Mindful Eats

You Can Eat Healthy on a Budget

 

New York City fruit stand, Evaristo E. Mitchell ©2006

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. ~Epictetus

Just because you're on a budget doesn't mean that you can't eat healthily to feel your best. In fact, if you have hit hard times and are budgeting strictly, it's even more important that you treat yourself well to have the strength to lift yourself out. You'll do it, but being unhealthy will slow you down.

There are two keys to eating healthily - fortunately, they are both budget friendly. 

1. Eat real food instead of processed food. It takes a little more time and preparation, but pound for pound, you will get more nutrition for your dollar and feel better.
2. Eat more produce (vegetables and fruit). This is also budget friendly since produce is cheaper than meat.

What to do: Plan and Shop Healthy

1. Menu plan. You have to plan. Sit down and figure out what your food needs are for the upcoming week - meals and snacks. Write out your plan, and create the grocery list from the meals. Now go to the grocery store and stick to the list. This will save you a lot of money. Learn how with the Mindful Battle Plan.
2. Stock up on produce, beans, grains. Base your meal plan on these three items. They are healthy and budget-friendly. Beans and brown rice make a complete protein, which is cheaper than meat. Use meat as a flavoring rather than the main course. Grains such as barley, brown rice, millet and quinoa stretch a meal out and are good for you as cents per serving. This diet is also known as the Mediterranean Diet, which is considered heart-healthy. 
3. Shop the sales. Check and see what produce is on sale at the grocery store and put it in your menu plan. It's often on sale because it's in season and abundant - a good thing. You will also add new food to your rotation that way - that's how I found Swiss chard. My mother (the ultimate deal maven) shops multiple grocery stores in a week for the sale items.
4. Stick to the outside aisles of grocery stores and the frozen, canned, and grains sections. Avoid the processed food in boxes and bags - you are buying less nutrition, empty calories, and unhealthy expensive prepared meals. Real food is in the outside lanes (produce, meat, dairy). Frozen and canned vegetables and fruits are great too (make sure there are no additives), and often cheaper. Dried beans are always cheaper than canned. 
5. Use coupons and sign up for the grocery store rewards program. You can save a lot of money by looking through flyers (and it will help you menu plan). Also sign up for the grocery store rewards program - you earn discounts for the money you would spend anyway.
6. Go to the local farmer's market. The farmer's market usually has lower prices and higher quality food since you are buying direct from the grower rather than a retailer.
7. Frequent fruit/vegetable stands and wholesalers.If you live in a city, you have probably seen the fruit and vegetable stands on the sidewalk. They sell ripe produce at a discount - it doesn't have the shelf life that grocery stores want. This food is good! Since it is ripe, it is ready to eat now (don't expect it to last for days). If you can find a wholesaler, you can get a great cash only deal. For NYC'ers, Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market is a phenomenal deal.
8. Grow your own. Supplement store-bought veggies with your own - nothing is more budget-friendly. Home grown vegetables are delicious, and you will know exactly what went into them. It's spring - pick up some seedlings or seeds and plant them for delicious bounty in the summer.  
9. Buy organics smartly. If there is room for limited organics in your budget, make it milk and dairy. Then move on to the Dirty Dozen.  
10. Go to food pantries that offer produce. More food pantries now offer choice - you can choose and "shop" rather than receiving a box. If you are visiting a food pantry, don't be embarrassed. You are working on getting to a place so you don't need a pantry (you will get there), and eating healthy will help you get there faster.
11. Use food stamps for produce. Many grocery stores and other retailers participate in the food stamp program - check around and find out which ones do. Follow all the above rules. 

PS - Check out Mindful Eats on OneHealthyGirl.com

What I ate: 1 latte, 2 cups coffee, 2 bananas, 2 oz. macadamia nuts, Korean dried squid (crazy spicy), 1 cup barley, roasted eggplant + squash + mushrooms, 2T ground flax seeds, 1 apple, 4 squares dark chocolate, 10 sunflower seeds, cheddar cheese, a few pumpkin seeds, udon noodles + 1 cup spinach + 2 eggs + shitaake mushrooms, 1/4 cup baked tofu, 1 hot chocolate, 60 oz. water

Exercise: 15 min bike + 45 min whole body weights

Natural Body and Beauty Products for Better Health

Natural body care: Desert Essence Deodorant, Weleda Skin Food, Collective Wellbeing moisturizer, Indu lotion, Kiss My Face shower gel, Dr. Hauschka toner, Tom's of Maine toohpaste

Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack. We give it orders which make no sense. ~Henry Miller

Skin on skin. Soft caresses. Touch.

