Keeping calories under control when dining out

There are plenty of fun places to dine in San Jose California not only is the city a fun place to visit but the area also contains some of the best restaurants in San Jose. Ever wonder how you can possibly lose weight when the average dinner out contains so many extra calories? Well, don’t worry this post might be able to help! Keeping yourself in shape when dining out is simply a matter of ordering the right things to eat.

Here are 6 tips for having a healthy dinner out (and keeping all those extra calories in check) Tips that will help you turn just about any restaurant into one of the healthy restaurants.

Watch Your Drinks

By not ordering an alcoholic beverage, you've saved yourself a considerable number of calories. Try sipping iced tea sweetened with a noncaloric sweetener, a diet soft drink, or water with lemon. You'll be glad you did when you consider the calorie savings.

Have A Salad

One of the best menus choices is a salad, salads are my healthy fast food. Not only will it fill you up so you'll consume fewer calories overall, but it will also give you a hefty dose of antioxidants which are heart-healthy. Be sure to ask your waitress to hold the croutons and cheese which will further reduce your caloric intake. Also, choose your dressing wisely. Avoid cream-based dressings and go for the vinegar-based ones. You also have the option of using vinegar and olive oil which is heart-healthy.

Don’t Order An Appetizer Unless Necessary

Do you know that some appetizers have more calories and fat than the main course? Plus, many appetizers are fried and served with heavy sauces which will add to your intake of saturated fat as well as trans fats and calories. It's not a healthy way to start your meal.

Choose The Right Kind Of Foods

Go for broiled and grilled rather than fried. Not only will you save calories and fat grams, but you'll also avoid trans fats which are so prevalent in fried foods. Instead, consider asking for a doubles order of vegetables with your entree. Very few Americans are getting the 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables recommended for optimal health. Plus, by avoiding the starch, you'll be reducing your caloric and carbohydrate intake. Also, stick to tomato-based sauces rather than cream-based and you'll enjoy considerable calorie savings. Lastly, ask for the sauce to be served in a separate dish on the side so you can control the amount you eat.

Don’t Overeat

Today, many restaurants are serving larger quantities of food than in the past. If this is the case, put aside a portion of your entree at the beginning of the meal to take home with you. If you remove it from your plate before you start eating, you'll be less tempted to overeat.

No ” To Sugary, Fatty Desserts

Instead, go for low fat or low carbohydrate dessert selections such as a low-carb cheesecake. These are wise choices for the health-conscious eater that still allow you to end the meal on a sweet note. If a healthy dessert option isn't available, try a cup of coffee with skim milk to help satiate your desire for something sweet.

The next time you go out for dinner, keep the above tips in mind. You will be surprised how many calories you are able to eliminate from your meal just by ordering the right menu selection, turn where ever you dine when you're eating out into a healthy food restaurant by the number of calories you can take away!

Why I love Apples

There are many great foods in the world. Unsigned professional chef (known only to my family) of course I love food. I enjoy cooking it just as much as I enjoy eating it. Nothing gives me as much of a thrill as preparing a great meal for the people I love. I've heard it said many times that a chef must have a hard time choosing a favorite meal. For me, that has never been the case. From the time I was a young boy up until now, I have loved a good apple more than any other food.

I guess one of the biggest reasons that I love an apple is because of all of the childhood memories I have that include apples. My Texas grandparents had several apple trees on their farm, and on the summers my siblings and I would spend with my grandparents we used to enjoy endless hours of wandering through the different fruit trees, picking or favorite fruit, my favorite was of course apples. We would play games and enjoy being out of the city (San Francisco) and when our energy was exhausted we would sit underneath apple trees for hours telling stories and laughing.

Almost since I can remember I had heard the words an apple a day keeps the doctor away but it wasn't until much later that I remember reading some of the information that showed me why those words might actually be true. Now I know that apples are good for the heart and possess a soluble fiber that helps in absorbing cholesterol. Antioxidants also useful in fighting bad cholesterol are packed onto an apple; antioxidants that can also help prevent lung cancer, colon cancer, and breast cancer.

Apples are a form of health food that can help improve the bacteria that live inside our large intestine and affect the metabolism inside the digestive tract by eliminating bad bacteria and toxins maximizing your nutrient intake. Talk about a great snack food for diabetic patients apples slow down the digestion of food which can lessen the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. The high levels of potassium in apples prevent the loss of calcium in the blood which prevents the loss of calcium in the bones for good bone density.

I also learned over time that eating apples activate saliva to kill up to 80% of the bacteria in your mouth and that protects your teeth and gums. The free radicals that can lead to oxidative stress and has been linked to fatigue can be counteracted by the high vitamin C and antioxidants biologically sealed inside an apple. Vitamin C can even help protect against exercise-induced asthma, mix some apple juice with an equal amount of carrot juice for a good way to relieve constipation.

Most people know about the great taste of an apple depending on the variety of apple you enjoy, but now I eat them with the knowledge that eating apples are truly good for me and the apple's usefulness when it comes to your health is wide. The decline of acetylcholine can be prevented with an apple in your diet thus preserving your memory. Adding some apple to your diet has also been shown to slow the mental decline in people suffering from Alzheimer's.

My father did most of the cooking when I was a child but I actually think my love for cooking started in my grandmother's kitchen filled with the smell and taste of apple pie. It was my grandmother who taught me how to tell when an apple was just right for picking and then again when it was just right for eating. Unlike many families, we always ate our apple cold out of the refrigerator. Grandma always said that there was nothing as good as a cold apple.

My children now live on their own, but when they were younger and still living at home I was convinced that there is no food quite like the apple. It seems to be the perfect fruit and frankly, I'd say it is the perfect health food. I try to eat an apple a day and still see my doctor once a year no matter what, and I've been encouraging my kids to start doing the same. To me, a cold apple is still a treat but the information I wanted to get across in this post is that apples not only make a great tasting snack they are also healthy and good for you.