Eating Out/Away from home

[avarona]

We have to go to my nieces engagement party at the end of March and will be staying in a motel for the weekend. Does anyone have advice on what to eat when we won't have a kitchen to cook anything? I don't like tuna - so I can't eat salad and tuna. I was considering eating at restaurants and ordering from the entree for a main meal and maybe have prawns or something. Any ideas?

[Mette]

A lot of motels actually have a little kitchenette where you can cook basic meals. My partner and I were on a road trip to Brisbane for a week, and all of them had one of those electric frying pans. Some fresh meat and veg from the shop and presto! Excellent Cohens meals! Just remember to bring your food scales!

[Hervey Bay Shrinker]

Hi Avarona, I took my meat done up in weighed bags (frozen) and veges already weighed out and cooked my curry on my weekends away. Like Mette said, most motels I've stayed in have a small frypan or you can take a small electric skillet if you have room. If you must eat at a restaurant, (which I had to every now and again when I was away for work etc), I ordered the smallest lean rump steak I could with salad and NO chips and asked for no dressing but some vinegar on the side. I then just approximated the amount I ate, as I was so use to visualizing how much I should be eating. Weighed amounts are preferable but some establishments refuse to due this but do ask...you never know your luck. Also prawns are a good option, (could be a bit salty though if they have been boiled in salty water), my portion gave me about 8 king prawns, so work out how many prawns you are allowed and go from there if you want prawns...but remember the salt!!!

Hope this helps
Merryn XX

[Shanara]

Hi Avarona,

I have been three weeks in Tasmania and took my own little gas burner which i bought for $20 in KMart. I cooked almost all my own meals. I then had three weekend length trips away, where I didn't.

I found that in many restaurants I would be very specific with what i asked for. EG 120 grams of steak with - and I would name the veges - it is amazing how many salads have carrot, red capsicum and other veges not Cohens approved. I have rung restaurants before going to eat there and ordered my food beforehand. If you are determned it is very possible to stay on Cohens. I always take my crackers and my fruit. For a weekend away it is possible to precook food and freeze and take ina small esky.

I am a bit over canned tuna as well however if I have to a can of tuna and lebanese cucumber or ricotta cheese and celery make a meal. Amazing how you can make a meal work if you have to. Be careful ordering an entree because you can end up with sauces and fats that are not on the programme.

My three weeks away I averaged 3 kgs a week - so I was really pleased and the effort was worth it - to me.

Good luck and have a great time.
Shanara

[louise41]

Sounds like you have already been given a lot of great suggestions. I do lots of restaurant eating and can usually make do by making careful choices. I always take my crackers with me and keep stocking up on fresh fruit.
Shanara and Mettes suggestions are good ones if you are prepared to do your own cooking holidays. Have a lovely holiday

[kim85e]

I have been confronted by one of my worst fears whilst on the programme. I have started today however haven't contacted the clinic yet due to the public holiday + they aren't open on Fridays anyways back on topic... Either this weekend or next weekend the family and i are going to an all-you-can-eat restaurant and i don't want to deviate. I can resist the temptation of all the food but just worried i am going to eat something that i may think is ok but isn't.

I have found the menu and need your help on the type of food that i can still eat from the menu.

To prevent this happening in the future, what other places would you recommend if i am in a crisis again and have to eat out?

[Nance's big sister]

In all honesty, I would eat beforehand and take your crispbread and fruit allowance to the restaurant.

What us 'fatties' seem to have instilled in our mind is that to be social it's all about the eating and drinking. We need to change that thought process to "it's all about spending quality time with your family and friends".

Enjoy the night out by eating your snacks, having a sparkling mineral water and enjoying the company of your family. As silly as it sounds, I have honestly gotten by by 'smelling' my partners meal. That was always enough for me... then I munched (slowly) on my salada.