Did you feel those six words as you read them? If you did, it's not surprising - we experience the environment through skin. It is your largest organ, and it's the boundary between you and everything else. Native Americans used to greet the winter with just a layer of bear fat over bare skin for the entire season - no shirts, sweaters or coats. The fat kept the body warm, and (I assume) it also provided a naturally moisturizing layer.

In today's world we spend a lot of time cleaning ourselves, which often requires frequent moisturizing. You absorb more through your skin than you do orally. In fact, many medications are delivered through skin - nicotine patches, contraceptives, and hormones.

So given the importance of your skin and its absorptive qualities, have you thought about what you put on yourself? The average woman uses twelve personal care products a day, exposing herself to a total of 168 chemicals. (Environmental Working Group) Toothpaste, deodorant, soap, shampoo, sunscreen, moisturizer, makeup. Just as you are being mindful of what you are putting in your body, you should be mindful of what you're putting on your body. Fortunately, there is a whole army of natural products out there (unlike when it only used to be Burt's Bees, Tom's of Maine and Dr. Hauschka), and the list continues to grow.

The Low Down on Organic Food

"Wise are those that learn the bottom line doesn't always have to be their priority." - William Arthur Ward

Organic food is hip hip hip these days, and it is on its way to being trendier than thou. I've been buying organic for years, and am rather delighted and bemused by the trend. Lots of ink is spilled on organics, but it's all rather simple: organic food is produced without synthetic chemicals - whether it is hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, or fertilizer. For that reason, organic food is great, but if you are budget constrained, you are much better off eating more unprocessed "conventional" food than focusing on organic. No contest. In fact, you are doing great if you are eating unprocessed foods, regardless of whether it's organic or not.

Lots of trade-offs are made in producing food, and I don't believe organic food will solve the world's ills. I buy organic for two reasons:

1. I avoid putting chemicals in my body when possible - I get plenty of chemicals from things I don't even think about (like my furniture, street traffic, park grass) so I prefer to reduce what I can
2. It is generally better for the environment and animals

There are a host of other reasons, and I'm delighted if they are true, but I only rely on the above two reasons since I can't verify these popular beliefs that organic food:

• is more nutritious. It seems to make sense, but I can't prove it. There are some foods that are more nutritious (organic spinach has more Vitamin C and iron), but in general, this is unproven. Studies go both ways, and if it were true, it would be touted widely by the organic and industrial growers (agribusiness has invested in organic operations too, they're not stupid)
• tastes better. I find this to be true sometimes, but not always. Anyway, my palate isn't refined enough to tell.
• is more environmental. A lot of organic food is shipped far distances (bananas don't grow well in the northeast). The environmental toll from shipping can outweigh the benefits or organic practices. BUT, large industrial organic shippers may be able to achieve enough volume that the carbon toll of their shipping is less than that of inefficient local growers. It's a complicated calculus that you need to figure out.
• is kinder to animals. There are no hormone and antibiotic injections, and feed is more natural. But then again, there are dairies that use rBGH but have high living standards for cows, like free pasture.
• is grown by virtuous family farmers that practice high-quality natural farming practices like rotating crops and paying fair living wages to labor. Sometimes that's true, but not always. Some organic food is grown by large business (which doesn't make it bad), and some are grown by jerks. Unless you know the grower, you can't make any assumptions.  

Organic food in the U.S. has a little sticker that says "organic." However, if you're intent on buying organic, don't forget that lots of small local farmers that you find in your greenmarket adhere to organic practices, but don't have a sticker since they don't want to pay for the certification. These producers are usually more budget-friendly than the labeled food. It always pays to talk to the people growing your food!

While organic is fantastic, "conventional" foods came along as a way to grow food more efficiently. This reduces the price of food, and if you don't have the budget to spend on organic, then conventional food is perfect. It's better to buy unprocessed conventional food than processed organic food. I see organic processed food like mac & cheese or crackers - it's still processed junk! Even if it is organic. Prepare and eat unprocessed foods!

If you want to start purchasing more organics, it's best to focus on meats, dairy and the "Dirty Dozen." These foods have the highest levels of pesticides. You can reduce your pesticide exposure 90% if you avoid the most contaminated (Dirty Dozen) and eat the least contaminated. Here is a pocket list of the new Dirty Dozen and Clean 15. The more demand there is for organic food, the more availability there will be.

