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Restaurant Food… What to Eat?

If you’re 100% on a strict paleo diet, eating out will be difficult.  That’s why most people are not on the 100% strict paleo diet.  Personally, I recommend being on the 80/20 paleo diet.  1 – It’s much easier to stick to, 2 – You still get to enjoy some things such as beer!  3 –  You don’t have to be that annoying friend on the paleo diet that never hangs out with your friends because they like to eat out.

However, when you are eating out, you can still try to eat as healthy as possible and not undo all the good you’ve been doing.  So what should you do when you eat out to do less damage?  Well, here’s my take on it:

Mexican Restaurants

Steak Fajitas

I know what you’re thinking.  Rice… and beans!  That doesn’t seem paleo at all!  Well, true, but everything else isn’t too bad!  Let’s take for example if you go to a fast food Mexican restaurant… such as Chipotle or Qdoba.  I recommend getting something like the Burrito Bowl/Naked Burrito.  Every time I visit – I order this, skip the rice, and order meat, lettuce,  cilantro, salsa, lots and lots of guacamole!  As any paleo eater knows, guacamole is super filling – so I don’t even need the rice!  Occasionally, I even order beans… and if you’re going to do this, stick with black beans.

Let’s take a look at if you’re at a non-fast food Mexican Restaurant.  This is great, start off with some guacamole, and then next I would either order a Fajita and eat it without the rice/beans/tortillas, or you can order any of those meat dishes and just skip the harmful things!

Asian Restaurants

Kung Pao Chicken

It’s pretty obvious what I am about to say:  Skip the rice.  But obviously you don’t have to.  Do what you want, I’m not the boss of you.  To be honest sometimes I have a little!  But at Asian restaurants, what you want to do is order un-fried meat and veggies… and those that don’t have a ton of sugary sauce all over it (looking at you guys that love sweet and sour sauce!).  At Chinese restaurants, I suggest something like Kung Pao Chicken (without the peanuts, or with it but just don’t eat it), Mushroom Chicken, Mongolian Beef, you get the idea.  Also – very important… ask them to not add any MSG.  Many Asian restaurants put a load of that stuff in their food, and it’s horrible for you!

American Restaurants

Steak

This isn’t super hard either.  Skip the bread, first of all.  Most meats you order is going to be a big slab of greatness (I mostly say this because I love meat) but a lot of places tend to make the meat – let’s say a grilled chicken breasts….. and then add a pound of creamy sauce or something unhealthy all over it.  Either ask for NO sauce, or ask for it on the side so that if you do change your mind to indulge… you have a chance.  Side items are pretty easy to handle as you can usually choose mixed vegetables or something, and if your entree actually comes with fries, you usually CAN ask to change it.  Salads are another good choice too, and for dressing, the most healthy would be something like balsamic vinaigrette.  Golden rule with salads?  Ask for the dressing on the side.  It is a well known situation that American restaurants tend to put way more dressing on the salad than you actually need.


Other than these, there’s some other tips paleo-eaters have tried such as:

• Start by asking for a gluten-free menu
• Maybe mention you have to avoid some foods because of food allergies, be it soy or gluten
• Just do some research before going to the restaurant – check out their menu’s online and plan ahead!

So what other tips do you have when you go out to eat to stay healthier?

Related Posts:

• Eating Paleo at Restaurants (paleoplan.com)
• A Paleo (and Non-Paleo) Restaurant: Urban pL8 (ohsnapletseat.com)
• Eating Out Paleo- 11 Tips for Every Cuisine (simplypaleo.com)
• How To Eat Paleo On A Budget (ohsnapletseat.com)

Smoked Pork Plate at Cue

Cue is this restaurant I found in the Alpahretta area of Georgia.  The first time I’ve ever gone there, the food was good but I didn’t remember it well as I didn’t really have BBQ ever back then.  Now that I’ve had lots of yummy BBQ, I can vouch that this place is seriously delicious.  (Even Yelp agrees!)

Just take a look at this stuff (Warning:  May Cause Hunger!!):

Smoked Pork (chopped), Brunswick Stew, Campfire Butternut Squash

This is the Smoked Pork plate that I like to order (menu).  The plates come with your choice of two sides.  What I LOVE is they have these “Seasonal Vegetable” that I’m not sure if they change every day or every week, but so far every order of it has been great!

The Seasonal Veggie on this plate is the Campfire Butternut Squash.  It is made SO well, and reminds me of sweet potatoes because it is perfectly sweet and tender.  If you ever visit, and they have this as the Seasonal Veggie, GET IT!

Campfire Butternut Squash at Cue

From another visit at Cue, I ordered the same plate, but the season veggie of the day was fried okra:

Smoked Pork (Chopped), Brunswick Stew, Fried Okra

The fried okra was yummy but nothing too different from fried okras from other restaurants.  The Brunswick soup is also pretty good, and my only complaint might be that it is a bit salty for my taste.

Every table has three different sauces for you to sprinkle on anything you like.  They are mustard based, vinegar based, and then a tomato based sauce.  My personal favorite is the sweet tomato based one and here it is all over my Smoked Pork:

Sweet Tomato Based Sauce

Everyone seems to like a different sauce but at my table, most people liked the tomato based one.

I have to say this is probably the best BBQ I have had any where near the Atlanta area so far, so I definitely recommend you try it out if you are ever int he area!

Related articles

• Hungry? The best BBQ Joints in America (25 Photos) (thechive.com)
• Cue on Yelp (yelp.com)
• Pitt Cue Co. BBQ, South Bank (Royal Festival Hall) (rwapplewannabe.wordpress.com)