A Prix Fixe Doesn’t Have to Mean a Diet is Nixed: Surviving Boston’s Restaurant Week—By Be Fit Nutritionist, Emily Gelsomin, RD, LDN

If you indulged in Boston’s restaurant week, you may feel like you disrupted your dietary routine. While an occasional indulgence is perfectly healthy, if you eat out at least once a week, you may be consuming more calories than you think. When dining at restaurants, you give up some dietary control to the chef. Unfortunately, with our busy lifestyles we find ourselves eating out more and more. Here are some tips to help keep your calorie intake under control when you find yourself under a restaurateurs’ rule.

1. Choose your words carefully. Watch for words like creamed, au gratin, fried, crispy, cheesy, scalloped and battered. These entrees typically contain additional calories hidden in fried foods and cream-based sauces. Options that are grilled, baked, broiled or steamed generally have fewer calories.

2. Plan ahead. Many restaurants have their menus online. Check out their websites to see if healthy selections are available. If your party’s plans are flexible, suggest a place that has healthier options.

3. Eat your greens. If you tend to eat “until you’re stuffed” when dining out, opt for a salad as your appetizer. Choose a low fat dressing or vinaigrette and ask for it on the side. This will help to curb your appetite and will assist to you to achieve the USDA’s recommendation of 2-3 cups of vegetables per day.

4. Divide and Conquer. When your meal arrives, immediately ask for a take-home box. Pack half of your meal in the box for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. Studies show the more food you see on your plate, the more you will eat—so put your meal out of sight. This will also help to keep many restaurants’ out-of-control portion sizes under your control.

5. Opt for a la carte. A la carte options allow you to pick and choose your sides—rather than be forced to pick sides you may not have selected otherwise, as with platter options. Avoid ‘all you can eat’ locations, as these places can guilt you into eating more just to ‘get your money’s worth.’

6. Know your limit. Alcohol is metabolized similarly to fat in the body. It also has almost double the amount of calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein. Generally, 1-5oz glass of wine, 1.5oz hard alcohol, or 12oz beer can contain anywhere from 100-150 calories. In addition to the extra calories multiple glasses can add, alcohol lowers your inhibitions so you may be less likely to make good decisions when it comes to your meal.

7. Get steamed. Many times, when sautéing, chefs will use a large amount of butter to add taste and flavor—even with vegetable sides. Ask your waiter if the chef can prepare your item steamed or broiled instead.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Cups, Adapted from Cooking Light
In the mood for Chinese takeout but wish to avoid the overabundance
of calories you may take in? Try this simple, healthy meal suggestion.

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño peppers

1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind

2 garlic cloves, minced

Dash of salt

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Cooking spray

8 Boston lettuce leaves (about 1 head)

1 cup fresh mint leaves (about 10 ounces)

1/2 cup bean sprouts (about 2 ounces)

½ cucumber, diced, unpeeled (about 5 ounces)
Lime, cut into 8 wedges

1/4c chopped cashews (Optional: will add an additional 82 calories, 6.6 g fat, 1.3 g sat fat, 91 mg sodium, 4.6g carbohydrate and .4g fiber per tablespoon)

Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Reserve 2 tablespoons of oil mixture and set aside. Place rest of mixture in a large ziplock bag. Add raw chicken breast and marinate for at least 1 hour. Remove chicken from bag and discard mixture. Heat nonstick grill pan on medium-high heat.* Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan and cook for 12 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Take chicken off heat and let stand 5 minutes before slicing into thin strips. Note: this helps to keep chicken moist. Divide chicken among lettuce cups and top with mint leaves, bean sprouts, cucumbers and about 1 teaspoon of reserved oil mixture. Serve with lime wedges and garnish with chopped cashews, if desired.

* Chicken can also be cooked in a nonstick skillet if grill pan is not available.

Yield: 4 servings (~2 lettuce cups/ person)

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING:
CALORIES: 276

PROTEIN: 41 g

SODIUM: 333 mg
CARBOHYDRATE: 6 g

FIBER: 1.4 g

FAT: 9 g

Sat Fat: 1.6 g