What to do

1. Buy and prepare unprocessed food, whether it's conventional or organic, frozen or fresh. Unprocessed is best.
2. If you can allocate a small amount toward organic food, focus on organic meat and dairy as these have a high concentration of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics.  
3. If your budget allows for more organics and you are concerned about pesticides, focus on purchasing organic versions of the dirty dozen and conventional versions of the clean 15. Organic produce may spoil faster since it isn't pumped full of preservatives (yuck!) so you may want to use it more quickly.
4. If you want to limit the environmental impact of your food, you are awesome. Buy organic or local. Organic and local is best, but it's not always possible, so think about the environmental toll of shipping (scale of volume, distance, etc).  
5. Talk to the growers at your local greenmarket. Just because it's not labeled organic doesn't mean the grower isn't using great farming practices. 
6. Grow some of your own food. Do a little research and find out what's easy in your area. For example, zucchini and tomatoes are easy in the Northeast. Even the Obamas are planting a garden on the White House Lawn! 

Want to know more? Read this New York Times article.

What I ate: 14 oz. green juice, 12 oz. cafe au lait, cheese, 2 oz. Mindful Mix, 2 oz. pumpkin seeds, whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's Sicilian sauce + spaghetti, 10 apricots, 1 apple, 4 crackers and cheese, 6 squares of dark chocolate, 6 zuchinni sticks, 4 celery sticks, lump crab meat, tuna burger + 1/2 bun, pickled vegetables, 1/2 chocolate pie, 55 oz. water

Exercise: none

You are Worth High Quality Food

Root vegetables in Union Square Greenmar

"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking." - Henry Ford

Cheap fuel gunks up cars. Bad data results in bad analyses. And you, my dear, are only as good as the food you eat. Junk in, junk out. 

One constant in life is that you need food, day after day. Food is the lowest level on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Your hunger needs to be satisfied before you can even think about doing "higher-level" things, like finding/working a job or creating art. Food is your foundation, and to build a solid foundation, you have to eat the best quality food you can.

Professional athletes understand this - they need to perform at their best, so they have experts dedicated to optimizing their food and training. They invest in themselves before fancy clothes or cars. We think you deserve to be the best that you can be too!

But Americans love cheap food - we are the land of dollar meals and processed junk food. Watch people in a grocery store - they choose chips instead of nuts, chicken nuggets instead of chicken, and frozen meals instead of fresh produce and brown rice. We seem to think one of the things that most directly impacts our health should be the cheapest. Why pay an extra dollar for organic, grass-fed milk when you can buy antibiotic-laced, unnaturally-fed, hormone-injected milk for cheaper?

  

What are you cheaping out for anyway? Clothes? A car? Books? Vacation? We think that being at your best - mentally, physically, and emotionally - will make some of those things you're saving for less important. Once you are radiating beauty (and health, joy, and happiness), having designer jeans might not be as important. You'll look great, whether or not you're dressed in fancy gear (and we promise you'll look better than if you were unhealthy and dressed in the best designer clothing).

So what is quality food? It's unprocessed produce and meats. And no, you don't have to buy organic. It's just about preparing more of your own unprocessed meals and improving your batting average. Quality food does not mean buying five organic apples a week and then filling up on frozen pizza and mac and cheese. Quality food is increasing your unprocessed food intake in an affordable way. For example, instead of buying fresh produce, you may choose to buy frozen/canned produce and fish so you can eat more healthy meals in a week. It's not only more economical, it's super-healthy! You can take the same amount of money and buy some organic cookies and milk, and then load up on hot dogs and McDonalds. That's not quality eating. Quality is about mindfully preparing more of your own meals from unprocessed foods.

