Is America's Favorite Pastime Making Us Fatter?

And my favorite part of the dining out experience … we all were able to sit down together and talk, as long as I could keep my eyelids propped open. (After working for 36 hours straight, I didn’t have a lot of energy left to devote to dinner conversations. Luckily, the kids did.)

However, I did feel guilty about the food my family was eating. They often chose French fries, burgers, pancakes, and other high fat, high carb fare. Here I was with a Masters Degree in NUTRITION! And my family was eating junk at night!

I preached salads, fresh fruit, veggies and lean meats to my family. And I did my best to eat this way. But most of my suggestions fell on deaf children’s (and husband’s) ears. It is rather difficult in most American restaurants to find a fresh, wholesome meal without a lot of calories and trans fat. And kids being kids, they will go for the fries, soda pop, and other non-vegetables every time.

If your family is also in the habit of eating out a lot, you need to realize that you are probably eating a lot more calories than if you fixed similar foods at home, using lower fat ingredients. In fact, you might be amazed if you examined the calorie counts of popular restaurant dishes.

Take Bob Evans, one of my family’s old standbys. Even a Cobb salad with grilled chicken has about 700 calories. And who can resist Bob’s rolls? Not my husband, that’s for sure! A dinner portion of their Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad weighs in at more than a hefty 1100 calories. You won’t lose weight eating meals like that. And these are their SALAD choices.

Fast food restaurants are notorious for the high calories and lack of nutritious side dishes. But how many of you are relying on these places to provide dinner for your families? Dinner is often squeezed between soccer games and homework, eaten in cars without benefit of stimulating family interaction. I understand … I did it too. But are we trading our health for the sake of convenience? I say an unfortunate yes.

These days my husband and I are empty nesters although the kids pop in frequently around suppertime. We now have more leisure time to enjoy dinner. No more soccer practices or PTA meetings. Surprisingly, we are eating at home much more often. This is simply due to my realization that I had gained some extra pounds in my middle years. The majority of these can be attributed to overindulging when eating out. It takes a lot of concentrated effort, as well as exercise, to stay slim in your 40’s and 50’s.

So, now I am finally cooking more … and enjoying it as well. Make-ahead lean poultry, fish, and meat dishes are frozen and ready to go after a quick thaw. I simply add a salad and a fresh vegetable, and sometimes a starchy food such as beans or baked sweet potato. Now we have dinners that are balanced, delicious, and fixable in less than an hour, for less than half the calories of a restaurant meal.

If you are looking for quick and delicious recipes that your whole family will love, check out the Sonoma Diet or the South Beach Diet. Both the books and the online diet programs (read my reviews of these and other diet programs) have simply wonderful meal ideas. It makes my mouth water to think of them!