Eating Out - What we do

Last night we decided to go for a meal out and we were met with the usual problem of where do we go that sticks to plan? So I thought I'd write a post about our findings and what we do in this situation. 

The usual place we start is looking for somewhere that does grills or burgers. Harvester is our main choice, partly because there's one down the road but also because they allow a lot of customisation that works for us. Our other choices recently have been GBK and Brewers fair. So what do we eat? 

At Harvester yesterday we both decided to go for the mixed grill. This contain lots of different meat sources but crucially no ribs or anything covered in BBQ sauce, which we can't have. We customised it and said no chips or onion rings and left the gravy to the side also. The waiter substituted the chips for mixed veg but actually this turned out to not be much better because it was mostly sweetcorn and carrots, which we don't have. So we both ended up leaving that and just sticking with the salad from the salad bar. Again from there the choice is limited but we could have plenty of lettuce, cucumber and I had a little onion. The meat was really nicely cooked and gave us a lot of yummy variety. Other meals that we've had there are the steak, again with none of the extras, and I had a chicken platter once. Because they have lots of meat on the menu we usually get a choice. 

At GBK or Gourmet Burger Kitchen for those that don't know, we have less choice but it makes a nice change. We choose the mega burger and have it without the bun or the fries. The burger comes with 2 patties, bacon and cheese. We have to make sure to ask for no relish and no dressing on the salad. However, the burgers are nice there, if a little expensive. 

Brewers Fair is similar to Harvester and when we went we both had the mixed grill. However, we both agreed that the food wasn't as nice as the Harvester and we didn't enjoy it as much. We picked it because it was next door to the hotel we were staying in. 

For lunches out we tend to have things like Peperami and chicken snacks. Fortunately for us the week we were away they were half price in Tesco so we didn't have to spend a fortune on them. It is convenient to have these and fills us enough. But not something to do regularly.  

At the moment we haven't really tried anywhere else but the main things we look for on the menu are meat heavy meals or burgers without buns. We've had an experience where a naked burger didn't mean that but generally this has worked out for us. Obviously we don't eat out often and it's much better to eat home cooked food but it's also really nice to have an alternative. 

As a takeaway option we, very, occasionally have kebabs. The best choice is to have the meat on a skewer option, like the chicken shish, however, I'm naughty and sometimes have the doner. It is just much harder to know what goes into this so you may be eating more carbs that you realise. 

So it is very possible to eat out on this diet but you need to watch out for the hidden things you might not think of, like salad dressing. Enjoy these meals occasionally but most of all, stick to plan. :). 

On that note I'd like to sign off and say that by sticking to plan so far I've reached my interim target of under 160lb and now aiming for the next one. Still got 1.5stone to go!!