Umm, how is it nearly 5:00 PM already? I must have time-traveled from breakfast until now!?! 
It’s been quite the day.
Breakfast
I woke up bright and early this morning to work on my book edits. I plowed through 15 pages in less than 2 hours, which was pretty awesome. I felt sooooo productive!
For breakfast, I enjoyed a wonderful bowl of overnight oats with rolled oats, vanilla soy milk, sweet potato, walnuts, chia seeds, and Barney Butter. I also drank an iced coffee with a splash of almond milk.
Lunch
After breakfast, I headed straight to NuVal where I worked my little tail off! I’m traveling for the next two weeks, so I’m trying to get a head start on my Trading Up Downtown posts.
While working away, I ate some cheese tortellini, plain Oikos, and a peach.
I also had a little bit of my coworker’s Tex Mex Tabouli, which tasted amazing. Mmm! She’s going to email me the recipe, so I’ll be sure to share it on Carrots ‘N’ Cake.
Snack
When I got home from NuVal, I snacked on a Sandwich Thin with Barney Butter smeared on top. Best snack ever.
Mal and I are meeting my buddy, Blain, for dinner tonight. I think Buffalo Chicken Pizza is on the agenda. I hope I can behave! 
Feel Great Weight
Speaking of dining out, check out this week’s post: 3 Diet-Friendly Ways to Navigate the Dinner Menu.
Eggland’s Best at BlogHer ’10
Are you going to BlogHer in New York City next week? Well, I will see you there! 
Eggland’s Best is one of my sponsors for the event and they’re hosting a Meet & Greet event for bloggers on Friday, August 6th. If you’re available, we’d love to have you! Feel free to email me for more details.
Question of the Day
Do you struggle to find healthy meals when you dine out? Do you let yourself splurge at restaurants? What are your favorite healthy meals to order?
{ 69 comments… read them below or add one }
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I def stuggle when I dine out, but I try to eat half of the portion and that usually helps. But sometimes I just got nuts because it tastes to good!
I often order salads when I go out, but I don’t go out often, so when I do, I often splurge!
(There are too many commas here — can’t you edit that?) hehe
Have fun tonight =]
I usually plan ahead to avoid any temptations or issues when dining out. I am careful about where I will go, and I scour the menu online beforehand. I often order salads with grilled chicken or tofu, or simple grilled fish with vegetables and a baked potato. I have simple tastes and I usually don’t splurge on dinners out. Enjoy your buffalo pizza tonight!
If it’s a restaurant that I know has a website, I’ll almost always go on to check out any nutrition stats that I can find. Sometimes, some of the dishes I’d expect to not be that great for you actually aren’t too bad! Most of the time I try to be very conscious of my decisions, but other days, I just go with what I’m really craving. Life’s too short!
I usually try to look ahead at the menu of where I’ll be eating and plan something healthy. Or, if I know there’s going to be a dish I want to splurge on I’ll eat lighter the rest of the day and then maybe workout a little harder too.
My favorite healthy meal to order is usually a salad, or if they have something like hummus on the menu I’ll get that.
Buffalo Chicken Pizza is my fav, enjoy!
I find it really hard ordering out out with allergies. The trick is to choose the restaurant carefully for me.
I eat gluten- and dairy-free now, which rules out so many of my old splurges! Before these changes, though, I had a lot of trouble eating healthy at restaurants because I aways viewed it as a treat. Now when I eat out it really is a treat (like sushi with my own soy sauce! Yum!) So I think it is ok to splurge on those occasions.
I tend to stick to healthy stuff at restaurants just because my pescatarian diet and general distaste for greasy food doesnt leave much room for anything too unhealthy. But every now and then I’ll splurge on a dessert! Last time it was a sundae with peppermint ice cream and brownie bits shared with the boyfriend. Yum!
It’s so funny but I always make great choices when I go out. I eat out so much better than I eat in. I’m kind of backwards that way from what I hear.
You gotta share the Tex Mex Tabouli recipe. It looks yummy.
I do like to splurge somewhat when I eat in restaurants, but for the most part I eat the same as I do at home. I usually order a piece of protein (fish usually since I don’t eat this at home much) with veggies and a sweet potato if available. I stay away from desserts and drinks (more because of the cost than the calories!) I do indulge in the bread/butter basket if there is one. You only live once so I can’t completely deprive myself.
