Healthy Food at a Restaurant?

Healthy Food at a Restaurant?

I try for a healthy diet. And I like to (and often must) eat at a restaurant. But they tend to serve food that is lacking in vegetables, salty, un-nutricious (iceberg lettuce, potatoes, white bread, corn), and in huge servings. So - what to do?

First, let me define veggie - any healthy vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, mushrooms. Not included is corn, wheat, iceberg lettuce, potatoes. I try for five servings every day.

I have a big Omega 3 dish every week - salmon, mackerel, sometimes other fish. Grouper, red snapper, halibut, mahi-mahi are great but I worry about mercury.

Whole wheat pasta is preferred to the usual - there is no taste hit, but on thick pasta like penne the texture of whole wheat is not good. Whole wheat bread is preferred to white bread if it doesn't ruin the taste/texture. I'm happy with whole wheat bread on many sandwiches, toast, French toast, but not pizza, subs, appetizer breads.

Minimal salt. Too much and I get dry mouth.

Iced tea, no sugar, no lemon for me. Nice slightly bitter flavor. No calories, some good antioxidants.

So where and how do I get these difficult to find foods? First, big chains that are located near me, then local places, and a note on pizza places in general.

Olive Garden - as COVID related staffing problems killed my favorite local and nearby Italian restaurant, Olive Garden rebuilt/replaced a burned down Cheddar's. So I started experimenting. After a few tries, I found acceptable food. First, on the salad, instead of iceberg lettuce, ask for mostly spinach with a little iceberg. The iceberg lettuce adds some crispy texture. And my usual salad modification - extra tomatoes, dressing on the side. The standard purple onions, black olives, pepperoncini peppers are nice taste adds. I request to finish the salad before the main course order is entered.

The bread sticks are tasteless white bread, but brushed with garlic butter. I ask if the waiter can find crispy pieces for a nice crust.

The lunch cheese ravioli, lasagna, chicken parmesan are tolerable, but too salty. The fettuccine alfredo is good but too peppery. No whole wheat pasta.

Not on the menu, but readily available - broccoli with inconsistent cooking. I add cheese to make it edible.

Total three or four veggie servings, depending on how much salad I eat.

Chili's -

I always start with a cup of black beans (in a salsa flavored sauce, no meat) with corn tortilla chips - delicious. Ask for a small saucer of chips with no salsa - usually no charge.

Ancho salmon and broccoli with a side of white queso sauce (required to make the broccoli edible). The salmon is sometimes badly overcooked.

Very good hamburgers but 1/3 pound is too much. (Their thin patties, used in double deckers, are not as good.) Add avocado for a partial veggie serving.

Two veggies plus high Omega 3s with the salmon.

Golden Corral - tolerable food with many veggie options. I don't trust the salad bar - too many people have no comprehension of safe buffet habits.

The cooked stuff should be less prone to food poisoning. The cooking is very inconsistent. Look over the veggie options before starting. You might find edible cauliflower, broccoli, peas, carrots, squash, zucchini, cabbage, stewed okra, grilled jalapenos. A little cheese sauce helps with broccoli, cauliflower.

Good fried chicken, not so good other meat choices, many very salty. Okay white wheat rolls.

Total many veggie servings - today I had two servings each of squash, cabbage, peas, and a couple of jalapenos. A very small serving of strawberry cobbler didn't count as a veggie, but was enjoyable.

Subway (on the road with no other veggies to be found) - unlike other sub shop chains, Subway will add spinach and green peppers to your sub (or salad). Add bacon, onions, and (likely unripe) tomatoes for a nice sandwich. One or two veggies.

Arirang Korean - family run, local. I love the side dishes and they give you all that you want. Bok choy, spinach, soy sprouts, cabbage kimchi, turnip kimchi, cucumber, papaya, pickled radishes. I avoid the fried and tofu based side dishes. I ask the waiter to hold up the main course until I have finished these veggie delights.

Then many options, but lately I have been getting mackerel - strongly flavored fish, high in Omega 3s. Watch out for bones.

I count this as two or three veggies, depending on how many of the (small) side dishes that I eat - six at least, sometime a couple more.

Jasmine Rice Thai - a locally owned place, run by the owner. They are very good about adjusting their dishes as requested. For a long time, my order was fried rice with crab (not very much) and cashews, maximum broccoli. With the cashews and broccoli, and miscellaneous other (carrots, onions), I counted three veggie servings, but a lot of salt, calories, white rice.

For a while now, I have been getting the Thai curries, mostly green and red. Add cashews and scallops, maximum veggies. This is full of zucchini, bamboo shoots, cabbage, broccoli, green pepper, in a spicy coconut milk. White rice on the side - sigh. Delicious, maybe three veggie servings. Too salty, in part due to salted cashews. I started bringing my own unsalted, roasted cashews - noticeably less salty. Coconut milk is caloric and high in saturated fat, but still has many health benefits. Three veggies.

Puccini's Italian - local with two locations (three before COVID related staffing problems).

I asked if they would cook whole wheat pasta if I brought it - yes! Spaghetti with one meatball, marinara sauce.

On the Greek salad, I asked for spinach and spring mix instead of spinach and iceberg lettuce - yes. Plus extra tomatoes, a couple of artichoke hearts, gorgonzola cheese instead of feta (but not too much). Wonderful salad.

Consumer's Reports says tomato sauce counts as a veggie! I count three veggies plus whole wheat pasta - nice.

Tandoor Indian - a local place with Saturday, Sunday buffet -

Fish curry (tastes like tilapia to me), red beans (a bit like Cajun red beans but no sausage). Sometimes chick peas or lentils instead of red beans - good, but not as good as the beans. Sometimes cabbage or cauliflower with potato. I do my best to avoid the potato. Occasionally okra - wonderful, and no potato. Just a little white rice. White naan bread - delicious and I eat too much of it. 

Delicious lightly spiced ice tea. (Don't ruin it with sugar or lemon.)

Five veggies and too many calories. Very small dinner that evening - sometimes an apple with peanut butter, maybe a small tuna on whole wheat sandwich.

Pepe's Mexican - a local chain.

Pablano pepper quesadilla - browned white wheat tortilla, folded over grilled pablano pepper (not hot), mushrooms, onions, and melted cheese, with an unknown green sauce on top. A side of guacamole with nice avocado chunks. Grilled jalapenos. Very tasty. Two, maybe three veggies if I get the jalapenos down.

Nice salsa and chips - I wish I would avoid them, but I the love tomato, cilantro, and onion flavors in the salsa.

At other Mexican places look for black beans.

Pizza - no specific place in this review.

My new order is double mushrooms. On very thin crust (New York style). That's hopefully one veggie, but the "double" tends to be ignored except on the bill. Of course you can add various good stuff at different places - broccoli, spinach, green peppers, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes - but usually not in significant quantities.

Local places tend to be much better than the chains. But where I live nothing is consistently good.

For All of the Above - bring a jacket in the summer to combat hyper air conditioning, a baseball hat to shield your eyes from unshaded lights, glare off of parked cars, and direct sunlight, and ear plugs. The ear plugs help prevent anxiety induced by fancy coffee machines, blenders, kitchen beepers, loud peaky music, and jazz, rap, and swing.