Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean that you can’t dine at your favorite restaurants. There are healthy dining options that make it easy to adhere to sensible eating habits.

If possible, look at the restaurant’s menu ahead of time so you know what you’re going to consume before you walk into the restaurant or place your carryout order. That way, you won’t experience hesitancy in choosing the option you’ve pre-emptively picked. In some states, restaurants are required to list the calorie counts of foods on their menu, which could also guide the right choice. Below are some of the most common healthy dining options that are available in almost any restaurant.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

In most cases, unless it’s slathered with mayo or a high-sugar sauce, a grilled chicken sandwich with a side salad, baked potato, or grilled veggies is a safe bet.
 
If you don’t want to eat the bun, simply ask the waitstaff to bring your sandwich without one or ask if you can have your chicken between two large lettuce leaves instead. A grilled chicken entrée is also a good option without the bun and usually comes with a few sides that you can customize to your liking.

Salad With Grilled Protein

It’s unusual nowadays for restaurants not to have salads on their menu. Look for an option that has grilled protein, such as chicken or steak, instead of something fried. This can help keep the calorie count down.

Some salad dressings are extremely high in calories, so ask for your dressing on the side and dip your fork into it before taking a bite. This will give you the perfect amount of dressing per bite while limiting the calories that come from chefs slathering a salad in dressing.

If the only chicken that's available is fried, eating some protein with your meal is still a good choice. Just enjoy the calories or peel the fried skin off the chicken.

Appetizer

Many appetizers are large and meant to be split with a group, which makes them more difficult to finish alone. Get an appetizer and save half for another meal. Some appetizers provide as much food as a full meal but are lighter in calories.

Planning ahead by looking up the calorie counts can help you choose a healthier appetizer. Just make sure you ask for it as your meal so the waitstaff doesn’t bring it out early, before everyone else’s entrées.

Soup & Salad or Sides

There are “mix and match” options on most menus, especially for lunch. Most places will let you get a cup of soup and side salad for a low price, or half a sandwich and soup. Most soups that aren’t cream-based are low-calorie. However, even cream-based soups are relatively low in calories if you're just having a cup-sized serving. These options are usually only offered during lunch and not dinner, as most people tend to eat a smaller meal for lunch and then a large entrée for dinner.

It’s also possible to order several different sides to make up a meal. Though unconventional, this can allow you to get exactly the food you want and not waste any calories on an assembled entrée you might not entirely like.

Kid’s Meals

Finally, if the restaurant allows it, you can order from the kid’s menu. These meals will have the appropriate calorie count for a child's meal (usually 500-800 calories, depending on gender, age, and height) and will have enough food and sides to keep an adult happy.

The prices are also often lower than an adult entrée, so you'll save a few dollars while not wasting the food you would have ended up not eating if you ordered a larger meal.

Many restaurants are dedicated to offering healthy options to their patrons, as consumers have increasingly expressed an interest in eating “cleaner.” While some restaurants have a long way to go, eating healthy is a lot easier now than it was decades ago.

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