You might also be able to call the restaurant in advance and tell them you are going there with your family but you have special dietary requirements. Tell them you have a doctor prescribed menu plan, are they happy to cook a separate meal following the plan to the tee, or can you bring your own meal in and eat with the family. Who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck, Tanya x

[kim85e]

sounds like a good idea

i have been there before and noticed that they have cooked prawns which i know are fresh and haven't had anything added to them + washed lettuce. I thought i could have that as a meal and have a piece of fruit since they have whole untouched fruit available

[nesstris]

Hi Kim I would probably go for the Cold Roast chicken or prawns and with the prawns if you cook some yourself work out how many you get you can judge on that ( i know that it wont be spot on) and the Garden salad usually they do not put the dressing on the salad. also sometimes in garden salad they put carrot in it I would just pick out the veg you are not allowed. also keep it to a bread and butter plate.
I am lucky here in Alice we have 2 resturants that prepaire cohen's meals.
Good luck with eating out and with your mind set you should be fine.

[gabsta]

Hi
I am heading into my second week of my program and am heading out tonight for a girlfriend's birthday - just to our local pub.

I would like to try and eat out - am even going to throw the scales in my handbag. Am not planning on deviating.

How do I know what the weight of my cooked protein needs to be?
Vegies will be easy as I will just order a undressed green salad, but how do I calculate my meat, poultry or seafood?

Any suggestions please
hanks
Gabsta

[nattyg]

Hi Gabsta,

Perhaps you can try to judge the portion size based on the meals you've had so far.

I thought I'd share a great suggestion someone shared with me. You are better off ordering fried fish and removing all the batter than ordering grilled fish. grilled fish is often battered too but the batter is much easier to remove on fried fish. Remind yourself it is mostly fat, and you won't be tempted to taste it!

hope this helps

good luck, sounds like you are prepared to do the right thing already!

nat

[gabsta]

Thanks Nat - that's what I thought - pretty aware of my portion sizes now as they are so, so much smaller than the old ones.
Gabsta

[hope_ful]

hey gabsta
i definitely wouldnt order battered fish! battered fish has the oil through and through the fish, grilled fish would be done in a small amount of oil, and you can ask for it to be done in a tiny tiny amount, whereas when you deep fry food, the oil is soaked all the way through.

it is true that deep fried food often has less calories than SHALLOW fried food, as the food absorbs more of the oil in a shallow pan, but GRILLED food is not shallow fried, it is grilled on a pan or whatever...


best option- any white fish (if they dont have the allowed ones) or grilled prawns and an italian salad with dressing on the side. or steak without the basting sauce. eat a tiny bit less as what you think would be right amount, as our eyes often deceive us! diet coke, lots of water, you will be fine!! i often had to eat out and still lost. the main thing is to avoid non cohen foods and sugar, but if you end up eating a tiny bit more than allowed weights, it wont harm you...

good luck! and remember to just enjoy yourself anyway. you probs dont need to take your scales as its pointless weighing the cooked food anyway.

xxx

[ConnieK..]

OK here goes ....

ANY variation in quantities ... or types of food, or adding in sauces, or ANYTHING not listed in your book is a deviation ... Anything!

If you are committed to the program 100% then eat a cohens meal before you go or take it with you as many of us have done! That is the only way to be deviation free... the ONLY way

but if you end up eating a tiny bit more than allowed weights, it wont harm you...

and also

any white fish

NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!! as Dr Cohen states in everyones booklet ... Any variation from the amounts or foods listed you may well be wasting your time. He has decided what quantities YOUR body needs to have to keep your intake above starvation levels and the hormones in check. A variation in quantity is a deviation.

You want to know how to stay deviation free - take it with you or eat it before you go!

nattyg ... don't be niave deep frying food not only soaks it in oil it changes the structure of the fish to include the oil and fat compounds .. a peice of fish grilled is in NO way as bad as a battered fish fillet with batter removed ... just as steak cooked in a marinade is not the same as a plain piece of steak... if you can't order specialy from the chef to meet requirements you cannot be sure there has been nothing added.

ConnieK

[nattyg]

Oh, sorry for the offence, i certainly meant no harm. I was trying to do the right thing by sharing advice given to me by a cohen's consultant.

