Did you know that there are tons of apps out there these days that can help you track calories and other nutritional values when you're dining out?
I eat out a lot. Way more than I should. I justify it by the plain fact that cooking for one person is pointless and I am not a big fan of leftovers. But my spending problems are for another blog. Back to dining out tips! The app I use most often is actually from a website called SparkPeople.com. It's a free online community that offers nutrition, health, and fitness tools, support, and resources that are 100% free. Seriously, 100% free! No catch. I've been using the website for years! SparkPeople has a huge database of food that they update daily. Their database also includes pretty much anything you can find in the supermarket. Along with the database of food they maintain, you can always find off-the-beaten-path foods that other sparkpeople members have added. Plus, you can add your own foods if you are really stuck. It's the best website out there for tracking all your nutritional information and getting support while you're at it. All of this great information is on their app as well. Their app is easy to use (and FREE) and has all the functions of their website. If I'm going out to eat, I often look up something I want to eat beforehand on the app so I know exactly how many calories I'll be consuming. It's a great tool and it's fast and easy.
The other app I've found for dining out that is really helpful is Restaurant Nutrition. It's also a FREE app. The database is pretty comprehensive considering all the restaurants there are out there today. You can find nutritional values from anything from A&W to Wawa. I found this to be a great tool when I go out to dinner unexpectedly and don't have time to plan my meal ahead of time. One drawback is that this app won't update daily so if you want the most up to date information you'll have to check for updates by going into the app itself or syncing with iTunes or whatever app store you use. You can buy the upgrade for this app for $3.99 and it will give you WeightWatchers points for all the menu items in it's database. Another great tool.
My last 2 tips for the day: When dining-out, ask your waiter/waitress to have the kitchen prepare your food "dry". This basically means that the kitchen should not cook your food in butter or oil. You can also ask for all sauces on the side. This is a huge help in saving calories and will also lower the sodium count (which is always much higher when dining-out). The other thing I do often is if I'm really craving something like creamy pasta or a burger, I order what I want, dry of course, and just eat half and get a salad on the side. More often than not, I'm perfectly satisfied in just eating half of the thing I'm craving.
I eat out a lot. Way more than I should. I justify it by the plain fact that cooking for one person is pointless and I am not a big fan of leftovers. But my spending problems are for another blog. Back to dining out tips! The app I use most often is actually from a website called SparkPeople.com. It's a free online community that offers nutrition, health, and fitness tools, support, and resources that are 100% free. Seriously, 100% free! No catch. I've been using the website for years! SparkPeople has a huge database of food that they update daily. Their database also includes pretty much anything you can find in the supermarket. Along with the database of food they maintain, you can always find off-the-beaten-path foods that other sparkpeople members have added. Plus, you can add your own foods if you are really stuck. It's the best website out there for tracking all your nutritional information and getting support while you're at it. All of this great information is on their app as well. Their app is easy to use (and FREE) and has all the functions of their website. If I'm going out to eat, I often look up something I want to eat beforehand on the app so I know exactly how many calories I'll be consuming. It's a great tool and it's fast and easy.
The other app I've found for dining out that is really helpful is Restaurant Nutrition. It's also a FREE app. The database is pretty comprehensive considering all the restaurants there are out there today. You can find nutritional values from anything from A&W to Wawa. I found this to be a great tool when I go out to dinner unexpectedly and don't have time to plan my meal ahead of time. One drawback is that this app won't update daily so if you want the most up to date information you'll have to check for updates by going into the app itself or syncing with iTunes or whatever app store you use. You can buy the upgrade for this app for $3.99 and it will give you WeightWatchers points for all the menu items in it's database. Another great tool.
My last 2 tips for the day: When dining-out, ask your waiter/waitress to have the kitchen prepare your food "dry". This basically means that the kitchen should not cook your food in butter or oil. You can also ask for all sauces on the side. This is a huge help in saving calories and will also lower the sodium count (which is always much higher when dining-out). The other thing I do often is if I'm really craving something like creamy pasta or a burger, I order what I want, dry of course, and just eat half and get a salad on the side. More often than not, I'm perfectly satisfied in just eating half of the thing I'm craving.
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