Keep the Calories to a Minimum When Dining at the Best Steakhouse Restaurants

One good rule of thumb when you’re struggling to keep to your low-calorie healthy diet is to avoid eating out as much as possible. That way, you can make sure that you pick the right foods and you can prepare them properly. The problem with this rule is that it can be hard to avoid invitations to eat out with family and friends. That’s especially true when your group of friends tends to meet up in the best steakhouse restaurants in your part of town.

How can you say no to good company and great-tasting food? The temptation for some is to just say “to hell with the diet” and lose all inhibitions, but that’s simply not a wise choice when you’re trying to stay healthy. Lucky for you, there are some simple tips you can heed that can help minimize the risk of totally abandoning your low-calorie approach.

1. Pick fish instead. A lot of good steakhouses these days offer seafood as well, and they can be very tasty alternatives. You can instead order salmon or tuna and enjoy not just a great flavor but also lots of protein to go along with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3 goes a long way to help keep your cardio system healthy.

Aside from fish, you can also order shrimp, crab, or lobster. Just make sure you get them steamed, grilled, or boiled, and you’ll be fine. You can also get some seafood gumbo that cuts down the calorie consumption to less than 250 calories per cup. You can even hold the rice for even greater calorie savings.

2. Go for lean meat and reduce the serving size. Regardless of the cut of steak you pick, you can just ask the folks there to cut out all the visible fat to minimize the calorie content. You can also go with sirloin or filet and you’re good to go. Just make sure you don’t exceed 9 ounces for your serving, and it’s better if you can reduce this even further to 6 or even 3 ounces if that’s possible. This means you can order a serving and share it with others.

Other cuts you can try include tenderloin (either round or flank steak), and London broil. What you should avoid are T-bone, porterhouse, and rib eye. A porterhouse can end up giving you 1,100 calories along with 32 grams of saturated fat. On the other hand, with sirloin, you can limit the calories to just 400 or so as long as you don’t eat more than 9 ounces. You don’t want rib eye as it has 50% more fat than the sirloin.

3. For side dishes, go with steamed veggies, green salad, and dressing on the side, rice, or plain baked potatoes. Mashed potatoes are even better.

4. You may want to avoid fried veggies — or anything fried for that matter. You should also steer clear of marinated or Caesar salad as well as scalloped potatoes and french-fries.

5. Minimize the sodas and beer. These can offer a lot of calories that you’ll be unable to burn off, especially when you forget how many drinks you have and you overindulge.

6. For desert, you should also overlook classics like ice cream or pie. Instead, choose sherbet or angel food cake.

Always try to share the food servings whenever you can. Enjoy talking with your friends and family, and take your time eating. You can enjoy the tastes of the dishes without having to eat too much. As long as you practice moderation, you’ll be able to resist the calorie traps of even the best steakhouse restaurants in the state.