No. Dining out in restaurants need not wreck a reducing programme. When you go to a restaurant take time over the menu. Select what you want, order that and no more. There is a handy, simple formula to help you select a fine reducers meal from any restaurant menu. It goes like this :
GUIDELINES FOR A MOGHLAI MEAL
“Appetizer” : Any clear soup or tomato juice.
“Main Course” Grilled, roasted or tandoori foods such as chicken tikka, sheekh kabab or paneer tikka.
Choose two vegetables, preferably one green : palak , methi and one yellow vegetable – cauliflower, cabbage, mushroom. Nudge off thick oily gravy with a sidling spoon motion.
“Salad ” : Plain lettuce leaves, tomatoes, onions, cucumber without any creamy dressings.
“Bread-Roti-Rice ” : Plain bread, roti or steamed rice are find foods and reasonable amounts are allowed. Avoid buttered nans, parathas and kulchas. Avoid dipping bread or roti in rich gravies. Avoid eating rice with rich gravies. Prefer eating rich with yogurt, instead.
“Dessert ” Yogurt (curd) or Yogurt-fruits salad.
“Beverage” : Drink plenty of water. Avoid soft drinks.
GUIDELINES FOR A CHINESE MEAL
“Starters ” – Prefer steamed starters. Avoid fried starters.
“Appetizer” : All clear soups and boullion soups. Soups containing thick corn flour are fattening. Avoid wontons in your soup. Avoid sweet corn soup.
“Main Course” : Any dish eaten must be preferably shredded or diced, so that you can pick the pieces and avoid the rich and salty sauces. Avoid fried preparations like Manchurian for example. Avoid all preparations that are minced, coated with corn flour and then deep fried. For example, meat balls, chicken balls or vegetable balls etc.
“Noodles-Rice” : Noodles are tasty foods and reasonable amounts are allowed. Prefer steamed rice to fried rice.
The Monosodium-glutamate (Ajinomotto) can trigger a migraine headache in some people. “The Chinese restaurant syndrome”, or flushing and palpitation of the heart, has been traced to excessive use of monosodium glutamate as a seasoning.