Eating Out While Eating Healthy in Ft. Worth!

Eating healthy is at the top of MANY resolutions this year. While many people snap into shape planning balanced meals at home, eating out at a restaurant can be a struggle. 

 

Fort Worth is full of restaurants that boast meals that range from gourmet to home cooking, so it’s hard to wrap your mind around foregoing your favorite eateries. In addition to the delicious food and favorite venues, it’s hard to avoid the social aspect of eating out. Whether it’s hitting a sports bar to catch a game or snagging a patio spot on Sundance Square for brunch, joining together with others at a meal is a formative part of our daily lives. 

 

Since foregoing restaurants forever is an untenable solution, we’ve provided a quick guide on how to eat healthily while eating out in Fort Worth, as well as great restaurants in our area that have a wide selection of healthy options! 

 

Preparation for eating out 

 

1. Be deliberate when ordering: This could mean perusing the menu online before arriving, or asking questions on specific dishes’ preparation to your waiter. Many restaurants are happy to substitute side dishes for healthier alternatives. While the fries may be tempting, try substituting a salad or even a plain potato on some of those Texas platters.
2. Control your portions: The meal you receive at a restaurant is generally several portion sizes larger than what you eat at home. To ensure you don’t eat the whole thing, ask the waiter to box up half of it for home. The added benefit of this is that you get to enjoy your meal twice! Also, just like when you go to the grocery store, don’t go to a restaurant starving. Yes, this sounds counterintuitive. However, if you’re too hungry, you’re more likely to choose a dish with higher fat and carbohydrate content and eat the whole thing. Consider a small, healthy snack before you go to prevent over-eating.
3. Eat slowly: We have all sat down at a table with tortilla chips and salsa and inhaled the first basket before we realized it. It takes up to 20 minutes for your brain to catch up with your stomach when you fill up on what you eat. This lag can cause you to severely overeat if you eat too quickly. Try putting your fork down between bites or sipping on water to preventing devouring your meal at record speeds. 

 

Fort Worth favorites 

 

Forth Worth is a town of foodies. Thanks to a combination of locally-owned restaurants and nationally-available favorites, there’s something for everyone. This is not an exaggeration! 

 

To help you to achieve your goal of eating healthy, try Righteous Foods located right off Camp Bowie Boulevard. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner from all-organic sources guarantees each meal is full of the nutrients you need, not the preservatives you don’t. Looking for something that goes down easy? Try their expansive list of detox beverages as well.  

 

If you’re pressed for time, head to Juice Junkies where they serves raw and organic juices that bring the body back into balance. All their juices are USDA certified organic and made in-house…daily. That means they’re full of living enzymes and packed with nutrients!  

 

Finally, Spiral Diner serves up vegan comfort food that is all plant-based. With a menu full of options like burgers, sandwiches and hot plates, even would-be carnivores will find something to love. 

 

Getting healthy requires a change in lifestyle. From hitting the gym more, to ditching lounging on the couch, it can be hard to start a new routine. Don’t let your social life suffer by having to avoid going out to eat, because it will only make your end goal harder! With a little preparation and choosing the right restaurant, going out won’t get you off track.