When dining out it can be much more rewarding to try a larger range of taste experiences in smaller amounts than to be just limited to one or two dishes, that may or may not be so good.

Restaurants offer a number of options that can be useful, but some are more useful than others.

Sharing plates and platters

……can really be your friend.

These are often full of interesting and beautifully presented foods. A treat for all the senses. These can be ordered per person/two people and extra breads or crackers are available if you need them.

Santa Lucia Antipasti Plate $24

Pistachio’s Torrens Dessert tasting plate $20

Pistachios Torrens, trio of entrees $19

Punjabi Hut Manuka, Shared entree plate $19

Tilba Valley Wines Ploughman’s lunch

Jamie’s Italian Meat Platter

The Green Herring Special (menu says it Serves 2 but really it could serve 4) $32
Includes morsels of the maple and banana pudding, spring rolls, brulee and apple pie

Tapas

Tapas have lots in common with sharing plates and platters, but like entrees, tend to be an expensive way to order as each piece in the tapas dish, is small, but often costs $4-8 per item.

It can also be easy to order too much food, so think about how many serves would be a comfortable and enjoyable amount. This might be 1 1/2 to 2 tapas dishes per person. It is usually easy to order more if you need to.

Buffets

Buffets can also offer a wide range of foods and dishes to try. In theory they also allow you to take just the right amount you will enjoy.

However, the range of foods on offer may include plenty of less exciting choices to fill diners up, and because it is ‘all you can eat’, it’s a real challenge not to get overfull.

Because they are priced for larger eaters, you can feel like you are paying for what you won’t really enjoy.

You can’t take any with you, so that tends to make you eat more of your favourites than you would, if you could take some home to enjoy again later.

The key to getting the best out of buffets, is being prepared to leave anything that’s not ‘calorie worthy’ and move on to something else. This is made easier by only seeing yourself a small amount in the first place and going back for more if you will really enjoy more (which is actually rarely the case as…the first mouthful is always the best).

The ‘banquet’ or ‘degustation’ option

It might seem to make sense then, to get the ‘banquet’ option, to make ordering and sharing easy. But it’s usually not the best choice.

For a start, you don’t have control over the dishes you get and they can often be fairly routine foods that everyone knows well.

But perhaps more importantly, like banquets, it’s always way too much food and you end up eating more than you really enjoy, and paying for more than you otherwise would need to.

Also like buffets, often you can’t take any with you.

Whichever way you choose to go, eat mindfully, savour each mouthful to gain maximum pleasure, and stay aware to keep comfortable without getting overfull.

Breakfast or brunch with friends can be a great way to catch up in a busy lifestyle. It is often more relaxed and casual than other meals out.
It can also can be easier to include children at this time of day, especially if venues open to the outdoors.
But, if you are trying to lose weight, or maintain a healthy weight, too many cafe breakfasts can start to really weigh you down.
If you really think about it though…..these days, not many of us usually eat hearty, cooked or large breakfasts.
Our breakfast tend to be quite small and light…so why not share a cafe breakfast with someone else? That would make it just about the same size that we would normally eat.
It’s still the same interesting dish and if savoured and eaten mindfully, just as rewarding and satisfying.
And no-one leaves feeling full and stodgy, but instead ready to take up any other interesting culinary opportunities that the day might bring.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, have lost weight and want to keep it off, or avoiding the inevitable scale creep, a few good strategies make it easy to still succeed while enjoying meals away from home with friends.

It’s all about sharing, ordering the right amount, and staying aware of how satisfied you’re feeling…

1. Choose a menu that is easily shared

Asian, Middle-Eastern, Latin American cuisines and some European dishes are traditionally shared and lend themselves particularly well to meals for groups.

Many more contemporary and fusion restaurant menus are now also planned around dishes that are designed to be shared.

…..And choose dishes that can easily be shared

Often staff will be a great help when picking dishes that use smaller pieces or can easily be divided. Avoid single pieces (like poultry legs or whole seafood) useless there’s just a couple/few of you (and you perhaps know each other well).

Be aware of how many individual pieces are in the dish, e.g eggplant slices/ prawns/ spring rolls/ duck pancakes. You may need to order 1 1/2 or 2 serves.

The banquet menu can be a good source of ideas but is not a good option in itself (see tip No. 4).

2. Ask for what you need (e.g. whether dishes can be ordered in 1 1/2 serves or cut into extra serves in the kitchen, come with extra bread) including extra bowls, plates and serving cutlery

Restaurant staff are usually more than happy to try to accommodate your needs, if they can. And if you don’t ask….

Pho Quoc’s Rare Beef Pho

Meccabah’s soup

……And consider halving individual items at the table

I know this can get messy, and it doesn’t always work, but tasting platters for two, can become tasting platters for four with just a quick skilled knife manoeuvre.

