What’s Your Restaurant Secret?

[ladycook9713 442]

On Saturday my fam and I went to Chili's. I ordered the kids grilled chicken and then asked for it to be topped with their mango habanero sauce/salsa and avocado. Ordered the side as steamed broccoli. It was delicious! Kids meal price and add .99 for the mango habanero and avocado.

[ladycook9713 442]

We also went to Dickey's BBQ over the weekend. Instead of ordering a meal I ordered meat by the weight. Had plenty for dinner and leftovers for 2 meals.

[ladycook9713 442]

Panda Express is another one of my favorites. I order a la carte and order only the entree. My absolute fave is Mushroom chicken. A 6oz serving is 170 cal 4g sugar and 12g Protein (obviously I only eat about half)

[mrs kaje 347]

... a side of ham.

My, how do you fit it all in?

I mentioned I'm still preop. But it looks "normal" to order.

Lost in translation I guess - where I am, a "side of ham" is like a whole ham/leg, or whatever. I knew what you meant, but it amused me to picture you sitting down to a single egg and a quarter of a pig lol.

[Sharon1964 2,530]

I don't order that much differently than I did on Atkins, I just take a whole lot more home for several more meals.

Had awesome filet mignon kabobs at a work get-together last week, took the leftovers home for 3 more meals. I asked for extra vegetables instead of the bulgur they were serving with it. Oh yes, we also had Oysters Rockefeller for an appetizer, and I had a couple of those.

Last night my mom wanted to go to her favorite Chinese buffet. She hasn't been there since right before my surgery. I tried telling her it would be silly to pay for me to eat there since I could hardly eat anything, but she said she didn't care, she wanted to go and would pay for mine. So I had four baked mussels, one roasted chicken wing, and a little bit of miso Soup. I thought the honey walnut shrimp would be hard to resist, but it wasn't. It used to be my favorite thing there.

I already have my annual summer birthday trip with my best friend planned for next year, and it usually involves several nights of all-you-can-eat crab legs and sangria. I plan on just ordering an appetizer or an individual order of crab legs and taking the rest back to our hotel and cooking it up in an omelette for Breakfast (our hotel room has a full kitchen).

[Yaberhoo 358]

Soup and the appetizer menus are my typical go to's. I haven't been comfortable eating off someone else's plate (I'm not married). I am forthcoming with the waitress that my tummy is only thiiiiis big since surgery. Every waitress I've told has been extremely supportive. I don't think I would have a problem ordering off the kids menu but those aren't usually good choices either. I had hot wings appetizer last week and only managed to eat 3 wings, lol! lunch for the next day!

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I usually get a Protein (either appetizer or entree size) and a vegetable side. I like: shrimp, steak, pork tenderloin, grilled chicken, grilled or baked fish, etc. I have also gotten a sandwich without the bun or bread. I do this all the time when I eat fast food. The other day I got a turkey wrap at a local restaurant and ate half and brought the rest home for later.

Sometimes I get Soup or chili.

[enjoythetime 1,457]

I make substitutions all the time. I hardly ever order something directly off the menu. I find that I can eat most any where and find something that works for me, I can order a grilled chicken sandwich or turkey burger asking them not to even place the bun on my plate. The best thing I've found is at the cafeteria at my work, they have the best chicken salad but instead of bread or a wrap I have them place it on a bed of spinach. I always ask for all dressings and sauces to be served on the side or to be left off completely. I sub chips, fries, etc. for a salad or veggie. I just simply try to stay away from the carbs. Mexican restaurants have become my friend. I get the fajitas with no tortillas and have leftovers for a couple more meals. Eating out is something we like to do and I find I can do it easily with some simple substitutions.

[Andrew0929 1,101]

We go out twice each week and I've established a routine. When at sushi place I get one roll, one salmon sashimi, and a miso Soup. Other place I get a salad, 6 raw oysters and an order of shrimp cocktail.