[ConnieK..]

No offence taken natty....

After you have been here a while you will know I tell it like I see it ..... doesn't always make me popular, but that's how I am.

You will always get an honest answer from me (even if you don't particularly want it LOL)

It's not just the fat content with battered foods, reusing oil causes carcinogens in the oil, and I know of few places that change their oil every two days or so.

ConnieK

[FlaMie]

Connie, you are so right about being 100%. Now I'm beginning to regret the decision to travel to Hong Kong next week. It'll really be my first 'deviation'!!!

[asy]

Batterred fish is a disaster in the making. Not only regarding the soaked in oil, but, usually they coat the fish in flour before they put the batter on, to make the batter stick.

Whilst "peeling off" the batter might remove most of the batter, maybe even all of the batter if you're really careful, I think you'll find there's still quite a bit of flour cooked into the little crevasses in the surface of the fish.

I always maintain the best preparation is PRE-paration. Ring the place before hand and find out if they can accomodate you. If they can do so off the usual menu, fantasic, if not, see if you can talk to the chef to get something organised before you get there.

If not, tell them you'll be bringing your own food and would appreciate being able to hand it to the waiter and have them bring it to the table on a plate, even if you have to pay a few dollars for the privellege.

I've never found a place say no yet. Don't forget, they WANT to be able to sell meals to the rest of your party.

Grilled fish is certainly an option. It's a good option, just tell them you're on a "medically controlled eating programme" and need the minimum amount of oil possible used.

Go, have fun, but be smart about it!

asy.

[tomorrowisnow]

Hi guys, I just returned from a trip to Sydney - which is a full 2 hour drive, plus 2 hour plane flight away from where I live. I packed a cooler bag with those frozen gel packs inside with all my pre-cooked meals then placed it in my checked luggage. There was only a fridge in my room - no cooking facilities at all, so I ate it all cold...Sydney was FREEZING too!

I know this is not the same as just dining out with friends but if you want to stay deviation free the best way is to just eat before or take it with you. Yes - it's a pain in the butt to not be able to eat like everyone else but if like me you are planning on being on this program for the shortest amount of time needed - one night out or in my case two days in Sydney was such a small time to miss out on 'real food'.

For the two days I ate more or less the same things - meat balls, chicken nuggets and mini zucchinni fritata's with fruit and crackers for snacks, all are really portable on their own.

We ate out twice and both times I took my mini Frittata's as they were able to be packed in my bag for hours without spoiling AND I could keep them in my lap or bag and eat the bite size pieces without drawing attention to myself. The only awkward moments were when we were all ordering and I said 'no thanks' and then when the meals arrived and everyone had a meal and not me - but I ordered a big jug of warm water and drank that while I got to talk away while they all ate!!

I was nervous before going but now I am back I think how easy it was, there was so much more to see and do and the food was the last thing on my mind. I saved SO much money too - this left more for shopping!

Have a look around the forum for some easy portable recipe's to choose from to take to the restaurant with you and just warn a few of your friends beforehand that you wont be ordering and then you save the 50 questions on the night.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Originally Posted by tommorowisnow

........I know this is not the same as just dining out with friends but if you want to stay deviation free the best way is to just eat before or take it with you. Yes - it's a pain in the butt to not be able to eat like everyone else but if like me you are planning on being on this program for the shortest amount of time needed - one night out or in my case two days in Sydney was such a small time to miss out on 'real food'. ......

.......I was nervous before going but now I am back I think how easy it was, there was so much more to see and do and the food was the last thing on my mind. I saved SO much money too - this left more for shopping!
.

tommorowisnow,

Way to go gal! You're going to make mincemeat of this programme. Your head is definitely in the right place. Kudos to you for looking at this the right way and acting on it. And after the first 15 minutes the first instance in the restaurant the uncomfortableness was all gone and your family/friends weren't bothered at all probably.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet, some of them were probably impressed at your resolve.

Good Job. You know what you want and you are going after it. You are gonna be a winner.

The New Stallion,
SMS