We eat out about once a week. I try to splurge when it’s a celebration (my birthday, an anniversary), and make healthier choices the rest of time. I try to choose salads with grilled chicken or fish, broth-based soups, grilled fish, whole wheat pasta, etc. Doing some research before getting to the restaurant is key for me.
I’ve been getting really stressed out lately when dining out. I am gluten free and I don’t like to eat too much fatty food. I’m not sure I like the notion of splurging because then I start to make excuses to splurge and make it a bigger habit than it should be. So instead, I think it’s better to learn self control and only eat a few bites of something more frequently if need be.
I’ll splurge on Enchiladas when I go out, but I try to keep my portions under control and ask for a side of veggies instead of whatever else they want to give me.
When I am eating out deciding whether or not to splurge all depends on how good I have been that week. If it is a week full of eating out, then I keep it healthy. If not then why not!
I find that looking at the nutritional information page at the dining establishment beforehand really keeps me in check. Plus, it usually takes me a good 20 minutes to decide what to have so I usually get to pick something before we get there. This way too I can figure out what meal works best into my nutritional needs while still being able to enjoy a glass of wine
Tex Mex Tabouli? That sounds and looks awesome. I will try to recreate
My splurges are usually mexi and Italian becuase I go all out, but whenever I eat veggie sushi, I feel like that’s a pretty healthy choice!
I splurge if it is worth it to me otherwise I navigate the menu pretty well. My situation is a little different with food allergies, so I don’t really get to splurge that much.
Perfect timing on this post! I go out to eat every Wednesday with my folks and fiance, sometimes it’s a struggle, and sometimes not. Generally in order to make good choices I need to look over the menu before-hand (so I make a decision when I’m not starving) and stick with it. I’ll eat better earlier in the day and workout a little harder, too.
I’m thinking a side salad with hummus this week!
I try not to stress out. I don’t eat out much anymore and one meal is not going to kill me. I generally go for salads but if something looks good, I’ll go for it!
Sounds like a super productive day!! Eating out used to be a constant source of anxiety for me, but I’ve started to loosen up. My tastes are pretty healthy, so my entree is usually pretty good for me, but I love to enjoy wine, bread and dessert, especially at a great restaurant!!
I’d love to go to the Eggland’s Best event but I feel like it would be kind of hypocritical since I don’t really eat eggs? Haha…
I can’t wait to see that recipe! It looks amazing. I had a peach with lunch today too
I usually just wing it at restaurants and try to make a healthy but tasty choice.
I usually splurge when I go out.
I try to be good at home so I hope it balances out! 
When I am trying to be good at restaurants, I order grilled/steamed fish and veggies or something like a salmon salad with balsamic vinegar.
It’s always a struggle. I always look at the menu at least a day in advance (if possible) that way I have an idea of what I might order and if necessary I can try to plan that day’s meals in accordance…a little OCD I know but it works out pretty well for me!
I usually let myself splurge when I go out to eat. I focus on only getting something I really want and crave and trying to eat a reasonable, healthy portion of it. I know I keep my normal eating very healthy for the most part, so I try not to stress myself over the occasional meal out.
Eating out is one of my biggest challenges! We like to eat out a lot with friends and seeing them eat whatever they want always makes me dread picking the salad or lighter meal options. I try not to splurge too often but it definitely needs to happen from time to time.
I’m always scared about posting a semi-critical comment on a blog, because while I don’t intend it to be negative, anything except 100% agreement often comes across wrong on the internet, so I just want to make it clear that this isn’t a negative comment!
I think your approach to food and exercise is great, and you seems really level-headed and normal about things. I also think your Health articles as well as the tips and tricks you post on your blog are great, and informative. However, the two often have conflicting messages. Your articles and tips often sound like a women’s mag, but your actual approach is more “real” and doesn’t seem to conform to the healthy “rules” in the Health articles, etc. I don’t think either method is wrong, but I was curious to see what you thought about this!
I do find myself struggling a bit when eating out. Mostly, because growing up eating out was a big treat in our house, so we all ordered something special, whatever we wanted. Even though I eat out far more often than I did as a child, I still view it somewhat as a treat. I feel like, if I’m paying for someone to make me something, I want to order what I want to eat. I have a real battle in my head when ordering sometimes, and it can be frustrating, but usually, taste and food enjoyment win out. Sometimes those lead to healthy choices (seared ahi with fresh veggies) and sometimes they lead to less than healthy (cheeseburger!!).
Ohh sweet potato in oats- do tell more!
