Local Restaurant Survival Tips

When you are out to eat there's so many choices and great looking pictures in that menu that your overwhelmed with hungry. Especially when you are already hungry! Here's some things you can do to lighten the calorie intake at our favorite foodie places here in the Southern Tier!

Order from the “light” menu. Try Denny's "Fit Fare®"  or Applebee’s “Lighter Fare®,” or TGI Fridays "Right Portion, Right Price" (RPRP) - This means that a menu item has under 750 calories. Olive Garden has never ending salad and a Lighter Italian Fare Menu to choose from!

Also, skip the appetizer. It doesn't make sense to order and chow down a 1,000 calories before dinner. kick your meal off with a green salad (skip the bread too) instead of the fried mozzarella sticks. Say no to the the beef burgers. Eat a grilled chicken or veggie burger, and by all means... The bun? FORGET ABOUT IT!. Many restaurants will wrap your burger, sub, or sandwich in fresh lettuce or just turn it into a salad. if you cant give the bread up, ask for whole-grain at the very least.

My personal favorite: Veg out. Fill half your plate with fruit or vegetables, not potato's though. You might as well eat bread. Make the rest lean protein and whole grains. Last but not least, Doggy bag it. I remember a 1st date story from one of my long lost friends. She was on a date with a doctor and he saw her eating her whole plate. He says "You're... Just... Gonna eat that whole thing aren't you?" She of course was mortified and had a complex for two weeks, but maybe he was right? Too many calories are in one of those meals. Bring home half your plate for lunch tomorrow.