As Simplex patients and clients navigate changing their eating habits, one concern that comes up repeatedly is how to do this while eating out when you are on the go. Making these changes is a lot easier once you’ve gotten the hang of making different meals in your own kitchen. Eating out adds a whole new layer of complexity that can feel stressful for those who are new to the low insulin – high fiber game.  Never fear, we have your back. 

The first thing to remember: It is what you eat most of the time that matters. What you eat if you go out to eat once every couple of weeks isn’t as big of an issue. However, doing the best you can with the menu at hand is still prudent. 

The second thing to remember: Only concern yourself with what you can actually control. Sometimes, but not always, you can control WHERE you go to eat. You can also often, but not always, choose what you order. This is obviously different when the menu is pre-ordered or fixed like at a large organized party. We’ve all been to that kids birthday party where the options are pizza or birthday cake. A topic for another day. 

Let’s start with choosing where to eat. Your best options are always restaurants that have plenty of meal options that include locally procured fresh whole foods. For example, a local seafood joint that serves a fresh catch of the day and veggies from local farms might use better ingredients than say an Applebees. Not to knock Applebees. Nothing wrong with a Bourbon Street Steak, hold the potatoes and double veggies! To be fair, not all areas have restaurants like these and for some bizarre reason can often be more expensive. 

Next up is controlling what you order. Let’s continue with this Applebees example. It is a national chain and the menu is pretty consistent. The general tenets of what meals will serve you best remain the same. Meals made of whole foods that are grilled, sauteed, roasted, baked, broiled or steamed. Where a lot of people get derailed is in the appetizers. Yikes! Don’t even look at them. Nothing but deep fried nonsense. Go straight for the entrees! If you need an appetizer, ask for a side salad to come before your meal. Applebees offers a few different steaks, chicken and salmon options. All meals come with a veggie and usually some sort of potato or rice. We’d recommend ditching the potatoes or rice for double veggies.  Avoid the deep fried foods, pastas and sandwiches. Burgers can be ordered without a bun, add the other fixin’s and ask for veggies or a salad or both instead of fries. Now here comes the tricky part. Dessert. Here’s where we lay the challenge at your feet. Make your meal so satiating that you don’t even need dessert. Make your meal do its job! 

Hopefully this Applebees example provides some clarity. You can apply these principles almost anywhere. Let’s make it a game! How about Italian restaurants? What would you avoid? The pasta, bread and deep fried stuff.  Go straight for the steaks, fish and chicken. Ditch the side of pasta, go for the sauteed or grilled veggies and a side salad. 

Now do Mexican! Carne Asada anyone? Extra veggies no rice please. Or fajitas, no tortillas or rice, bring extra guac! Many Mexican restaurants will just bring over a basket of tortilla chips and salsa. They aren’t being nice, they want you to be thirsty and hopefully order a cerveza or margarita! Ask for guacamole with whatever fresh cut veggies they may have. Many also have jicama you can dip too. 

Even McDonalds can be hacked! Ditch the buns and fries and go for the burgers, no buns and a side salad. Or for breakfast order a couple of eggs and sausage patties. 

You get the picture. As you continue to practice the low-insulin high-fiber approach, it gets easier and easier. Eventually your eyes will skip right over the stuff you know will make you feel like garbage after and go straight for the best options available. And again, it’s what you eat most of the time that matters. Once you feel healthy, resilient and capable of handling “excursions” without getting derailed, then you can indulge once in a while. You might still feel like garbage after a while but that is ok. It serves as a reminder of why you have chosen not to eat those foods anymore. 

The point is, go out. Enjoy life. Spend time with friends and family. Food doesn’t need to be entertainment. That is what your friends and family are for.