I generally do OK at restaurants- I often ask for dressings on the side, cos they nearly always go too heavy. The only thing I splurge on is dessert
you know, it’s not hard to find healthy options, but i usually do splurge at restaurants just because we typically don’t eat out very often. i usually like to do a veggie burger or something like that with fries, so you kind of get the best of both worlds
I usually go out for sushi..so it’s easy
I try to eat as normally as possible when I eat out. I rarely eat out, but I think it’s more for the company than the food. Haha I can cook better than a lot of the restaurants I eat at.
I realllly try to order healthy but my weakness is always sweet potato fries!
Honestly, when I eat out, I try to order something reasonably healthy (aka: something that atleast has some veggies), but I usually just get what I want. I find that I feel so deprived if I don’t and I never ever finish even half my food anyway.
it depends on what i’m doing the next day – if i’ve got an audition or shoot, i’ll usually just stick to a salad. but if not and if i’m going someplace special, i always make sure to order the house specialty. tonight i’m going to a jewish deli and getting the monte cristo or pastrami for sure!!!!
I normally try and read the menu before I get there to see what is on offer
I always want to find new and exciting dishes at restaurants. I rarely try to be healthy.
The Tex Mex Tabouli looks amazing! Can’t wait to see that recipe!!
I need to get better about NOT splurging so much at restaurants! I splurge when out a lot!
I had tabbouleh for lunch too! I have trouble not overeating at restaurants. Between appetizers, bread, and drinks, and dessert… You have to wheel me outta there!
It sounds like you had a very productive jam packed day. I usually just alter menu items to fit my nutritional needs.
I totally have trouble finding food at restaurants that is both healthy and that tastes good. Oh, and also that I want to spend money on! I hate getting salads at restaurants because I so rarely eat out, I think it’s lame to just eat a salad. And a lot of menu items I think “I could make it at home so easy, why would I pay for it?”
I don’t think too much about it. I just go with the flow, and then order what I like. That being said, I make compromises. For instance, if I know I’m going to order dessert, I’ll keep dinner on the healthier side. Or, if I want to eat half a pizza, then I’ll avoid the breadsticks and maybe try to sneak in a salad as well.
Balance!
Tina, I really liked your health post today! Just wanted to let you know
I had never seen those tips before, when usually something like that is all been there done that. AND I hate the tip people always give to split your dish and get a salad on the side or order multiple appetizers as your meal. Sorry, that’s just too expensive.
We go out once a week so I allow myself to order whatever I wish. If for some reason we go out more often than that (while travelling) then I will order fish and salad more often to cut down on calories.
Since I don’t usually go out to dinner that much I typically allow myself to splurge when I do.
I struggle with picking the healthy meal at a restaurant. The choices always sound so good. I hope you have a fab time in NYC Tina!
@Dannielle: I try to live my life with both in mind. I save calories and watch what I eat, but I also like to splurge, enjoy food, and not take it too seriously. I truly think it’s all about balance.
Even now moving toward nearly vegan, I do not find it overly difficult to find healthful eats out. Maybe, in part, because my friends and family try to choose places where we have a good selection. I do, however, more often than I would like, see eating out as a time to indulge. I’m working on that though, but special treats are required
My eating out strategy is to order the fish. Most of us don’t get nearly as much seafood as we should, with all of its omega-3 fatty acid goodness, so I take advantage of every opportunity to order fish! If that’s not a possibility (or the fish is so fried and unhealthy that it’s not worth eating), I stick to the vegetarian options. Even if they too are battered and fried, it’ll be lower-calorie and higher-nutrition than a similar dish made of meat.
That said, I’m not the kind of girl who will order a plain salad, no croutons, no cheese and no dressing, and grilled-but-nothing-on-it salmon! Eating out at nice restaurants is fairly uncommon for me, so I allow myself to splurge a little bit. Maybe not cheese-coated-and-fried splurge, but at least some butter sauce on that grilled salmon!
Your whole lunch looks absolutely incredible! Can’t wait to hear about the tex-mex taboule!
I have a hard time finding something on the menu of most restaurants, ESPECIALLY major chains like TGIFriday’s. It seems like your options are either vegetarian or health conscious – there’s so little middle ground! Most vegetarian eats are fried cheese or cream sauce pastas. Soup is a savior for me – a good tomato or minnestrone is generally safe…ish!
I love eating plain cold filled pasta like that, though I’ve probablyonly done so a couple of times in my lfie! I think I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow
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