Environmental Nutrition

It's fun going out to eat! You can enjoy a delicious meal with someone special, with no worries about meal preparation and clean up. And we're eating out a lot these days; people spend 50 percent of their eating dollars on foods consumed away from home, in coffee shops, cafeterias, sit-down restaurants and fast food chains, according to data released by the USDA Economic Research Service. However, if you forego a home-cooked meal for a restaurant entree or even "just" an entree salad, you may unintentionally add unwanted calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt to your day.

People who eat out at full-service restaurants consume, per day, on average 205 more calories, 2.5 grams more saturated fat and 451 milligrams more sodium than those who eat at home, according to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Public Health Nutrition. These findings are consistent with several other studies, which find that eating out is linked with obesity, higher body fat and lower intake of fruits and vegetables. The reason dining out can be a downfall is because restaurants often use excess butter, oil, sugar, salt, condiments, dressings and sauces in the preparation of food, and they serve super-sized portions.

Good news for restaurant lovers. There's no need to sacrifice dining out completely. The pendulum appears to be swinging in the right direction in terms of healthier menu options at restaurants. An overall decline in calories from restaurants has been observed, according to an October 2014 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, which looked at the calorie levels for more than 19,000 menu items in restaurant chains in 2012, and compared them with levels in 2013. Additionally, a National Restaurant Association survey of 1,300 professional chefs revealed healthfulness among their top restaurant predictions for the year.

"It all goes back to consumer demand," says Joy Dobust, PhD, RD, CSSD, senior director of nutrition at the National Restaurant Association. "Consumers are demanding healthier options that are very competitive with other items on the menu." Everywhere you turn, you can find examples of restaurants offering popular menu options that also happen to be healthy. For example, The Cheesecake Factory offers a SkinnyLicious menu with more than 50 dishes under 590 calories, and Olive Garden offers a Lighter Italian Fare Menu with entree dishes under 575 calories.

Despite the daunting calorie content of some restaurant meals, you can certainly enjoy dining out healthfully with a few strategies:

Focus on menu items that are steamed, baked, broiled or grilled. "Anything that's fried will contribute to the calories in the meal because of the oil involved," Dobust says.

Choose vegetable-based over cream-based. Vegetable-based sauces, soups and condiments are typically lower in calories and saturated fat.

Beware of sauces. Many dipping sauces, dressings and condiments can be rich in calories, saturated fat and sodium. "Ask for sauces on the side so you can be in control of how much you're adding," suggests Dobust.

Trim your portion. Share a dish with a friend or portion out half of your entrée into a to-go box prior to eating.

Be mindful of beverages, such as sugary cocktails, sodas or shakes, as they can quickly contribute empty calories.

(Environmental Nutrition is the award-winning independent newsletter written by nutrition experts dedicated to providing readers up-to-date, accurate information about health and nutrition in clear, concise English. For more information, visit www.environmentalnutrition.com.)