DH and I eat out frequently and I was trying to get some new ideas. Usually I am safe and stick to salads, but does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas that they've had from regular and/or chain restaurants. Just thought I'd check. I know a lot of restaurants have Atkins friendly meals which would work, but sometimes I base my restaurant choice on what I want to eat so I like to know ahead of time. Okay, so I am a big dork! I am serious about my weight this time and I vow to get down to my goal and not give up or slip!

Thanks in advance!

You are probably best to stay away from Asian food restaurants because the rice and noodles are too tempting. In fact so are Italian restaurants. I go to places that serve a main meat dish with salad and fries and ask them to give me double salad no fries. Be wary of sauces and dressings. They can contain hidden sugars and bad fats.

You are pretty close to your goal weight now so I would be thinking long term and finding a selection of local eating places that provide lots of healthy choices that you can eat at regularly. If you are a regular I find that the restaurant is a little more willing to personalise your meal.

i agree with chick chinese gets me into trouble all the time no matter how strong i feel when i walk in the door i just have to have a little rice which is bad.

dh and i go out to eat at least 1 x a week. i stick to meat or fish as an entree, most of the restaurants we frequent offer broccoli as a side instead of potatoes so i always order that. i stay away from the atkins friendly stuff since it can sometimes be a little high in fat although the low carb part is good. good luck.

I went to an Outback Steakhouse recently and had sirloin steak, steamed veggies, and salad. They brought the oil and vinegar in a little stand, so I mixed my own. I also told the waitress I did not want the bread basket. Since March 23rd that's the only time I've eaten out!!

I am noticing that lots of restaurants are offering low carb alternatives these days. I guess we can thank Atkins.

My standard meal out is to ask that they take away the bread basket and then ask for a double helping of vegetables.

I don't know where in Los Angeles you live, Chickpea, but last night we went to Rosti in Encino. With the chicken entree, you can get sauteed mushrooms and spinach as the two side orders (instead of veggie and potatoes) -- it was really good!

Fast food is a little more problematic but I can usually find a Subway and have one of their salads with turkey, avocado, olives, lettuce and tomato. Now that I am on phase 2 I will have that stuff rolled up as one of their Atkins wraps.

My DH and I do a lot of running around on the weekends, so we tend to hit fast food places for lunch. I love Blimpie's and Subways salads; if I'm dying for a burger I get the low carb burger at Hardees (it's huge); I usually had a side Caesar salad and small chili at Wendy's or one of their specialty salads (their new spinach salad is really good). I'm still on the lookout for a good chicken place. Does anyone know if KFC has a chicken meal that is SB friendly?

I read something about KFC lately and I think it was on www.prevention.com or the south beach official site. Maybe it was the 'eating out' section of 3fc.

The chicken is fine if you take off the skin. Coleslaw and bean salad was okay depending on your diet (bean salad isn't atkins friendly). From what I can remember as long as you order chicken and remove the skin you are fine but I wouldn't do this in phase one because you are only really meant to eat the chicken breast. Personally I would find it too difficult to remove the skin and not eat it so I stay away altogether.

Subway is great. I am phase 1.5 so order the wrap (ham and turkey) and find that because the tortilla is large and thin you get quite a lot of salad. They need to come up with a different combo deal than the cookies they sell though. Suprising really since they are a healthy fast food. I would've thought you could switch your cookie for something a little healthier.

Has anybody tried Macdonald's new protein platter? I wonder if it's Atkins or SBD.

Ruth, what's in the protein platter? Is it a burger, chicken, soy, or something altogether different?

Thanks for the advice! DH and I ended up going out to dinner last night. He wanted to go to Chinese food but I told him "No way!". We ended up going to a steakhouse where I had grilled prawns and steamed vegetables. It was good and it makes me happy that I can go out and enjoy my meal just as much without the carbs. Now that I think of it...that's usually not the best part of the meal! I can't wait until Phase 2 though so I can eat fruit again!

Thanks again!

A friend of mine has been a chef for about 12 years and she has noticed a bigger demand for fish/chicken or vegetarian dishes, salads and non-alcoholic drinks, particularly at lunch time. Maybe you could email a couple of your favourite eateries and tell them you would eat there more often if they offered more healthy choices on their menu.

I find the chains are pretty fixed on their menu choices but the independently owned restaurants are usually willing to adjust their menu to suit your requirements.

This is very true. The more people that say something the more they are apt to make changes. I have also started making comments to the management at my local grocery stores that I would like to see more "diabetic" friendly foods and that they should have their own section. Mainly because even though I am not diabetic we can have some of those products.

I for one am so tired of all the junk they serve in restaurants. What is up with the kids' menu? Everytime my kids get something from "their" menu they can't eat it, it is so full of fatty salty fried stuff, and they are so used to eating a variety of fresh and steamed veggies at home. They beg to eat at home...they'd rather have steamed fresh fish and salad, or sliced tri-tip and garden vegetables...how dare they assume my small children only want garbage food, and that I'm going to relish allowing my small kids to fill their bodies with that rubbish.

I for one would love to see this generation grow up to turn up their nose at all the heart-attacks-on-a-plate these friendly waitresses serve up in their "family" restaurants. One day it will all change...wait and see...we'll all get grossed out at fast food and fried junk and stop buying it!!!