Healthy Eating Tip for Eating Out – Asking for dressings on the side
Often it’s not the food that’s ‘unhealthy’ it’s the dressing, or sauce, it’s swimming in that can knock up the calories. Jacket potatoes and sandwiches filled with tuna mayonnaise can be very high in fat – the tuna and potato are fine; it’s the amount of mayonnaise mixed in with the tuna (even when ‘light’ or low fat mayonnaise is used) that makes it a high calorie meal.
When ordering food in a restaurant, get into the habit of asking for dressings and sauces to be served on the side – you can then add as little as you want.
Common Myths and Misconceptions
- “The restaurant won’t be pleased with me if I ask for this” – Unless whatever you’re ordering is already prepared, there should be no problem in serving your order’s sauces on the side. It’s very likely that someone before you will have asked for their order to be served this way.
- “It will spoil my order” – Well if you don’t add any sauce to it, it may taste differently, but the point of asking for sauces to be served on the side is so you can control how much goes on it. If you use half the amount normally used you’ll cut the fat/calories in half, but not the taste. Dishes are often served with way too much sauce – ‘smothering’ the taste of the dish.
- “Sauces and dressings can’t be that bad for you” – That really depends on what the dressing is and the quantity eaten. Sauces can be very high in fat and/or contain many calories (especially cream and cheese-based dressings) – guacamole and houmous also contain a lot oil. Salsa sauce on the other hand is very low in calories. Just remember that it’s the quantity of sauce eaten that mainly determines whether or not it’s ‘bad’ – aim to keep serving size it to a minimum.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t assume you have to have the dressing/sauce which comes with the meal you choose. Check to see what else is available (even if it’s part of another meal) and see if there’s anything else you would prefer.
- If in doubt, ask which sauces/dressings are low in fat.
- Oil and balsamic vinegar is great for dipping your bread in (if you’re having it) – it also makes a good salad dressing. Remember that although olive oil maybe a good choice for your heart, it's still high in calories, so dip in or drizzle it sparingly.
- Use only half of the dressing/sauce you’re given and hand back the rest. Alternatively offer it to someone else (as long as they’re not trying to manage their weight) so you won’t be tempted to use the rest.
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