Tips for a Healthy Restaurant Brea... Health Article

Do you want to cut fat out of your diet, but not give up breakfast at your favorite restaurant? Try healthy alternatives such as eliminating bacon and sausage on your egg sandwich, or a having a small low-fat bran muffin instead of hash browns. You'll be able to eat a healthier breakfast without scrimping on your morning enjoyment.

Even a big breakfast of eggs and bacon is OK once in a while, says Diane Quagliani, R.D., a dietician based in Chicago. "If you want to occasionally have that big traditional breakfast, that's fine. But make that your main meal of the day."

Christine A. Rosenbloom, Ph.D., a nutrition specialist in Atlanta, agrees: "Cut back at lunch, have a salad, have a piece of fruit, go for a walk instead of having your usual heavy lunch."

If you're tempted to skip breakfast altogether to save on calories, think again. "Breakfast is really important. You need to eat to get your blood sugar and your energy level up again after sleeping all night," Quagliani says.

Other tips

• Eat cereal with skim milk.

• Use jam instead of butter.

• At a buffet, fill your first plate with fruit only. Eat it slowly and enjoy. Then go back and get what you want—within reason.

• Choose fat-free toast or bagels over biscuits or croissants. Don’t butter your toast, bagel or other breads.

• If meat is a must, go with Canadian bacon or a lean ham.

• Watch how many eggs you eat. The American Heart Association recommends limiting daily cholesterol intake to 300 mg. If you have high cholesterol, the AHA recommends less than 200 mg of cholesterol a day. One egg yolk contains 213 mg of cholesterol. 

• Order eggs alone or with cheese or meat, but not both. They are both high in fat.

• Request toppings such as cream cheese, whipped cream, sour cream, or butter on the side. That way you can control how much you use.

The Healthy Update Cafe

When dining out at different kinds of restaurants, here are the breakfasts to pick:

• Fast food restaurant: Egg sandwich with Canadian bacon; bran muffin

• Roadside diner: Low-fat cereal with skim milk; fat-free English muffin with jam; grapefruit

• Bagel shop: One bagel and low-fat cream cheese; small (4 ounces) orange juice

• Pancake house: Whole-grain pancakes with low-calorie syrup; fruit cocktail in its own juice

• Buffet: Fruit; yogurt; hot cereal; toast

• Family style: Egg-white omelet; fat-free wheat toast with jam

• Doughnut shop: Large low-fat muffin; glass of skim milk