Punjabi Hut’s shared entree platter

3. Aim for a larger range of smaller taste experiences

It can be much more rewarding to try a number of different foods in smaller amounts than to be just limited to one or two dishes, that may or may not be so good. Eat mindfully and savour each mouthful to gain maximum pleasure from each, without getting overfull.

By sharing dishes you are well on the way to a whole range of tastes, but sharing plates and platters can really be your friend here too.

Pistachio’s dessert tasting platter

Tilba Wines ploughman’s lunch

Jamie’s Italian meat platter

Pistachio’s entree platter

Dionysis Winery, Murrumbateman

Santa Lucia Antipasti platter

4. But avoid the ‘banquet’ or ‘degustation’ option

It might seem to make sense then, to get the ‘banquet’ option, to make it easy. But it’s usually not the best choice.

For a start, you don’t have control over the dishes you get and they can often be fairly routine foods that everyone knows well.

But perhaps more importantly, it’s always way too much food and you end up eating more than you really enjoy, and paying for more than you otherwise would need to.

5. Don’t order dishes, just because you think you should

There are no rules about needing to order salad, vegetables, breads, rices etc.

Only order them because they are good options or compliment other dishes well, otherwise you end up eating them on top of what you really want to eat.

6.  Order the right amount

Unless you eat out rarely, there are regular opportunities to enjoy meals away from home in amounts where you are satisfied but still feel comfortable.

We usually overestimate the amount we need to order and often over cater ‘just in case’. This is one of the reasons that two out three of us carry extra weight. We just don’t need as much food as we once did. And if it’s there, we tend to eat it.

As a general rule of thumb, it’s not necessary to order one main per person. Often 3 mains between four is enough, and one rice/ and or bread, per two people. It’s easy to get more if you need it.

Flavours of India Woden (two mains, two rice, two breads for 4 women for lunch)

Usually mains are better value than entrees and easier to share, and having dessert can push you over your comfortable range.

However, if there is a really good entree or dessert that’s worth including, you can probably cut back to one main per two people.

Having said that, this way of ordering only works if everyone is ‘on the same page.’ If people eat out rarely, are used to eating large amounts or feeling full at the end of meals, it can be too tricky. You might need to allow for groups of different age and gender.

Sometimes too, people will prefer just to order and eat their own, particularly if they have intolerances, allergies or strong food preferences.

7.  Eat mindfully and stay aware of how satisfied and comfortable you are feeling

The first mouthful is always the best, but only if you enjoy it with all your senses. Think of the presentation, textures and flavours as you eat. Best not to talk and savour at the same time, as it’s hard to do both well.

But chatting between mouthfuls is a great way to eat more slowly, so is taking a sip of water between mouthfuls or putting down your cutlery. That way, you give your stomach time to give you feedback; there’s always a lag.

8. Leave dishes in the middle and let everyone serve themselves with what they need

This way, everyone can take just the right amount for them.

Two Sisters’ Kambah

9. You don’t need to finish it all

If food is taken from the middle, once everyone’s taken what they will enjoy, there is often the option to take anything you have loved with you to enjoy again later.

(This is not usually the case with the ‘banquet’ option, another reason it’s not often the best choice).

10. Don’t starve and don’t get too hungry before you go out

It is much easier to order well and eat the amount you will enjoy, when you don’t let yourself get too hungry before you go out. Sometimes it even helps to have something small to eat, to tide you over. A piece of fruit or a low fat, no added sugar yogurt are ideal; both highly transportable, easy and low in kilojoules.

If you are thinking of your appetite/capacity like a petrol gauge, it’s good to stay 1/4 to 1/2 full.

Eating out often can be a real challenge for anyone trying to achieve or maintain a healthy weight. Foods eaten away from home are quite a bit higher in kilojoules (extra oils, dressings, sauces and larger serve sizes), and often very morish. Add a relaxed mood and some alcohol and it’s easy to loose track of how full you’re getting. If you like to eat out regularly…(and who doesn’t if they can)…..you can find you are gaining a few extra kilos each year.

It gets even trickier if you are trying to actually lose weight, because to do that, you need to eat fewer kilojoules than what you use (which is not really so many these days). But it isn’t impossible to still lose weight and in fact a few good strategies can mean you actually have more success long term, because you don’t feel deprived. On the days when you plan to eat a meal away from home, it is a more realistic goal to just balance your kilojoules than to aim to create the negative kilojoule balance you need for weight loss. But you don’t need to count kilojoules to do this, instead it’s more useful to have a range of good strategies in your toolbox.

Look out for the next post for the ten top tips for sustainable weight loss when eating out…