[Mystic]

We just returned from San Diego eating more outside than at home in restaurants with Vegan ( not Indian restaurants in USA but Thai, Mediterranean, Italian etc ) written below the restaurant name itself. I feel we have been spoiled by my son. In USA, all restaurants display an alphabet like A, B etc ( In the US, an "A" grade for a restaurant means that it is clean, up to code, and free of violations. It's the highest grade a restaurant can receive ). Apparently all looks OK if one eats in “A”restaurants even on a frequent basis.

When we came to India, we have been contemplating to avoid kitchen all together except for coffee. We wanted to try for a couple of months. As we don't have a concept of grading restaurants, ordering on Swiggy or Zomato is not an option. Our requirement is vegetarian food with no onion and garlic in this holy month of Karthik and we are Ok with onion and garlic in other months.

In this pursuit, we gathered some information from other senior citizens who are leading their life similar to our story with kids abroad. We got hold of one phone number in Visakhapatnam. We called them and asked them to supply for 2 days to see the quality. It seems that they supply the food cooked very hygienically at home and most of their customers are medical Doctors. It seems they are aware of the sensitivity of various festivals ( no onion and garlic on certain days ) and cook the food accordingly like special meals for the same price on festivals etc. Money has to be paid in advance for one month and typically the price is double what we expect from a commercial vegetarian restaurant of similar nature. So far so good. The taste is par excellence. We will continue until all is OK and we have a backup of two HP gas cylinders in case we have to re activate our kitchen again.

[RajeevMD]

A lot of good advice mentioned above but here is one from me. I don't know if this is a cheat or a genuine solution, but it always works out for me. Have a scoop of whey protein before going out for a meal. Keeps your hunger in check, avoids sugar spikes and you don't end up eating a lot or craving for that dessert at the end of your meal. It has worked out for me and has helped me in my journey of weight loss and proactive diabetes prevention.

[Vikash Kumawat]

Very useful thread, thankfully I live in an area where we cant get junk and street foods within 20 kilometers, we only eat pure Dal and Roti, grown in are own agricultural lands, I only eat street food while I go to the city area ( which I go once in 6 months ), still I would recommend you all to take more Fibre and less Sugar intake , Fibre will keep you hunger free for longer duration whereas less or without sugar food controls fat

[catchjyoti]

All great suggestions. Helps a lot.
But I see many recommending salads.
How safe is salad in an Indian context, especially outside of A-grade restaurants?
If not washed properly they can be a health hazard.
At least with cooked foods you know that the heat would have killed most of the germs.

[rajathv8]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

I presume a lot of us fall into this bucket and hence this thread to get what has worked for you to not end up eating unhealthy food when outside.

Ah yes! Its not easy at all.

I will mention only what is not already said:

1. Keep company with and stick to folks with similar mindset.
Even if it is just the spouse. At least one of you will think of something healthy and will also keep a check on the other person. This goes a long way in itself. When being schooled about eating healthier, acknowledge and thank the other person for correcting course.

2. Strategic lie
In case of going out with other folks, I find it way easier to lie than explain why I chose to eat limited quantity/healthy.
I just had a heavy meal
Stomach is not feeling good today
Had lots of sweets at a relatives place yesterday
Etc.

3. Make the "eating out" a subset of "going out" and not the main agenda

[ZenMaster]

The biggest hurdle to eating healthy from outside is "the insane amount of Choices available to us now through Online Food Apps.

The best way to "ensure" that you eat healthy is to limit your choice especially if you eat from outside regularly.


Go for the others only on your cheat day where your intention is to eat some indulgent food.

Find out a few good restaurants who make clean and good quality food and stick to a few good dishes from there. Between Rice and Roti, Rice is usually the healthier option because restaurants use a lot of Maida for Rotis.

If you are non-vegetarian, stick to grilled chicken or a healthy wrap without much mayo/sauces. Eat salads only from trusted restaurants. (Just because they are a part of a big-name restaurant chain doesn't mean each franchise is run according to the global standards)

On the topic of eating healthy from outside, I think hygiene and quality should also be balanced.

In my experience most of the paneer we get in affordable and even mose mid-priced restaurants is adultered or even fake(especially in Delhi-NCR area). We used to make Paneer at home and I know what "real Paneer" tastes like.
Being a Non-vegetarian also probably helps me easily recognize the difference between the smell and taste of animal fat and vegetable fat or artificial stuff.

The recent "Paneer Analogue" controversy from Zomato proves we can't trus anybody

Likewise most of the vegetables used are not properly cleaned or are ful of pesticides.

[bblost]

The Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana has been reviewing and updating the results for restaurants. They update it on their twitter handle:
https://x.com/cfs_telangana

One thing is clear, if you value your health, you will avoid eating from restaurants on a regular basis.

