I can totally relate to this. If we are eating out I always order side dishes of vegies. Restaurants often have ‘steamed greens’ sides that are the most delicious seasonal produce like asparagus or if you’re really lucky something exotic like samphire.

When hubby requests pasta for dinner I always make enough only for two medium bowls and then prepare individual side salad bowls to make it more balanced. Plus, it feels like eating out! Kind of posh ;)

Do you always have to have green veg in a meal, or does tomato puree (or similar) count?

It’d be pretty unusual for a restaurant dish to have enough tomato puree to make more than one or two serves of vegetables.

I had to laugh the last time I had a ‘side of steamed veg’ in a restaurant. It was a very upmarket place, 3 fabulous courses, impeccable service, etc… and the side of veg was plain steamed cauli, brocc and carrot! Looked like something you’d find in a bain-marie in some horrible camp canteen. Funny because it was so incongruous, but a bit sad too – I wonder how many people ‘do their duty’ by eating a bunch of that incredibly bland droopy stuff every day and therefore say they don’t enjoy vegetables!

My next dinner out is likely to be in two weeks’ time. I’m thinking a salad for entree would be nice – have to pick somewhere with some good ones.

Christie I have never been lucky enough to have samphire.

Em: doesn’t have to be green vegetables, any vegetable counts and that includes a tomato sauce. But try to get a few different vegies in there. A tomato sauce on the meal and then side of salad – or something like that.

Gwyneth you’re right some of the high-end restaurants are the worst. Outrageous amount of money for what is basically steamed vegetables. In contrast there’s a tiny little Italian near me. Cheap, basic food, but the mixed salad is always good and always different. Basics like lettuce, tomato, cucumber but then they might add fennel, artichokes or asparagus. The next time it’s full of fresh herbs, then they add dried oregano. Sometimes it has olives, other times sun-dried tomatoes.

My back-up choice is always the rocket and parmesan combination, which most restaurants offer and it’s usually good.

I did this the last time I was at a Greek restaurant with a friend of mine. My salmon came with two side dishes and I got artichokes and spinach. Unfortunately, most restaurants want to make everything that they serve appetizing, therefore there was a lot of oil, salt, and butter cooked into both sides, decreasing their healthiness significantly.
This would seem to be an issue no matter where I would eat out. I would conclude in order to eat healthy it’s simply better to eat at home where you have more control over the preparation of your food. When eating out, it would seem more strategic just to simply eat less, enjoy the food and the break from a stricter regimen, and to not make it repetitious.

i am such a huge veggie fan, that a meal doesn’t quite feel right without veggies! most of the time when i eat out, it’s Asian of some sort, which generally seems to include a reasonable amount of vegetables.

i find fine dining the worst offenders – it’s often a piece of meat with miniscule amounts of veg in a sauce, perhaps. and the notorious side of steamed veg is often pretty modest (not to mention overpriced).

anyway, this is all a good reminder of why it’s good to prepare your own meals a lot of the time, and to view eating out as an occasional thing.

It’s definitely healthier to eat at home. You’re in control of ingredients, how much salt is added and the type of fat used.

If eating out is a regular occurrence remember you can always ask the restaurant to put dressings on the side. or serve the dish plain.

I love veggies too- I will often choose my main dish in a restaurant because of the veg accompaniment (for instance I am a sucker for red cabbage!) I am based in the UK where I think we are better at veg in restaurants than the US (which I have visited) or australia (which I have not- so no first hand experience!). I have had my fair share of boring steamed carrots and broccoli as a side though…
Today’s veg experience was ordering as a main course in a chinese restaurant a dish I have in the past ordered as a side to share; seasonal vegetable in oyster sauce. Normally this has been spinach, pak choi or chinese broccoli simply stir fried with oyster sauce. Today, perhaps because I asked for it as a main, I got pak choi, carrots, chinese mushrooms and tofu. And it was wonderful!