Factoids and Findings: Eating Out When Family Is In Town

My family are honorary Italians--where there is family, there is food! The two are almost inseparable at all family reunions, get-togethers, and when someone is in from out of town, we are out on the town dining at tasty eateries. Why? I suppose because the visiting member likes to celebrate the time away from home, and some guests would rather save you the trouble of cooking--afterall, they can "eat in" back home.

This was the case for me last week. I absolute adore having family in town, and it messes with the routeen big time, to be sure. But then life goes back to normal and the fun is over. Some things don't leave though...like the 5 lbs. that can quickly find itself to your waistline in the process of vetting the local hipster eateries. In my latest quest to be more informed, cut the bad and add more good to my diet, I embarked on a dangerous quest: watching calories while family is in town.

For three whole days, I became one of "those people." You know who I'm talking about--the annoying person asking about calories at the ORDER HERE window, or the person asking for nutritional values before ordering. To those of you who've ever tried to eat smart while your family is in town, this is for you. Here we go...

One best practice I've heard is that although you can't control the fact that you are going out and about to consume lucious fat-filled, high calorie foods, you can control what restaurants are in the pot for choosing. A spot I thought might do? Paradise Bakery. While there were no "nutritional values" available (note--you can get them online, but the staff wasn't very helpful in store with finding a copy), so I opted for a turkey wrap with no mayo. Turns out I made a great choice--cut down on the fat and still had a tasty, filling meal...okay, I don't really consider a 1/2 turkey wrap a meal, but I'm trying to. Portions, they tell me.

I went home and checked out the nutritional values online, just to see how I did. I can tell you the wrap was great, but I was shocked at how much punch those seemingly healthy sandwiches can pack. A member of our party had a turkey sandwich with cranberries--sounds nice and anti-oxidenty, right? Wrongo--over 500 calories for one sandwich. Ouch! When most of us should definitely be consuming well under 2000 calories per day, that could potentially be 1/3 of your day right there! Let's assume you're you're thinking 1/3 of your day sounds right--three meals a day--all that jazz. Well, factor in snacks, drinks, and possibly one of those lovely chocolate cookies they give you, and you are toast my friend. Finding: it pays to be informed, even at the "healthy" places.

Last stop to report about: The Nordstrom Cafe. Okay, YES, guilty of hunger while shopping. But how bad could it really be? There are tons of salads, soups, and yummy pasta dishes. Well, again, here goes the report. I asked for nutritional values BEFORE I ordered--smart move. In the past, I've treated myself to their wild mushroom ravioli. Sounds impossible, but it rivals high end restaurants in quality and flavor--seriously. And, how can bad can a pasta dish really be, calorically speaking? This one turned out to be over 1000 calories. Yes--one thousand, for 8 raviolies. There is a price for flavor, often in the fat department in the form of butter, cheese, and cream. What about a cup of tomato soup? 500 calories +. Finding: (besides being clueless about pasta--really didn't think it was THAT bad), seemingly harmless can be deadly. Sidenote: I still ordered the ravioli--I told you it was the best. But, I divided the portion. We can still eat the good stuff, just less of it, taking it light elsewhere.

In review: I can't tell you how literally frightened I was, not to sound too melodramatic, but seriously, up 'til now have NOT, repeat, NOT EVER been a calorie counter/watcher. Now, having gotten religion and having become more aware--striving to be informed about the foods out there--I just don't have the desire to go eat out anymore. There is so much more nutritional value, less sodium, less fat, and more fiber in my own kitchen than at a restaurant. Quite depressing really--I love eating out. But, it's okay because I am determined not to ever be one of the millions of Americans who are diabetic and obese from poor nutrition. It's a daily effort, and it takes discipline. Finding: here's to the next generation of healthy kids...and low-cal Italiano :)