“Where is my sex life?”- A Tale of Life after Kids by Medimanage.com

It’s Rashmi’s 21st birthday. And she is depressed!

Now, don’t read too much between the lines! Rashmi’s obviously happy that she was born. It’s just the thought of eating out that has our health conscious Birthday girl feeling all the hues of the color blue.

The famed Indian cuisine is world renowned for being harsh on the waistline; packed to the brim with herbs, spices and masalas which are used in recipes that demand to be cooked or sautéed rather than boiled or steamed!This exotic cuisine also employs the ample services of the dreaded butter, Ghee and Oil! No wonder our Birthday girl is worried about dinning out on her birthday.

But Rashmi needn’t worry about any gastronomical disasters waiting to happen! All she has to do is be choosy about what she wants and orders and she can simply ‘Healthy Eat’ away her anxiety, regarding eating out. It doesn’t take a lot to be make healthy choices whilst eating out; all you have to do is know what you want to eat, what you don’t want to eat and what you absolutely shouldn’t be eating out!

Here are a few tips on how to be make good food choices and eat Healthy while dining out: -

H2O is the way to go: Choose good ole’ water and drink lots of it during the entire meal, whenever you have to eat out. Try and avoid any sorts of fizzy drinks as they have high levels of sugar with no nutritious components and contain a lot of calories. If alcohol cannot be avoided don’t opt for beer or breezers, instead choose wine, champagne, vodka or Gin.
Don’t land in a Creamy soup: Choose broth based or clear soups rather than the cream based ones. Unfortunately your favorite Tomato soup is a cream based soup! Now’s definitely the right time to make a healthy choice.
Remember to see red when you see Bread: Choose to push the flour filled bread basket far far away from you, if you want to dine healthy when eating out. And if the temptation is too great, simply order a whole wheat bread or steamed veggies to munch on.

While eating out, do remember to talk to the waiter! It simply means that you should be more upfront in asking him not just ‘Aaj ka special, kya hain?’, but also what ingredients are used in the preparation of your meal. By doing this, you not only know exactly what’s going to go inside your stomach but also you can customize your meal. Start by asking for less of oil, more of veggies, grilled instead of fried chiken and fish and finally steamed instead of cooked rice. Remember choose ‘healthy’.

Following are a few more tips to make healthy choices:

Start Healthy: When it comes to starters, size does matter; smaller the better. Avoid the Aloo based starters in the vegetarian section and if you can’t, request the amount of oil used to be minimal. If non- veg is on your mind, choose a grilled variety rather than going for a fried one. Choose to steer clear of the cheese and Pakora’s.

What if I order a Salad, instead? asks Rashmi, the anxious birthday girl.

Of course, you can! Just remember to keep the salads fat free by avoiding those dressings or having them served in a separate bowl.

Mind the Main course: The main course is when the calorie bomb tends to go off, thereby derailing your efforts to eat healthy. A sure shot way to choose healthily here would be to make a few important exchanges. To read more about “Where is my sex life?”- A Tale of Life after Kids by Medimanage.com