I stick to grilled meat dishes that are cooked at a high temperature. So lamb, goat and beef have never ever given me any issues.

But I completely avoid the vegetarian fare except Masala Dosas, Wada or Idly.

Even a spoonful of veg only gravy especially at fine dine places makes me extremely sick in the stomach and I only eat that nasty stuff if I have no choice.

The only exception to veg fare is daal fry in highway dhaba. I think its because they keep it very simple and don't add the disgusting large dollops of ghee into it.

For long term health, keep eating out as little as possible.
To avoid falling ill in the short term, find what your body is able to tolerate and stick with it.

[Nitish.arnold]

Some Great Pointers in the thread:

Adding mine:

1. Ask for non-salted fries, if you're out with kids.
(They will always make this fresh)

2. Ice cream machines are not cleaned/maintained properly unless broken,
don't buy.

3. No gravy items.

4. Mass-selling food items such as burgers etc have a higher tendency to have issues, order non-popular items which are prepared fresh with just prepared ingredients.

5. If it is packed, avoid. If it smells, avoid. If it comes in plastic, avoid.

6. Get the alcohol bottle opened and poured at your table to get non-diluted drinks.

7. Avoid waterborne diseases, carry your own water.

[pd1108]

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

All great suggestions. Helps a lot.
But I see many recommending salads.
How safe is salad in an Indian context, especially outside of A-grade restaurants?
If not washed properly they can be a health hazard.
At least with cooked foods, you know that the heat would have killed most of the germs.

Avoid raw stuff in India. You can never know how it is produced. This applies even to high-end restaurants and hotels. They buy the vegetables from the wholesale market as well

[sachinayak]

Folks who have been into farming have told me that they use most pesticides for cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli and lettuce (basically these are most vulnerable to pest attacks). Unfortunately, unverified information.

However, if true, may be best to avoid having these vegetables in raw/uncooked format.

[glovins2004]

In my opinion, just eat at home. Curd/rice or roti with dal is more than enough, tasty, easy to prepare and healthy for you and to your pocket.

[hondadriver]

Lots of good info here. My additions:

1. Try to maximize your P:E (Protein:Energy) ratio. This would mean eat more tikkas, more eggs and less roti/parantha/rice. Also, go on an Intermittent Fasting plan for life. That way, you will need to hunt for food less often, and you will snack less often.

2. See which restaurants use Mustard oil or Desi Ghee for cooking. Any other oil is rancid and converts easily to trans fats once the item is cooked in them.

3. Never fall for "cooked in olive oil". Most olive oil sold in India is spurious at best and 100% canola oil at worst.

4. Avoid alcohol and sugars in all form.

I have seen that the best PE ratio and best oils are typically used by Dhabas and some higher end street food vendors.

Any high street restaurant or a five star restaurant will use soyabean oil (unless you are a regular and have an "understanding" with the chef/manager :-) )

[100Kmphormore]

There is no healthy eating outside these days except home, where you are totally in control. Let it be cleanliness, or the oil used or your own picky constitution, which may or may not handle what you intake. I have had to attend 2 weddings and meeting a friend tomorrow at a pizza place (all within a week) and what I do is a mixture of all of the above - more protein, less oily, grilled if possible etc. Weddings - soups, salads, rumali roti, paneer/vegetable curry and flavoured rice dish given 80% preference, the rest literally tasting. no kulchas, oily or sweet stuff at all. I do intermittent fasting after the meal, and eat less the previous meal at home so my weight remains as it is.

[kotirajendra]

1. I absolutely avoid all gravy stuff.
2. Order mostly starters.
Veg - Paneer, cheese, mushrooms.
Non-Veg - Eggs, grilled meats
3. Main course - Dal, Rice, Missi Roti (gram flour roti) and paneer tikka (no gravy) etc.

[lazy]

Used to be in sales for soo many years, which meant lots of eating out during 1-2 day trips as well as non-trip days in Bangalore.

A few things I do about eating out -
- If there's a dinner out, I usually skip lunch. Doesn't mean eat a bigger breakfast !!
- If there's a team lunch, then will skip dinner.
- During trips, would eat a heavy breakfast at the hotel and skip lunch.

At lunch/dinner outings:
Avoid:
- soups (unimaginable amounts of oil is added)
- anything liquid/semi gravy - daals, chole, rajma
- cheese dishes
- pizza
- paneer (adulterated)
- papads, chutneys
- bhatura, poori, butter roti/naan, any parathas,
- very rarely eat a dessert

Eat:
- always order a large garden salad plate (nothing fancy)
- tandoori starters - prefer fish, but chicken too okay (too much hormones & steroids)
- eggs
- stir fried veggies - this is always made fresh
- noodles - request it to be made without any oil, most places oblige
- plain rotis
- biriyani - this should be on Avoid list, but it's my weakness :(

Happy eating !!

cheers
lazy