Sharing family meals comes with several benefits that you should make this a daily habit, whether you are eating at home or dining out.
Eating meals with your family facilitates bonding and gives everyone the chance to catch up with and learn more about each other. It is an excellent way to stay updated and connected with every member of your household, especially with your kids.
Shared mealtimes also allow everyone to share their experiences, ideas, plans, and dreams. This is another way of knowing your children more and developing a deeper bond with them.
Eating family meals at home and the best restaurants in Doha is also the perfect opportunity for you to teach your children and help them develop healthy eating habits. You’ll be able to encourage them to try new foods, enabling them to expand their palate and get more nutrition from the foodstuffs they eat.
During these meals, you are also teaching your children how to make healthy food choices that will affect their overall wellness in the short and long term.
Eating Healthily When Dining Out With Your Family
Although dining out with your family is a great way to spend quality time with them, you have to ensure that this practice does not affect everyone’s healthy eating habits.
This is because making the wrong menu choices, particularly when done frequently, can undo the efforts you put into teaching your children healthy eating practices.
Fortunately, following certain tips and tricks allows you and your family to enjoy amazing meals in restaurants without guilt and worries.
Below are some of these best tips and tricks:
1. Choose healthily prepared dishes.
When ordering for your kids or helping them choose which ones to eat, go for dishes that are prepared using healthy cooking methods.
Start by opting for grilled, roasted, baked, steamed, and stir-fried appetizers and main dishes. These menu items are prepared and cooked without or with less oil and butter, making them healthier and with reduced fat and salt content.
For pasta dishes, recommend options with vegetable-based sauces such as marinara and pesto instead of cream-based ones since those contain more calories and saturated fat.
If the chosen dish is smothered in sauce and dressings, you can make it healthier by asking the server to serve them on the side. Doing so reduces the sodium, fat, and calories your little ones will consume.
2. Go heavy on the vegetables.
Dining at a restaurant doesn’t mean skipping out on veggies. There are various ways to encourage your kids to eat vegetables when you are in a restaurant.
Here are some tips you can follow:
- Order healthier sides, such as sauteed broccoli, steamed carrots, baked potatoes, corn on the cob (without butter and salt), and fresh salad (with the dressing on the side) instead of French fries, onion rings, or macaroni and cheese.
- Request for more veggies, such as zucchini, bell pepper, eggplant, arugula, and kale, to be added to your pizza.
- Ask for more lettuce, tomato, and onion on the burger.
- Request for whole black or pinto beans instead of the usual refried beans and more vegetables, such as lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and peppers, to be added to your tacos.
- Ask for a side of fresh salsa to use in place of ketchup and other sodium-heavy condiments.
3. Opt for whole grains.
If you are dining at an Asian or Mexican restaurant, ask the server if they can substitute your white rice with brown since the latter is a high-fiber whole grain to make the meal healthier, low-carb, and low-calorie.
Do the same when ordering Chinese noodle dishes. Some restaurants offer brown rice and shirataki noodles, which are low in calories yet more nutritious.
If you are eating at an Italian restaurant, find out if the chef can substitute the usual pasta noodles with whole wheat, zucchini, or butternut squash options. Ask for a whole-wheat pizza crust as well.
These options make for dishes that are low in calories and carbohydrates yet are still filling and packed with essential nutrients.
4. Select healthier proteins.
Regardless of which cuisine you and your family are partaking in, you can lower everyone’s calorie intake and have them eat nutrient-packed meals when you choose the proteins smartly.
Chicken and seafood should be your first options since they are nutrient dense and lower in fat and calories.
However, if you and your children are hankering for red meat, choose leaner cuts. For beef, pick filet mignon, flank steak, sirloin, skirt steak, and tenderloin.
For pork, opt for tenderloin, loin roast, and loin chop.
Keep in mind that the right protein can help everyone feel full and satisfied, which means your family won’t have to load up on empty carbs.
5. Keep an eye on portion sizes.
If the restaurant offers different sandwich sizes, choose the smallest for individual meals. For instance, if there is an option for ordering hamburgers with two or three patties, stick to just one since this is lower in calories.
Do the same when ordering chips. Choose the smallest serving instead of the largest one to avoid a calorie-packed meal.
Check the portion sizes of other dishes as well. If the dish is good for two people, make sure it will be shared by two persons in your group.
Another option is to have half of the dish boxed and take it home to eat on another day.
6. Choose your beverages and desserts smartly.
Sodas, artificially flavored fruit juices, and milkshakes contain high amounts of sugar and provide little nutrition for the body. It would be best not to order these beverages and stick to plain or fruit- or herb-infused water and tea with natural honey on the side so that you can control its sweetness.
If fresh fruit smoothies are on the menu, encourage your kids to order them. However, ask the server if they can be made with healthier ingredients, such as honey (instead of sugar) and Greek yogurt, so that they’ll be truly kid-friendly drinks.
These smoothies can also double as your children’s desserts, so explain this to your kids. And see to it that they still drink plenty of water throughout the meal.
For dessert, consider ordering one that two of your kids can share so that they’ll consume fewer calories.
Another option is to choose fruit-based desserts like parfait or apple crumble instead of chocolate-based desserts or yogurt instead of ice cream since they are healthier options.
Eating out with your children is also a great way to end a day full of kids’ activities in Doha.
But aside from rewarding your kids with delicious food and beverages with a meal at a restaurant, make sure everyone develops or continues healthy eating habits by following these tips.
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