It might take more time, but you and your loved ones are worth it. MindfulEats knows you are worth the extra time and money because:

• Prepared food makes you fat and unhealthy. Food in a box may seem like a better deal and more convenient in the short run, but processed food has been stripped of many nutrients. You are short-changing your body of nutrients in their most usable form.  You're either: 1) getting a bad nutrition deal for your dollar, or 2) forced to eat more calories in search of nutrition. Do you really need the extra calories? That's how people get fat! You get what you pay for. Start thinking at how much nutrition you are getting per calorie. Spend the money on whole foods upfront, and get the best deal for your dollar. As an added bonus, you'll feel better, be healthier and look hotter too.
• Processed, industrial food is freakish. Professional athletes focus on eating real food to feel their best physically and emotionally. The U.S. Olympic Team shipped in their own food for the Beijing Olympics. They didn't trust the Chinese pigs and chickens that were loaded with hormones and chemicals to grow monstrously huge. Neither should you. Industrial meat is raised as efficiently as possible, and tens of thousands of animals are crammed together without access to exercise. They are injected with hormones and force-fed cheap food to get huge and keep costs down. Do you think you should eat that? MindfulEats thinks you deserve better! Studies may not yet prove there is something wrong with this type of frankenfood, but why wait for the bad news? One theory about why children are experiencing earlier puberty is the hormones injected into meat. If you can, pay up for food that is humanely and naturally produced.
• You are gorgeous. We don't know about you, but we find the most beautiful people - men, women and children - are those that exude health and happiness. To be healthy and happy, you have to eat good food. Your body can handle years of eating poor-quality food, but that forces it spends a lot of energy functioning under poor conditions. That's why you're tired instead of full of energy. It's hard to be happy when your body is working overtime! Are you scrimping and saving so you'll feel better and look good in new clothes, vacation or a fancy car? If you feel your best and radiate healthy beauty, maybe you'll have the confidence so you won't need those material things. And maybe your happiness boost will fill your life with friendship, love and meaning. The "extra" money you invest in your food and your health will spill over into all aspects of your life.

 

What to do - Invest in Your Health

1. Invest a little time in planning out high-quality meals for the week with the Mindful Battle Plan.
2. Pay for the highest quality food you can afford at the market - produce and meat that is preferably chemical-free. If your budget calls for frozen or canned veggies and meats, that is fine - you are doing great by eating unprocessed!
3. Spend a little time preparing your own food instead of microwaving a meal or eating out. 
4. Seek out high-quality restaurants when you eat out - restaurants that are knowledgeable about the provenance of their food and happy sharing it.

What I ate: (I was on vacation so had some mindful indulgences!) 2 cups tea, 5 slices of brown bread + butter, 2 small lattes, 1.5 cups broccoli + cabbage + cauliflower + red pepper + tuna salad, 1/2 chocolate cupcake, 1/2 cup roasted vegetables, 1 sauteed salmon filet, 4 white chocolate macadamia cookies, 45 oz. water

  

 

Exercise: 90 min power yoga

Omega-3, -6 and -9 Essential Fatty Acids

Fish oil, flax oil, ground flax seed

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days - I'm in Utah having a fabulous time with Brandi and the spring skiing is amazing! 60 degrees. Had a tiny snowboarding breakthrough today. :) So let's get on to it...

Omega-3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids are all the rage these days. Omega-3 is the "it" nutrient, touted for its ability to reduce inflammation, heart disease, depression and a whole host of other things - even aging! Like other health trends, omega-3 will be considered a cure-all for a while, and then someone will find "evidence" that it causes something horrible like cancer or strokes.

Omega-3, 6 and 9 all work together, and they are important for your health - no doubt about it. Omega-3 and 6 are "essential" fatty acids, which means your body can't manufacture them. As for omega-9, your body can make it from 3 and 6, and you can also get it from food.

 

Let's start with omega-3, the current darling of the nutrition industry. Omega-3 helps with heart health by lowering cholesterol and potentially triglycerides. Other potential benefits include lowering inflammation, arthritis, osteoporosis, and depression. You need this (the FDA recommends 3 grams per day), and it is far better from food instead of supplements.  Omega-3 from food sources is better absorbed, and it comes with other nutrients that help it do its magic. The best source is cold-water fatty fish like mackeral, sardines and salmon. It's recommended that you have two 3-4 ounce servings a week. Other great sources of omega-3 are walnuts, flaxseed and soy. See "What to do" below on how to get enough in your diet. If you want the technicals, the omega-3 in food sources is ALA, which your body then converts into EPA and DHA (found in fish omegas) to absorb.

All right, hon, omega-3 is trendy and good, but please don't be a freak and eat too much (3 servings of fish a day) or take too many supplements. Omega-3 thins your blood, and an excess can potentially cause bleeding (nose bleeds) or strokes. Be moderate!

