Question:

If I want to go to Applebee's and enjoy something slightly sinful, without going overboard, what would you suggest?

Answer:

In order to identify "slightly sinful" it will require a bit of nutritional knowledge. Restaurants use delicious language that can even make tofu and bean sprouts sound decadent. Let me help you see through the smoke screen of tasty words to help you see what you are really getting.

I was very disappointed to learn that Applebee's does not post their nutritional information for their menu. I see this as a red flag, and it makes me very skeptical, as it should you, because there is probably plenty they do not want us to know. In fact, Applebee's was targeted in a two-month investigation, which found that all of their "Weight Watchers" menu choices had more fat than listed on the menu, with double and even triple the fat in three of the meals. I recently wrote that if you want to be successful with weight control, you must eat most meals from home, and this is the reason: Restaurants care about your money, not your waistline!

Applebee's is not alone with the calorie crime. You should go into every restaurant with a great deal of skepticism. Restaurants, especially chains such as Applebee's are required not only to make food taste good, but also to do so fairly quickly and in uniform fashion across the nation. As I have taught you, for the exception of spices, it is the unhealthy aspects of food that taste the best. Slipping in some fat to what would appear as a healthy choice is something of which you need to be aware.

So let me give you a little lesson that will help you make the best choice possible when dining away from home. This will require very careful comprehension of every word describing your menu selection, and a question or two for your server might be good to confirm how your food is prepared.

First, let's beware of small foods that hide fat! Fat hides in dressings, cheeses and sauces and can turn a healthy choice into a bad one. If a sauce contains cream or butter, it will be full of fat. You can make a healthy choice of a chicken breast, but if it is with a Mexi-ranch and Jack-cheddar sauce, along with salad that has cheese and dressing (fat-free is good), your meal is far from healthy.

Watch out for fried food! We all know that fried food has more fat, but the menu can often hide the fried foods by simply calling them "breaded" or "crispy." An Oriental Chicken Salad sounds healthy until you read deeper and see the "crispy" noodles and the fried chicken that are included. If something is baked or roasted, which is a healthier form of preparation, it will usually say so. You can always substitute grilled chicken for the fried.

Beware of calorie-dense carbs! There is nothing terribly wrong with breads, pasta, rice and potatoes, but they are calorie-dense, which means you will need to use portion control. Eat a bit too much of these starches, mixed in with other small sinful choices, and you will lose track of the calories very quickly.

Lastly, remember that beef, pork and non-white meat poultry has more fat than most seafood or white-meat poultry. A Grilled Shrimp 'n' Spinach Salad would be a great choice until you read closer and see "crisp bacon" and "hot bacon vinaigrette dressing," because bacon is naturally high in fat. Same thing with a Turkey Burger. Most people would think this poultry choice is a good one, but unless it is with turkey breast, there will be much more fat than you bargained for.

So if you want to be a little sinful, what do you do? My suggestion would be either spread out your sinfulness over your entire meal, or let one course contain all the sinfulness while keeping the others very healthy. Try a very healthy salad with a moderately sinful entree or a salad with all the trimmings and a very healthy entree. If you plan on eating an appetizer or dessert, I would stick to a garden salad with non-fat dressing and a very low-fat entree, as appetizers and desserts will automatically send you over the top. Remember, appetizers are butt maximizers!

I am fighting the urge, but I am weak and cannot contain it: If you live a healthy lifestyle, you can indulge at a restaurant and not worry about it! There, I feel better.

Doug Gibson
		About the author:
		Doug Gibson is a columnist for Cincy Chic and president of Sensible Fitness Personal Training Center in Blue Ash, Ohio, which specializes in women’s fitness programs. E-mail him at doug@sensiblefitness.com.
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Last update: 09-12-2008 13:08

Published in : Magazine Items, Health