[tcrehm 101]

I travel for work quite a bit so eating out is much more often of an affair than I would like. I have followed the faithful "eat Protein first" rule and then a couple of bites of vegetable and that works well for me. It is harder to fight the head hunger when you see the food being served especially when it is a set meal for a group and comes with bread, Soup, appetizer, salad, main course and then dessert. However, my sleeve reminds me who is boss and I stop when the discomfort starts even if there is just a little bite left on my plate that is begging to be eaten so as not to be wasteful!

I have started covering my plate with a napkin when done eating for two reasons: 1) to keep me from eating any more than my stomach can comfortably hold 2) to help avoid the comments about how little I ate.

I hate seeing the distress in the wait staffs eyes when they think that I didn't like the food, but I assure them that it was good, I just can't eat much and that seems to help their concerns.

So eating out has not been as challenging as I expected for finding foods I can eat, just working on ways to make it easier for me as I go along. (I really crave having bread, wine and dessert sometimes so I conquer that by not thinking about it because nothing good can come from that!)

[Bandista 7,466]

I'm a good cook and when I go out the food needs to be really good -- otherwise, why bother? One of my tricks when ordering my little mini-meals is to say I'm saving for dessert. When dessert-time rolls around I seldom opt for it but may offer to share something with some one. I like to order a good steak when I'm out -- a filet mignon or tenderloin. Or fish. sauces, mashed potatoes, etc. can make it easier for me to eat (I'm banded and need the food to be dense, if that makes any sense). I don't eat bread, rice or fries but I do eat potato, squash, peas (hi carb veggies). I love veggies and try not to limit myself with those.

My spouse and kid love Asian and I have found that I can order a Bento box of salmon teriaki with no sauce. This is basically just a perfect sized chunk of Protein. I fuss arouind with all the other stuff -- cutting up the veggies and mixing with the rice for some one to take home for a snack later. I fob off the sushi and dumplings that come with the box -- by the time I've had my Miso Soup and that salmon I am full. Every one loves to eat out with me because they get bonus bites of everything.

Recently I had amazing Polenta and that is something I'm experimenting with at home in terms of jacking up the Protein. I use homemade stock and am adding in a litlte protein -- makes a kind of corn pudding. Who doesn't love carmelized onions and gorgonzola on top of basically anything? OH, and yes to Breakfast all-day -- I can always order a small omelet or a single over-medium egg, steal a few of some one's potatoes to smash up with the egg (yummy) and be perfectly satisfied.

[Elode 8,093]

I rarely go out but when I do I stick to fish and seafood items. If it's fast food I do a small Wendy's chili or a subway salad with turkey & oil and vinegar mix. I like sushi so I will do a sashimi bowl and edamame as a side. Which is exactly what I had when I was in KC last week. Luck for you guys I took a picture. Yes, I'm one of "those" people. I couldn't eat much but it was good!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

If I am with galpals we share. If I am on a date, I only order appetizers. I pick good ones like a shrimp skewer or asian chicken salad in a lettuce wrap that kind of thing. I discovered I am not compatible with dating someone who eats at places (like greasy spoon diners) that don't have those choices.

I have never had a date question why I eat small portions and what I order is usually so good, I can get his help finishing it. I will pretend to take a sample of his dish if he insists but people who are not "food orientated" simply don't notice that I took one tiny bite while he managed to eat a good portion of my food. Interesting study of people actually.

[stacyg1 136]

I have a few things: I typically order a Protein heavy entree, either fish, chicken or beef. I stay away from the appetizers or kids menu since I'd rather order off the regular menu and have leftovers. I weigh/measure everything at home, but don't want to drag out a scale at a restaurant so, I always ask the server what the serving size of the protein I'm ordering is. So, if I order salmon and the server tells me the serving is a 6oz filet, I know I can eat 2/3 of it. Also, I always substitute veggies for the carb side that comes with most Entrees. Finally, I play a more active role in where we go to eat. Before surgery, I was an "I don't care" girl because I knew I could eat anything. Now, I suggest places where I know I can get high quality, flavorful, nutritious food that fits in my plan

[twinhappy 79]

Like many others I will usually just eat off my husband/kids plates. Or, I will order a plain cheeseburger and just not eat the bun. Instead of fries I will get a side of vegetables. Soup/chili is another good thing to order. We are all cheap dates now!