 

On to omega-6. This works with omega-3 for good heart health. Cool, huh? You get enough of these in your regular diet. This is in meat and vegetable oils. Omega-6 thickens your blood (for clotting) while omega-3 thins it. Yin and yang. Ideally, you want a ratio of 2-4x more omega-6 than omega-3, but since the average person gets more than enough omega-6, you should just focus on getting more omega-3. If you really want to get analytical, since the recommended amount of omega-3 is 3 grams, you should get 6-12 grams of omega-6. Again, please be mindful and don't eat much or you may clot your blood.

Omega-9 works with the others for heart health, helps reduce insulin resistance and improves immune function. Since you are getting enough omega-3 and 6, your body will make enough 9, so you don't need to worry. But it also comes in olive oil, olives, avocados, almonds, and a whole lot of other nuts. 

What to do - Get enough Omega-3 Fatty Acids

1. You probably get enough omega-6, so focus on getting more omega-3s. 5-10% of your caloric intake should be from omega-6, which is what most Americans get.
2. Boost omega-3 by eating 3-4 oz of cold-water fatty fish 2-3 times a week (mackeral, herring, lake trout, sardines and salmon). If you don't like/eat fish, focus even more on steps 3 and 4.
3. Buy ground flax-seeds and keep them in your refrigerator. They are easier to digest when ground. You can put a tablespoon in nearly anything - yogurt, rice, quinoa (grains of any type), cereal, salad, oatmeal, curry, chicken, whatever. It has a great nutty flavor.
4. Eat walnuts and soy. Walnut oil is pricy, but it's a great gourmet flavoring and full of omega-3. It's not a cooking oil, but since it has such a great flavor, you can use it in all of your salads.
5. Be mindful and moderate. Don't be a freak and eat excessive amounts fish topped with walnut oil and flaxseeds at every meal - omega-3 thins your blood and can promote bleeding, which can have side effects from nose bleeds to strokes.

Want to learn more about omega-3? Check out:

• WebMD podcast and this article
• Flaxseeds are a good source of Omega-3s

What I ate: 14 oz. green juice, 2 scrambled eggs, 2 oz. smoked salmon, 1 large latte, 1/3 c. brown rice, 1/2 c. tofu + cabbage, 2T ground flaxseeds, 1 c. yogurt, 1 banana, 1 apple, 2/3 cup nuts, 1 cup coffee, 35 oz. water

 

Exercise: 45 min gym workout

Hassle-Free Healthy Meal: Saute

Sauteed broccoli rabe and shiitake mushrooms

"We never repent of having eaten too little." - Thomas Jefferson  

You can saute anything.  This is as basic as it gets. As part of the utilitarian cooking series (fast but mindful), this quick method is indispensible. It's similar to stir-fry, but over lower heat and without the constant movement. Meat, seafood, vegetables - it's all possible. If we're confronted with a food and not sure what to do with it, we saute it! So, let's get down to it.

Yoga: Benefits and Getting Started

Yoga can be practiced anywhere, including the beach

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." - Joshua J. Marine

MindfulEats is celebrating its 10th year anniversary with yoga this year. We haven't been together for nearly as long as we've been with running, but it's still a pretty long-term relationship. And like all long-term relationships, it's changed a lot over the years, and gotten unexpectedly better over time.

We're glad that we stuck with yoga - we occasionally get infatuated with other loves like kickboxing, pilates and plyometrics (and we still hook up with them once in a while), but yoga has been a constant. It's been incredibly rewarding - yoga's forced us to be more mindful in all aspects of our lives, and we think you should give it a try, keep doing it, or give us tips!

We've gone through through several phases, but the benefits have remained constant over time. Yoga:

• Uses muscles we'd never use otherwise. We get into the same fun shapes (called poses or asanas) that we contorted our bodies into as kids. Practicing the different poses releases the kid memories in us.
• Makes us limber. Between cardio and strengthening, we don't find the time to stretch and practice balancing. Yoga forces us to do both. 
• Tones our muscles. We work all the major muscle groups (and ones we didn't know existed). It requires strength to hold the poses. The dozens of pushups per class are also pretty good for our arms.
• Calms our mind and makes us more mindful. Something happens during class where whirling thoughts get replaced with calm. It's pretty cool, and we leave class with less stress and more appreciation for what we have. Oh, we also get to chant in some classes. It's not for everyone, but we think the chanting is fun and beautiful.
• We breathe better. It sounds stupid, but we never knew that we weren't breathing deeply until yoga. Breathing right carries through into the rest of life. 

This comprehensive list compiles 77 health benefits of yoga.

