Eating Out?
Don’t panic!
I went for a great meal last night.
Really Fabulous
A Brazillian restaurant called Fogo Gaucho in Southampton.
DELICIOUS!
Great service – I was lead in by the arm, and kissed on the hand by the cowboy hatted doorman
That was a rather lovely start
(I am a sucker for that kind of thing)
Stunning building, gorgeous staff, brilliant concept – LOVED IT
If you’re local to Southampton you should definitely give it a try.
I wrote on a napkin something that I wanted to give you today, while I was enjoying that lovely meal – and I have just found it…
It’s stuff that works for me – about eating out
and when I have passed these tips on people have found it all a bit EUREKA!!!
So here goes….
***Tanya’s Top Ten Tips for enjoying Restaurant Meals WITHOUT blowing your diet!***
1. Don’t be intimidated!
Sounds silly, but people are often a little shy of asking for EXACTLY what they want.
It’s YOUR dinner!
It’s YOUR money!
It is perfectly OK to ask them to:
- take the chicken skin off
- give you a smaller portion
- not have cream or butter added
- have less of something and more of something else
- any other change that you would make at home
A good restaurant would be happy to do that for you.
In some cases the change might not be possible as the ingredient is necessary for the dish, but you can phone ahead and check.
If they are not amenable with anything… then it may be that they are just microwaving frozen food – so it’s probably not very nice anyway!
2) Doggie Bags
We Brits are rubbish at asking for food to take
home.
A GREAT tip is – when you order, say you are not too hungry and you would like half of your food to take home
(good restaurants will package it up nicely)
and there’s your lunch for tomorrow sorted.
This is standard practice in other countries (and it is not a chavvy thing to do).
3) Do Your Homework
Most restaurants publish their menus online now
Check out the options in advance – work out what you are going to have and again, call them for clarification on ingredients.
A good restaurant will be delighted to help.
4) Pace Yourself, Tiger
Think about what you are going to be eating for the
WHOLE of the day.
And the timings.
You do not want to arrive at the restaurant starving
(you are way more likely to order the extra sides
and so on)
Have a healthy snack an hour before to take the edge off.
And you’ll look all ladylike and dainty…
And get a second date if it is that kind of occasion
Boys go mad for that kind of thing…
Bless them.
5) Water
Sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger.
Make sure you keep yourself SUPER hydrated through
the day.
THEN
Another large glass of water at the table as soon as you get there.
It’s not ideal to drink while you eat as it messes with the digestive enzymes you need to digest your food.
This WILL stop you overeating.
6) Take Your Time
When you eat it takes 20 minutes or so for your food to hit the deck.
If you ram in your food, your stomach won’t have time to send the message to your brain that you are full up.
Apart from the fact that you will suddenly feel all uncomfortable and bloated, you are likely not to have chewed properly and you’ll get embarrassing indigestion
(blowing off and burping at the table is so not a good first date look)
7) Put Down Your Cutlery
Have you ever watched some people eat when they are out?
It is the only time I get a serious snob attack…
People eat like someone is going to take it away!
…and with their mouths full.
And so fast they are sometimes not even breathing.
One of my children calls these people ‘restaurant daywalkers’.
Harsh.
Snigger…
In between mouthfuls – put your knife and fork down give yourself time to chew and swallow
and talk!
8) Practice Mindful Eating
Mindfulness is the practice of being, here, now, completely in this moment, using your senses.
FEEL the food in mouth.
The different textures, the temperature the way things pop and soften and crunch. Notice the differences between them.
SMELL the aromas
Do you like them? Is it strong, or subtle, do you like them? Are they new?
Do they remind you of a time or a place or a person?
TASTE the flavours
Are they creamy or sharp – can you pick out the individual parts
Do they taste different combined
Does it taste different to your cooking
Can you identify the differences
SEE what is on your plate
Really look.
The shapes, the colours – the way the chef has decided it should be presented,
Is it piled high – or arranged on a level.
When you cut it – notice the inside…was it what you expected?
HEAR what happens
The crack of your bread
The crunching
The sound your knife makes when you slice through your food.
Take the time to notice..
And enjoy your food with a new appreciation
9) You CAN have a starter as a main course
They don’t mind
Often there are healthier choices on the starter menu.
They are almost always smaller.
And cheaper.
And while we are on the starter subject you don’t have to have one.
You wouldn’t at home…
10) Puddings…
Hmmmmm
I don’t
That’s actually a lie
I normally dont
But last night they had the most delicious grilled pineapple that a rather handsome young man carved for me at the table so it would have been rude to say no.
Especially as pineapple helps you digest your food.
It was AMAZING.
Anyway.
Normally they clear your plates and ask if you want dessert.
No would be a good answer…
But if you reckon you can’t resist – answer with “not now…maybe in a while”
Don’t be rushed – you’ve paid for that table.
I’ve worked as a waitress when I was a teenager, so I know – we were really so so busy we never kept tabs on the length of time people were there.
If,
after your food has gone down
and you have had another drink of water
and a wee
and checked yourself out in the toilet mirror
and redone your lipstick
and remembered this email…
you STILL want one…
Then share a fruity one with a friend.
But you don’t need pudding!
…OR…WHY NOT…
get a healthy, tasty dessert and put it in the fridge to have when you get home.
SERIOUSLY GOOD TIP ^^^^^^^
BONUS TIP
Between you and me, right?
(I always do this)
Pretend to be a restaurant critic.
I always do that.
It’s fun.
Take a notebook,
ask for ‘house drinks’
ask the waiter if they enjoy working there
ask where the meat came from
FREAKS THEM RIGHT OUT
I even ask to see the kitchen sometimes and shake hands with the chef and manager when I am feeling REALLY mischievous.
You watch the treatment you get after that!
Happy eating