Eating good nutritious foods can be hard enough to handle at home let alone when you’re out on a business trip or at an event.

But it doesn’t have to be super complicated and you don’t have to bring your Tupperware (funny clip 🤣) with you to your next work event or family get-together… although you could and I’m not ashamed that I do sometimes!

Today, I’m going to give you some simple tips that you can take with you whenever you are traveling or outside of your home. Let’s get into it…

bon appétit!

If you’re out to eat and you want to simplify your eating, here are a couple of things you could try.

One option is to order a giant salad.

Ok, you’re probably thinking, “What a jerk, I don’t want a stupid salad”. -A little aggressive I think, but hear me out. And don’t worry if you don’t like this option because I have something else for you that typically works well for me.

Order a nice array of greens, throw a protein source on top such as chicken, steak, black beans, or tofu, and top that off with an olive oil based dressing or vingerette of some sort- try to avoid the creamy dressings.

And bam! That could work.

But if you’re not really feeling a bowl of greens here’s another great option:

Order from the entrée section and:

Step 1: Choose your protein

Step 2: Choose your vegetables

Step 3: Choose your carb/starch/side as needed

Step 4: Skip out on appetizers and desserts- unless you are sharing.

So something like any of these options below could be a good fit:

• Baked chicken with carrots and wild rice

• Grass-fed steak with green beans and a mushroom glaze

• Wild-caught salmon with asparagus and red skin potatoes

Also- Consider ordering only water and skip out on the sugary drinks.

But what if you are going out to eat at an event?

Well, first off, if you’re going to a nice banquet hall and are dressed up fancy then you can probably find good options; just try to stay away from the heavy stuff such as:

• Lasagna/pasta

• Burgers/pizza/hot dogs

• Creamy/cheesy/carby/breaded stuff

• Sweets and such

Basically, anything that makes your stomach bloat, expand, and causes you to drop a notch on your belt and sit in self-induced agony.

Ok, so maybe that’s a little extreme but I think you get the point.

If you’re not sure what the event is going to offer then consider eating a good meal with protein and lots of vegetables before you go and eat lightly when you’re there.

Other ideas to experiment with:

• Eat the main course portion and vegetables while you are at the event but opt out of the sides, appetizers, desserts, and other snack items

• Eat a big salad before you go to curb your appetite a bit so you eat less when you are there

• Consider not eating at all while you are there whether you eat a good meal beforehand or not. Fasting can actually be a good option and is good for the body once in awhile. How long and how often you do it is up to you and what your body can handle but it’s a fair option. This option does take a lot of will power though.

Additional things

• Eat until you are satisfied not stuffed

  • In the modern western world, we are conditioned to finish our plate and to eat large portions. But that’s not always conducive to good health.

• Eat slowly and try to chew more

  • If we can slow down while we eat and savor each bite it will be easier for us to recognize when we are satisfied. From there, we have to practice not always needing to finish our plate and stuff ourselves.

• Pay attention to how certain foods make you feel

  • Your body will tell you what works well for it and what doesn’t. It can be hard and time-consuming to figure this out but pay attention to how certain foods make you feel when they are eaten on their own. Do you consistently get a stuffy nose when you consume dairy? Do refined carbs make you feel bloated? These are all signs from your body telling you that it doesn’t like the food you are giving it.

Create a system that works for you

Hopefully some of these tips can start to move you in the right direction to make better decisions when you are eating outside of your home. We can’t control all of the variables and the objective is not to restrict yourself from your favorite foods or to give you strict guidelines. The idea is to work toward a BETTER and consistent eating routine that works for YOU that you can take with you wherever you go.

What works well for me is- When I am consistently cooking and eating good foods at home I give myself some wiggle room when I go out to eat or to an event on the weekend. I also make it a point to not go overboard when I do decide to indulge. I figure, if I’m consistently eating well when I am at home then I can give myself some grace on what I eat when I am out once in awhile.

I’ve built habits like these that work well for me and I’d love to teach you how to build your own healthy eating habits for yourself.

For additional tips such as:

• What to look for in a restaurant

• What to look for on a menu and what to avoid

• More details on ordering food when you are out to eat and some things you can ask your server that can help

• How to identify and eat more whole foods

• How to identify and be aware of highly-processed foods

And overall, how we can get back to our roots of eating real foods and avoiding the junk, then check out my new nutrition course- Nutrition 101: What Are Whole Foods?

Above all- Enjoy the experience of eating out, don’t be too hard on yourself, and come up with a set of personal eating habits that work for you and stay consistent.