Restaurant Foods To Avoid
Ranked #4,903 in Healthy Living, #86,281 overall
Secrets to Knowing What To Avoid in Restaurants if You Want to Skip Fats
Decoding restaurant menu descriptions in search of healthier fare can require some serious detective skills. Here's a helpful glossary of words to steer clear of when you're trying to avoid heavy, high-cal dishes while dining out.
Thanks to Joy Bauer.com for all this valuable information
Steakhouse Menu
According to Joy Bauer.com
Hollandaise: Heavy, classic French sauce made with butter and egg yolks
Scalloped: Baked side dish (usually potatoes) made with heavy cream and/or whole milk
Creamed: Cooked with cream (as in creamed spinach)
Smothered: Usually covered in some sort of heavy sauce or gravy
Italian food
Italian-American Resturant Menu
According to JoyBauer.com
Alfredo: Heavy sauce made with butter, cream, and grated cheese
Scampi: Sauce often served with shrimp or other seafood that's typically made with lots of butter
Fritto (Fried): Fried in oil (*Some restaurants in all cuisines have gotten more savvy in an effort to sound healthier and now refer to deep-fried foods as "lightly fried" or "crispy" on their menus. Don't be fooled; if you have any doubts ask the waiter to explain the preparation.)
Breaded: Coated with bread crumbs and then typically deep-fried in oil (where it can soak up lots of calories, especially if not fried at the proper temperature)
Carbonara: Pasta sauce made from bacon, whole eggs, cheese, and sometimes cream
Mexican/Tex-Mex Restaurant Menu
According to JoyBauer.com
Refried: Fried, often in lard
Deep-Fried/Crispy: Fried in oil
Loaded/Supreme/Grande: Often used in reference to nachos, quesadillas, or burritos; this indicates that a dish is served with ALL the toppings, including cheese, sour cream, refried beans, and sometimes meat
Chimichanga: Burrito stuffed with meat and fillings, then deep-fried
Chinese Menu Words to Watch Out for.
According to JoyBauer.com
Egg Rolls: Vegetables and meats wrapped in dough and deep-fried in oil
Fried: Fried rice, dumplings, meats, seafood, and more soak up excess oil which adds more calories to your plate
Chow: "Chow" indicates that a dish has been stir-fried, typically in liberal amounts of oil; chow mein and chow fun (or chow foon) are both dishes made with pan-fried noodles
Egg Foo Young: Egg dish (similar to an omelet) made with whole eggs, pan-fried, and usually smothered in salty brown gravy
Sweet and Sour: A sugary, syrupy sauce that's very calorie-dense
General Tso: Bits of meat (most commonly chicken) are coated in an egg and cornstarch mixture, deep-fried, and mixed with vegetables in a high-salt sauce
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Product Description
How would you like to eat rich, flavorful, healthy food at home and not worry about calories? Today show nutritionist Joy Bauer has helped millions of people improve their health, and now she wants to improve their home-cooked meals as well. Tired of the misconception that you have to dine out to eat delicious food,
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She also includes fun snacks, desserts, and appetizers that will keep you satisfied all day long, such as Cinnamon Cheesecake Fondue, Frozen Hot Chocolate, and Banana Pecan Bread. With every recipe, Joy helps you stretch your food and cooking dollars for everything from a fast and easy family meal to a relaxing and romantic dinner for two. These meals are so amazingly delicious, no one (but the chef!) will ever know that they're healthy, too.
About the Author
Joy Bauer has built one of the largest nutrition centers in the country and is the bestselling author of Your Inner Skinny, Joy's LIFE Diet, and Joy Bauer's Food Cures. She is the nutrition and health expert for the Today show and a contributing editor to Parade and Woman's Day magazine. She lives in New York with her husband and three children.
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Tell Me Your Thoughts
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ellies Dec 30, 2011 @ 2:27 pm | delete
- Ah, you're killing me! No egg roll, sweet and sour shrimp, or General Tso...there goes my Chinese food favorites!
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LaraineRose
Dec 28, 2011 @ 11:02 pm | delete
- I guess the reason people live longer these days isn't because of what they eat in restaurants. Maybe you could write a lens about what to order in restaurants if you want to stay healthy. :)
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zulfadli
Nov 30, 2011 @ 7:39 am | delete
- Wonderful recipes...thanks for sharing :)
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SaintFrantic
Oct 8, 2011 @ 5:32 am | delete
- All souses is the first thing.Thanks for sharing
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Psycho-Gamer
May 9, 2011 @ 1:31 am | delete
- this is some good stuff for the people who have health problems....but my opinion is this eat everything with out fear...even all the stuff in this lens....just do not over do it and do not eat them every day
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summersorbet
Apr 15, 2011 @ 8:39 pm | delete
- Great lens! Now I have no excuse :-)
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RomeSal
Apr 14, 2011 @ 6:50 am | delete
- Excellent piece - yes, admittedly I am guilty of eating all these but yup, avoid the cornstarch if you can - it is a food additive!
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Dec 12, 2010 @ 3:33 am | delete
- Double darn! Most of those naughty foods have my name written all over them. We don't eat out very often, but it's good to know the good from the bad.
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Nov 21, 2010 @ 5:48 am | delete
- nice tips about what o take and what to avoid in restaurants..
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ohcaroline
Nov 19, 2010 @ 7:01 am | delete
- It's so hard to eat out and not eat those kinds of things. Fortunately I don't eat out much so I don't worry too much about it.
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