The Truth About Dinner

Appetizer
OK, let's be real. The truth about dinner is that nobody has time to cook a healthy meal from scratch every night. The truth about dinner is that our busy lifestyles require us to eat out for a variety of reasons - business travel, soccer games, night out with the hubby, etc.

Eating at our favorite restaurants is simply a fact of life, but that doesn't mean that you have to completely blow your healthy meal plan every time you go out to eat. Make MORE responsible choices from the menu, and you'll still be on your way to a svelte waistline and happy heart.

Main Course
When faced with an array of meal choices, do you have a hard time deciding what to choose? Well, if you're like most of us, you don't want to sacrifice taste for health, so Women's Health magazine has come to the rescue.

They've sent taste testers, who happened to be registered dieticians, out to some of the most popular restaurants. After sampling and testing the foods in a lab, they developed a list of healthy eating recommendations for casual dining chains such as:

Applebee's
Bennigan's
The Cheesecake Factory
Chili's Grill & Bar
Olive Garden
Outback Steakhouse
Red Lobster
Ruby Tuesday
T.G.I. Friday's
Uno Chicago Grill

Next time you head out the door to grab a bite to eat, log on and see what tasty, guilt-free things you can enjoy.

Dessert
As someone who loves to eat and has traveled often for work, I've had the pleasure of dining at each and every one of these restaurants. I was thrilled to know that some of my favorite choices were validated as being healthy by the Women's Health team, but I was also a little surprised by some of the choices that I had totally overlooked.

Lesson learned: Don't assume that you know what's in the food you're eating. Restaurants are great at sneaking in butter and oil in places where you would least expect them.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.