I was fortunate to win a copy of Rocco Dispirito's book Now Eat This! 100 Quick Calorie Cuts from The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. Quite simply the book lists realistic and easy ways to cut calories at home and when eating out.
Losing weight can be such hard work, requiring you to eat nothing and do vast amounts of exercising. Isn't there a better way? Yes, and it's all about making small sacrifices changes- cut a few calories here and there and you'll be sliding into your skinny jeans in no time. That's what this book is about.
I was most curious about the eating out section. If it were up to me, except for special occasions or celebrations, I would rather not eat out at all. But, the other 3 of the Conyers' family enjoy going out to eat so I was determined to find a way to enjoy it too. Essentially, I eat out like I do at home without the cooking and cleaning. Everyone is happy!
What I order specifically:
PF Changs - chicken with black bean sauce, light oil, add broccoli, brown rice or chinese chicken salad tossed light, no wonton strips
Chipotle - burrito bowl, chicken, black beans, pico de gallo, salsa, lettuce and guacamole and yes, I enjoy the chips in moderation, eat 1/2 and take the other 1/2 home for leftovers
Dewey's Pizza -veggie, extra tomatoes, thin crust, light cheese, well done, not more than 2 slices
How I order in general...
salads - no cheese or croutons, dressing on the side or ordered tossed light depending on the restaurant
sandwiches - most often chicken or turkey,take off the top bread, extra veggies, only mustared if any condiments at all
pasta - whole grain pasta with chicken, no cream based sauces, light oil
dessert - I can't remember the last time I ordered dessert. I'm not much of sweets eater so the dessert menu is easy to skip (unlike chips and salsa). When dessert is ordered we split it between us.
For as long as I've been doing this it still gets a laugh and comment or 2 from the family. And it's important to know I have an exceptional appreciation for great service (and patience).
I enjoy what I eat and I eat what I enjoy. I make small changes and I never feel like I'm making sacrifices.
Back to the book. As you can see I have put a great deal of thought into how to enjoy eating out. I was happy to see a few small changes in Now Eat This! 100 Quick Calorie Cuts that I haven't thought of but will be trying. The other things about the book that stood out are the easy to read at-a-glance format and with each small change the "calories saved with these suggestions" are listed. How cool is that? No guess work if you'r counting calories.
One last note: As many of you know I'm an avid menu planner. The book includes a 14-day menu plan. I haven't tried it but at a glance, with a few tweaks depending on your calorie needs, it looks well balanced and doable. A good place to start if you're looking to make small changes whether eating out or eating at home.
Next I will read the quick calorie cuts for eating at home. Do you think I'll find a few new ideas to try?
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Do you enjoy eating out? What dips to you have for healthy eating when ordering from the menu?
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