Sticking with yoga wasn't always easy. Sometimes it was beyond tedious, but the payoff in terms of strength, flexibility and peace golden. If you are in any of these phases, keep going!

Pack Food in Glass instead of Tupperware

You are eating more mindfully and preparing your own foods. (Yay!) You're even bringing your lunch to work. But you're grossed out by the thought of plastics leaching into your food. Especially since heating plastic makes containers leach into your food even more. So what is the best way to bring your lunch if you need to heat it up in the microwave?

After shopping around, we found a couple alternatives to plastic containers: metal and glass. Metal is lighter than glass, but since you can't put it in the microwave we ruled it out. As for glass, the biggest problem was leaking. The winning option (picture at top) has a snap on plastic lid with silicone to make it leak-proof (you can even bring soup.) The downside is that it's glass is heavier than plastic, so be prepared for the additional weight in your bag. It might be a bit heavier, but it's better than having chemicals leached into your food!

What to do - Replace Your Plastic Lunch Container with Glass

1. Think about the food you need to carry. If you will be heating anything in the microwave, get a glass container. If you will not be heating anything (e.g. salad or cut fruit), you can use metal since it is lighter. 
2. Go to the store and consider your different container options. The kind that we favor has four "snaps" to keep the lid attached, and a silicone seal to prevent leaking. This particular brand is "Glasslock by Snapware." We found these containers at the Container Store and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
3. Think about how large your lunch is, and buy the smallest option. These containers are heavy! We started out with the medium square 3.8 cup version, then downsized to the medium round 3 cup version since we don't need to bring that much food in, and the weight savings is nice. 
4. Microwave your food without the lid on - put a paper towel over the top to keep it from splattering. 

Congratulations on packing your lunch! You are being mindful about your food choices, and the savings for your wallet can go towards higher-quality food choices. You rock!

What I ate: 14 oz. green juice, 1 hardboiled egg, 1 slice whole wheat bread + 1.5T garlic hummus, 1 grapefruit, 1 cup green tea, 1 cup whole wheat spaghetti, 1/3 cups bean chili, 1 cafe au lait,  2 oz. cashews + macadamia nuts, 1 oz. pumpkin seeds, 3 squares dark chocolate, 5 dried apricots, 1 small madeleine, 1 cup split pea soup, 1.5 cup mushroom + butternut squash + parmesan risotto, 50 oz. water

Exercise: None

Hassle-Free Healthy Meal: Stir-fry

Stir-fried seitan, spinach, shiitake mushrooms

"Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow." - Doug Firebaugh

Third installment of How to Cook Healthy and Fast from a reluctant (but functional) cook. 

Even though I can eat the same thing over and over again, I can only steam so many days in a row before I can't stand it anymore. So sometimes I stir-fry, even though it requires a little more clean-up.

Stir-frying is a great healthy cooking method to add to your repertoire. It takes about the same amount of time as steaming but adds more flavor. Since you are "frying" so quickly, it doesn't lose a lot of nutrients - about the same amount as steaming.

What to do - Stir-frying (And a Recipe for Vegetable Stir-Fry)

Eating Out Makes You Fat and Unhealthy

Rich Risotto 

"More die in the United States of too much food than too little." - 

John Kenneth Galbraith

Whenever you indulge in a restaurant meal or take-out/delivery, you should have a great time - enjoy the company that you're with, savor your food, and relish the convenience. However, eating out should be a treat - not a regular occurrence. Unless you are getting your food at a health food restaurant.

Restaurant food makes you fat and unhealthy. (Sorry sweetie, we hate to break the bad news to you.) In case you were wondering, the vast majority of restaurants have a goal of making money. Their goal is not to provide you with healthy food that lowers your cholesterol and makes you thin. They want you to come back regularly, so the food is loaded with things that taste good - fat. Often in the forms of oil, butter, lard and cream. You wouldn't (shouldn't!) cook like this at home. Even salads are chock-a-block full of calories.

 

Again, the goal is to make money, so most restaurants are not serving high-quality food. They are trying to make a profit to pay all the servers and cooks, so you are not going to find naturally-fed heirloom meats, wild-caught fish or organic vegetables. You will end up eating industrially bred and raised food (lots of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides). If a restaurant does serve high-quality food, they will make it very clear on the menu, and you should patronize that restaurant (though it will still make you fat).

Here's a little sampling of healthy-sounding restaurant meals and their calories, fat and sodium levels: