're with a group and everyone is raving about the bread, enjoy a piece. A small slice or a few bites would be 100 calories or less.

With good planning and follow through, eating at a steak house can be enjoyable and satisfying. For less than or around 1000 calories you will have a great meal. If you feel you'll be eating more calories than normal, eat less earlier in the day to balance your intake.

Calories

[If you are counting carbs this would also be within your limit of 45-60 per meal. However carbs cannot be traded off and on during the day.]

Lemon water - 0
Clear soup - 100 - 200
Shrimp cocktail - 250
Small steak - 300
Baked potato - medium - with a tbsp of dressing - 250
Small salad with dressing - 200 [no cheese, ham etc.]
veggies - 1 serving steamed - 50
kabobs - 250-300 [of course depends upon serving size]
taste of most any dessert - 100
tea/coffee - no added condiments - 0

Enjoy your special evening at the steak house. Don't pout because you can't have a plate size steak with tons of sour cream and butter on your huge potato and a calorie laden salad with a huge slice of chocolate dessert and several caloric beverages.

Tomorrow you will feel much better about yourself and the choices you made.