Eating at Restaurants

One big difference between a home-cooked meal and a restaurant meal is that at a restaurant, you are giving up control over your food. You no longer know where the food came from, how fresh it is, how much salt or spice has been added or what kind of oil was used. You also do not know about the health and cleanliness of the various people who touched your food along the way. You have no idea whether the chef was in a good or bad mood, whether he loves his job or despises it. Was he rushing, or was he putting thought and effort into the meal? Did he prepare the meal lovingly or carelessly?

Sometimes looking at the menu is very confusing and quite overwhelming – there are so many tempting choices, and you get easily sidetracked from paying attention to your real needs and desires. It might help to check in with yourself before you even open the menu. What would you really like to eat? What are you in the mood for? What would make your body hum? Then open the menu and see whether there is anything along those lines, or ask the waiter to recommend something. Ask what the dish comes with. Does it include a good helping of vegetables? Could you substitute extra vegetables for the french fries? Could you have brown rice instead of white rice? Is the fish wild-caught or farm raised?

I don’t mean to imply that you should never eat in restaurants and should eat only at home. It’s best to be flexible. Sometimes it could be less stressful and therefore healthier to go to a restaurant than to start making a home-cooked meal when you are running late and everyone is hungry. When you are invited to a friend’s house for dinner, welcome the food that has no doubt been prepared with love and care, even if it contains items that you would not consider health foods. Do not judge or reject someone else’s food. Do not become the food police or a health food fanatic. You could easily find yourself being very lonely, cooking by yourself, eating by yourself, and feeling cut off from the rest of the world.
Sometimes it is preferable to go out, have a good time with friends, eat whatever your heart desires and forget about our precious dietary theories and precautions. Once in a while, some abandon could be more healthful than health food.

I would say that eating about 80 percent of your food as healthful meals is a great place to be. The remaining 20 percent can consist of whatever the circumstances call for. It is much more important to eat healthful foods most of the time than to attempt perfection 100 percent of the time. Our bodies can handle the occasional sugary sweet, fried food or junk food – just not on a daily basis. And when you do transgress, do so with a sense of celebration and make sure you really enjoy yourself.

Eating on the Road

To avoid having to eat at restaurants or buy commercially produced food from the shelves of food stores, carry your own food with you. Take dinner leftovers with you for lunch the next day. Make your own sandwich with wholegrain bread. If you want to go vegetarian, fill your sandwich with a spread like hummus, made from chickpeas, with nut butters, roasted vegetables or slices of avocado. If animal food sources are part of your diet, have some hard-boiled eggs or egg salad, slices of turkey or chicken (choose organic and free-range meats and poultry), sardines, tuna salad or cheese. Top off your sandwich with a slice of bell pepper, cucumber or tomato and add some sprouts or lettuce. Take along some pre-cut vegetables such as carrots, turnips or celery. Cherry tomatoes also travel well. Pack a piece of fresh fruit. And always carry your water bottle.

Healthful Snacks

I learned about snacking when I came to the United States. Most Americans snack. I grew up with the idea that you would have enough nourishment at the major meals to last you until the next one and that snacking takes away from your appetite for real foods.

Some people do better with more frequent meals than just three a day. For others, snacking is a sure way of gaining weight, especially when the snacks consist exclusively of white-flour products and sugary sweets. If snacks work for you, then think of them as mini meals. They should be nutrient-dense and made from whole foods, just like your regular meals.
Here are a few suggestions for wholesome snacking:

nuts and seeds – buy them raw and dry-roast them in the oven to enhance taste
dried fruits – mix them with your choice of nuts and seeds for a custom-made trail mix
carrot sticks with hummus, nut butter or tahini (sesame butter)
fresh fruit or berries in season
a baked apple
muesli – rolled oats, nuts and raisins or other dried fruits
yogurt – buy plain whole-milk yogurt and sweeten it with maple syrup, fruit, berries or jam and add vanilla or cinnamon
an avocado – cut it in half, sprinkle with lemon juice and salt or a little umeboshi vinegar
a hard-boiled egg
a piece of cheese on a whole-grain cracker
vegetable chips – make your own by spreading thin slices of vegetables on a cookie sheet and baking for 30 minutes on each side at 350°F (175°C)
curly kale chips – tear off bite-size pieces of the leaves (discard the stems), coat evenly with olive oil, spread on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F (175°C)
a green smoothie – combine one cup (240 ml) of water, four handfuls of greens (stalks removed), one handful of berries, one banana and one avocado (optional) in blender and puree.

Marika Blossfeldt
Author . Speaker . Coach.
https://marikab.com/cleanses-etc/eat-clean-summer-challenge/