Eating out help for Newbies!

This is a post that I thought we could all help with on eating out tips ie restaurants that we all eat out in and how we deal with eating out....as the new post ops get used to eating "nomally" they will find that they have to eat out and it can be frightening for the first few times.

So let's all try to help each other by listinjg our favorite place to eat out - what we have and how we find the restaurant.

For instance.... I love the Outback

I eat: grilled shrimp on the barbie appetiser - light on the seasoning, no bread.....

Side of broccoli - well steamed - light on the butter

My meal is very cheap and I am very full after it

So where do you go and what do you eat? Any success tips? This is a game we can all play.....

Jackie

I love this game!  Great idea, Jackie!

My fav resturant is a local mexican place here in Richmond.  It is called El Caporal.  Most if the time I just eat the refried beans that come with Steve or Kara's dinner.  They put cheese on top...not too much, but it makes it better and boosts the protein.  I usually add a little sour cream and some tomatoes.  I top thisoff by eating a couple of chicken strips that come with Steve or Kara's fajita's.  I do not eat the tortilla's.  This is my usual meal but if I feel like I need more then I get a small order of carnita's.  We all get the lunch portions.  It makes it the perfect size for them and much more cost effective. 

I always go for the protein first and always ask if you can get lunch portions if you are not sharing. 

Excellent idea, Jackie.

Thanks to Lisa, I have discovered that if asked, Olive Garden, at least mine in Winchester, will run soup through the blender.  I tried asking at Chili's too & they were happy to do it.  So for those that are still on mushies, try asking...if they have a bar, then they have a blender.

Hope this helps.

**Please note that I'm 6 + years post-op :)

I enjoy several different places! What I love is that they will make things the way that I like them and they know me well. Its always a benefit to explain how you would like your meals up front and in detail.

Seafood is one of my favorite foods. One of my favorite places for seafood is Red Lobster. I usually get:

*Crab legs or rainbow trout or flounder grilled. Its the only time I use lemon by squirting a bit of it over my fish.
*I also eat the inside of a baked potato w/ very little butter.

I also enjoy Chili's. I usually get:

*Crab meat quesadillas in which I dip in light/fat free ranch dressing.

I enjoy a couple local places here as well. Maria's Italian Restaurant and J&D's Cafe.

At Maria's I usually get a meal and split it with someone. Usually lasagna or manicotti. Often times here I will get a greek salad and split it as well. In reality I can eat a good amount of a salad. **Dressing is ALWAYS on the side and used sparingly.

At J&D's Cafe I enjoy their chicken salad sammiches. I get it on wheat bread no crust very thin on the chxn salad. I can eat 1/2 a sammich and save the rest for later.

Great post!  I almost always eat steak out.  Mainly because we don't have a grill at home and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  :)  My favorite steak places are Hill City Chop House, Outback and Lonestar.

Recently I was at an Olive Garden and really enjoyed the Four Cheese Ravioli with Shrimp.  I ate very few of the ravioli's and most of the shrimp.  The sauce it came in a creamy sauce was YUMMO!

:)

Thank you for starting this post Jackie!  I've been wondering what others do.  I've been out twice and ordered soup.  I'm ready to expand my horizons!  LOL

You are stil very early out and at your stage I used to order chilli and refried beans when I was out.... but each year they change what you can and can't have to eat so you need to follow what Brittany says you can have...

But you can keep an idea on the ideas here because you wil eventualy be able to eat like this....

Jackie

Yes Jackie - I am following everything Brittany says for fear of messing up! LOL So not to worry. 

I love going out for Mexican! I usually get a beef burrito or soft taco. I pick most of the tortilla off, but I do eat a little bit of it with the meat. YUM!

I haven't had surgery yet, but I keep an eye out for meals packed with protein while I'm out. Once I'm fully healed and eating well enough to eat out, I plan on keeping these as stand-by options:

* a nearby steakhouse has pork chops with brown butter sauce, side of broccoli (or the mashed cauliflower, which they sometimes have as their vegetable)
* LoneStar has a steak stuffed with bacon and white cheddar cheese - YUM
* I love McD's double cheeseburgers - minus half the bun (the bottom one is easy to ditch since they put the ketchup and stuff on the top bun), and I'm good to go
* Smokey Bones has a smokehouse chicken meal - chicken breast topped with bbq seasonings, bacon, and cheese. It comes with 2 sides, so I just get double broccoli.
* any diner or Denny's for eggs with lots of cheese and a side of sausage (if my meal comes with biscuits, hash browns, or pancakes, I offer them to someone else at my table!)