I love going to Mongolian BBQ's! That was my favorite restaurant before IP, so this works out great and I don't miss the rice. My local one will even give me some of their dragon spice to take home.

Over the weekend we went to a Japanese restaurant that had an habachi grill, Benihana style but better. This works out pretty well because you can skip the rice, have the salad without dressing (I used soy sauce) and get grilled meat and veggies. I'm pretty sure the dipping sauces have some sweetener, so I stayed with the soy sauce. The only thing I did have that I had some reservations about was the miso soup. I figure it's soy based, though fermented, and there's really not much else to it. It didn't bring me out of ketosis but we'll find out how the weekend affects weight loss Wednesday.

The other place we went was Cracker Barrel which we've done before. I have the grilled steak, green beans, collard greens and a side salad with my own WF dressing. Their country way of preparing things hasn't been an issue, but I don't seem to be as sensitive as others.

Hello everyone. I had a great experience eating out for lunch today at Applebee's! I ordered their salmon, with no sauce, and asked for double veggies (had to leave the carrots). Server says no problem! Then I ordered a side salad.....and without me asking, she named the usual toppings and asked me if they were OK....which all of them were not. Then she volunteered to add onion, broccoli, and mushrooms to the salad if I wanted. Wonderful service and such kindness to my unusual requests! She said these things are readily available and should not be hard to get at any Applebees.

So true! I have had the best luck at Applebee's! They will let you substitute steamed broccoli for just about any side dish! And their chicken with no sauce is very good!

What great info here! Thanks to all.

http://www.maggianos.com

Have you figured out other restaurants yet?[/QUOTE]

I am on my 3rd week and getting overwhelmed because didn't know what to eat when going out - now I have plenty of ideas - so excited!!!

I'm going for Korean food today but I'm not sure Kalbi is safe because of the sauce. Any suggestions. I could always have a vegetarian dish, but would like to have some meat also.

Everything I can find for Kalbi/Galbi (Korean beef ribs) says 4 pieces is one serving and each serving is about 140 calories. Each piece has about .9carbs per piece and all of it is from the sugar in the sauce. A total serving of 4 pieces is about 4 carbs.

I would go for a different item that uses a sugar free sauce. Try to stick with SHINSOLLO meats. They are cooked in a beef broth so lower in carbs (usually).

Eat your veggies IF YOU CAN GET THEM WITHOUT A SAUCE. Many of the veggie dishes are made with a little sugar.

Be cautious with the kim chi, most are ok but some use sugars.

Call ahead to the restaurant. Tell them you need items that are gluten free and sugar free. Ask what they suggest that won't use a starch or sugar in the sauce. They may have some simple grilled meat options or other marinades.

Thanks you for the suggestion. I will ask for non sugar foods.

Hello all!~

I hope your weekends are going well and of course IP friendly!

I am meeting my dad for dinner tomorrow. I tried to take control of where we were going but theres a mexican place hes been dying to try out

I said fine but now im freakin out about what i can eat there....

Today marked the end of my first week on IP!! (dont weigh in until tomorrow though)
I feel great so i really dont wanna mess up and eat the wrong thing....

Any tips for what to get at a mexican place?????


Thank a bunch!

wow, you really like a challenge, don't you? I have to say I avoided Mexican the whole time I was on plan because I could not think of anything I could eat there. I guess.....
a taco salad (and don't eat the shell, bring your own dressing); if they serve fajitas you can ask them what is in the marinade or if you can get it marinade free? that would all work, put it on a big bed of lettuce instead of in wraps? most mexican restaurants have some "american" food like hamburgers
hmmm, or you can call you dad and make plans to go somewhere else for tomorrow, and plan a date to go to the Mexican place when you are done. That would be my choice...maybe a nice steakhouse?

You could probably do a ceviche appetizer. It is fish marinaded in citrus with lots of fresh veggies. They are a bit heavy on the tomato sometimes.

You could do a grilled fish dish with grilled veggies instead of beans and rice and leave off the tortillas. See if they will bring you lettuce leaves to make a wrap with.

The above tip works well for fajitas, carne asada or carnitas, or other grilled chicken dishes.

See if they serve a machacha with eggs or huevos rancheros. Get them to serve it without beans and rice and sub lettuce for tortillas.


Have the salsa on the side of anything you order so you can control how much of your "occasional tomatoes" allotment you use.

Make sure to state you can't have any flour/starch/or sugar in the preparation... they may need to check with the kitchen on this.

HOLD THE CHEESE! HOLD THE SOUR CREAM! HOLD THE GUACAMOLE! It may just be to tempting to have it brought to the table on anything.

Make sure the chips are on your father's side of the table so you would have to make a "rude reach" to get them! It will make you think before you nibble any accidentally.

Mexican isn't easy to do but, you can. Check out the restaurant menu first. Look for salads that you can manipulate. Call ahead and ask questions. It will save you time when you are at the restaurant. In one case, I spoke to the manager of the restaurant, explained I was on a special diet for health reasons and he was very accommodating even had a special salad waiting for me when I arrived (we had reservations) and a non marinated piece of meat waiting for the kitchen to grill for me. People can be very helpful if you ask in advance!

Enjoy lunch out!

Thanks so much for the thoughts!

I checked out the menu and they have grilled shrimp and veggie fajitas! Obviously no shell or cheese or ANY of the tasty toppings. I'm ok with that though....been doing really well and dont want to sabatoge myself!
SHockingly, there is a dieters section in the menu.

also....I just happen to be getting 2 hours of dental work done the morning of dinner so i'll be uncomfortable and in pain eating much of anything. lol. painful dental work has never been so conveniant!! love it!



Thanks again ladies!

Great ideas here. There's so much information to absorb. I've been lurking all over the place and picking up great insights and info. Thanks!

Thanks to all for the restaurant ideas. I live about 1/2 hour drive out of a small town and find not going out for dinner very easy. BUT... My husband and I are going to Vancouver next week, and the last time we went out of town together I ended up don't staying on protocol. Thank you for all the suggestions. I think I could find many places to eat now after reading all your great suggestions.

Thanks for the restaurant ideas. I agree that Applebees is very helpful for people on special diets. I carry my salt with me everywhere, which helps season steamed veggies.