With a new year come new resolutions. For many of us, that is a resolution to eat more healthily. Doing so is hard because the scale forces us to be honest with ourselves, our food and our behaviors.
Dieting does not mean we have to munch only upon carrot sticks or bran muffins. Dining out can remain an option for King County attorneys seeking to add a dose of health to their routines. This month your Dining Out team has undertaken research, extensive field testing and contacted local experts for their advice on dining out on a diet.
A Few General Tips
As lawyers, we are somewhat drawn to rules. For those who have not gone down the diet and healthy eating path, here is a recap of the simple rules that we’d read if we put down the Bar Bulletin long enough to read a newsstand magazine.
- Even before you dine out, take steps to avoid arriving hungry at the restaurant. Arriving hungry will tempt you to order more courses and snack on the bread, chips and other items available. A piece of fruit or other healthy snack, like a small handful of almonds, consumed 15 to 20 minutes before going to the restaurant will help curb such impulses.
- All restaurants in Seattle are required to provide upon request nutritional information, including calories. Ask for it; you may be surprised to find your favorite “healthy” entrées are loaded with fat and calories.
- Eat slowly. This will allow your body time to feel full.
- Drink alcohol in moderation. In addition to the liquid calories, alcohol is most dangerous for its “disinhibition” effect (that dessert seems just that much more tempting and oh, why not, you only live once).
- Make special requests. You do not have to accept everything that is on the menu, as it is on the menu. This is where many of our “experts” make helpful suggestions, and where we have found a lot of cooperation at our favorite restaurants.
Starting the Day on the Right Foot
One of our favorite breakfast spots is Portage Bay Café, located at three locations in South Lake Union, Roosevelt and Ballard: www.portagebaycafe.com. Portage Bay Café prides itself, and for good reason, in sourcing its food from local, sustainable, and clean farms and producers. Most of the food is organic.
Portage Bay’s breakfast menu has several choices if you are counting calories. Consider trying the yummy curried veggie and tofu scramble — you will not miss the eggs. Also, Portage Bay offers vegan and gluten-free options.
Originally published in the February 2011 issue of the King County Bar Bulletin.
