Sweetheart meals for your heart!

By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD, Nutrition & Fitness Manager

Let’s face it.  We love to eat out!  Who wouldn’t?  No grocery shopping, no messy kitchen, no dishes, and you can focus on that special someone you adore, while you enjoy great food cooked well!  That’s why most Americans eat two meals a day away from home!

Since February combines two “heart holidays,” National Heart Month and Valentine’s Day, it is a great time to take someone you care about out to dinner, and do it in a way that is kind to your heart while treating your sweetheart!

Here are some Sweet Heart Tips for ordering heart-healthy meals at restaurants:

1.      Drool ahead!   Most restaurants have their menus posted on their Web sites.  Once you decide which restaurant you are going to, check to see if their menu is online.  Then, in the logic of daylight, rather than the emotion of the moment, it is easier to choose healthy items that are your favorites.  On some sites, you are able to order ahead, so when you get to the restaurant, you can focus on your honey, instead of the menu.

2.      Customize!  Almost every restaurant will customize your order.  Many nicer restaurants will let you make up your own menu. “I’d love some grilled mixed seafood layered on top of your pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan cheese.” Or, “Can I get a side salad instead of the salty soup?”

3.      Share!  Most restaurant portions are big enough for two.  A good way to tell if someone really loves you is how willing they are to share their food with you!  Suggest you order a salad, seafood appetizer and dessert, and split the entrée on two plates.  If you both want different items, ask that half your order be put in a doggie bag; you’ll have a great lunch the next day!  Or, order an appetizer as your main course, along with a salad, bread and desert.

4.      Eat Dessert!  Don't skip dessert, it may be one of the lowest salt items on the menu. Often fruit deserts are lower in salt and sherbet is always a good choice.  Or, order cheesecake, chocolate mouse or a brownie with two forks, along with a nice cup of espresso. What could be more romantic?

Restaurants: Check out these other restaurant ideas for ordering heart-smart meals out!

1.      Steak Houses.  Choose a reasonable sized cut, and hold the "fried in butter."  Just ask that it be grilled and seasoned without salt.  Salads are always a good choice, but you are probably better off with the house rather than a Caesar salad.  A baked potato is a great choice; just ask for the butter and sour cream on the side, so you can control how much you get.  Fresh veggies or salsa is also a nice treat on a potato or you can ask for an order of grilled prawns on top! 

2.      Ruth’s Chris Steak or the Metropolitan Grill also have seafood entrees, which are almost always a better choice than beef, unless the seafood is deep fried. Ruth's Chris has a tuna steak that is divine.  They also have a wonderful portabella mushroom steak.  Ask for lots of garlic and olive oil rather than have it doused in butter.

3.      Space Needle.  When you want to show your sweetie that the world does revolve around them, there are some good choices here, too.  Try their seafood combo on ice for two for a real local treat.

4.      Il Terrazzo or other Italian restaurants will substitute olive oil for butter if you ask.  They have sautéed spinach in olive oil and sliced garlic and ground pepper that is amazing.  Order grilled scallops or salmon with it and a salad with balsamic vinegar dressing, a dish of sherbet or spumoni ice cream for desert, and you are set!

5.      The Purple Cafe, or other restaurants that cater to wine lovers can be fun choices, too.  Be careful with cheeses, they push those "small plates" - but you can find better choices on their regular menu.  Try their red wine "flights," a good heart choice and a festive way to enjoy tastes of several wines without going overboard.

6.      Lola’s.  Try their eggplant spread made with grilled eggplant, garlic and olive oil with pita bread.  It’s so much better than bread and butter, and still enormously "romantic."  But, you do have to love each other enough to tolerate the garlic!

7.      Applebee’s.  This is a nice family-style restaurant to visit on Valentine's Day.  They offer Weight Watcher's rated entrees.  Steak and portabella mushrooms with herbed potatoes and vegetables are only 330 calories, 10 grams of fat and 8 grams of fiber.  Do tell them to be light on the salt, though.  Their teriyaki steak and shrimp skewers are only 370 calories, 7 grams of fat and 7 grams of fiber.    

FINALLY, A last Sweat Heart Tip: 

Consider treating your sweetheart to lunch and a movie, or lunch and a walk at the zoo, or the beach.  Lunches are less expensive, incredibly romantic, and portions are usually more reasonable.  To make it more of a "date," do something that doesn't involve great quantities of food, but that is “life preserving” for you and your sweetheart.  Take a walk to a romantic spot.  Pick out a bouquet of flowers together, or go to a play or movie together.  It really is about time together and staying active.

Check out these Web sites below.  We looked at menus and found good "heart friendly" things at:

Ruth's Chris www.ruthschris.com

Metropolitan Grill www.themetropolitangrill.com

SpaceNeedle www.spaceneedle.com/restaurant/

Purple Café  www.thepurplecafe.com

Il Terrazzo www.IlTerrazzo.com

Lola's www.tomdouglas.com/lola

Applebees www.applebees.com