Eating at restaurants

[Savannah247]

What do you do? For something quick I love Jimmy johns unwich. For chain restaurants where you sit down I love Texas Roadhouse. We have locally owned places here with fantastic options. How do you stay on plan when eating out?

[Bob]

Welcome Savannah!

 

I agree Jimmy John's is a great option for keto and ketovore dieters and there are many times that I have had their JJ Gargantuan Unwich. I also love Texas Roadhouse and touted it as my favorite steakhouse for years until recently I became more fond of Longhorn Steakhouse. Although since switching to a mostly carnivore diet I just cook steaks at home now. It's weird that what used to be a treat is now my staple, lol.

A little FYI about Texas Roadhouse though. The one near me let's you watch the cooks preparing food as you are waiting for a table. I would see them take a ladel of oil and put it on the flat grill and then put the raw steak on it. Then they would dump another ladel over top. I asked them what they were pouring on the steak and they told me it was a vegetable seed oil. I think they said rice oil. Well, seed oils are not good for you, so now when I go to Texas Roadhouse I tell them to just cook it over the open flame and that I absolutely cannot have my steak touch any seed oils. They are happy to oblige and it still tastes fantastic when it is simply grilled the proper way.

Other Keto options usually include a salad from just about anywhere. For carnivore options, any steak and seafood place. If I am in a hurry, Wendy's will let you order sides of large beef patty and bacon and it is actually very fresh and tasty and remarkably cheap.

[Savannah247]

I'm not full on carnivore just yet but this is good to know. I just started hearing about seed oils and have to learn more about them.

[ol_hilly]

I don't eat out anymore. Being in a small town, the only choices we have is either a family restaurant or Casey's pizza and whatnot. I like my cooking just fine. Tonight I'm having all I can eat fish fried in bacon grease with just salt. It ain't bad.

Matter of fact, a friend turned me on to boiled catfish dipped in melted butter. Perty good stuff, it is.

[Heatman]

Personally, I'm not the type of person who enjoys eating restaurant food more often. When you know how to cook your food, it's going to be very difficult for you to run to restaurants most of the time. It's only when my schedule doesn't allow me to cook, then it's gonna be restaurant food. 

[Bob]

On 10/8/2023 at 10:37 PM, ol_hilly said:

I like my cooking just fine.

 

5 hours ago, Heatman said:

When you know how to cook your food, it's going to be very difficult for you to run to restaurants most of the time

I hear you both. 

Before starting the carnivore diet, I though that going to a steakhouse was a treat. Now that I've perfected cooking it at home, going to a steakhouse seems like a ripoff, lol. That 12oz NY Strip for $25 costs me between $7 and $10 and I can make it just as good, lol.

[Savannah247]

I cook dinner at home, but I go out a few times a week for lunch. Chipotle Mexican Grill can be keto. Lettuce on the base, double meat of Carne Asada and chicken, Queso, salsa, cheese, and guacamole. I also get Subway. They have protein bowls.

[Geezy]

Eating out can be a challenge for sure depending on where you go.
A friend of my wife’s invited her and me out to an Italian restaurant. I looked up their menu online and saw nothing I was willing to eat. Not willing to compromise I asked my wife if she would mind if I didn’t go. She had no problem with it.
I have determined though that if I’m in a situation where there is nothing I’m willing to eat I’ll just fast and drink water. I’ve been carnivore long enough now that I don’t have any problems with just fasting when others are eating.
I rode 573 miles on my motorcycle down to New Orleans with some friends last week. Along the way we made many fuel stops and the guys would snack during those stops from the convenience stores. Not much there I’m willing to eat so I just fastened and drank water. It was not a problem.
The rest of the time in New Orleans I had no problem finding clean food I could eat.
Just an example :

1 lb of andouille sausage, 1 lb shrimp, 1 lb crawfish.
Of course I did not eat the corn or potatoes.

[Bob]

We have 2 places near me that make an awesome seafood boil. I can be all in minus the potatoes and corn. I'll do snowcrab legs, shrimp, mussells, and scallops. I'll even do 6 or 12 raw oysters as an appetizer.

Scallops are my favorite. I was buying them and making them at home regularly one week and kept gaining weight. Perplexed, I looked them up and it actually turns out that there are 7 carbs for every 3 giant sea scallops. And I was woofin' down more than 3, lol. So even though they are carnivore, they are back to occasional treat status.

[Debashis]

I order food from restaurants once a week. Earlier, I used to order almost every day but now I'm controlling my urge to do so as I'm trying to follow a healthy diet. No matter how tasty outside food is, too much of anything is bad for health and so it is.

[Bob]

22 hours ago, Debashis said:

I order food from restaurants once a week. Earlier, I used to order almost every day but now I'm controlling my urge to do so as I'm trying to follow a healthy diet.

Yup. That's how it goes. I used to go dining out ALL the time for various reasons, probably at least 4 times a week with the family, plus several times by myself for lunch while at work. But of course I was almost 50 lbs heavier then. Now I treat the family to a dining out experience once every week or two.

The money I am saving is a beautiful thing. I also experienced this benefit when Covid first broke out and all the dining rooms closed. We cooked at home and didn't actually order any carry out for a couple months. I was saving cash and dropping weight without trying just from cooking at home.